Buddhism Transformed: Religious Change in Sri Lanka

The book is organized into four major parts. Part One, “A New Religious Orientation,” defines the subject by examining the contemporary religion of Sinhala Buddhists, traditional Sinhala Buddhism, and major departures from inherited religious patterns. Part Two, “Changes in the Spirit Religion,” studies cult groups, spirit religion, social change and deities, changes in the pantheon, the rise of Hūniyam in urban religion, Kali as “the punitive mother,” and Kataragama as a center of Hindu-Buddhist syncretism. Part Three, “Buddhist Developments,” turns to Protestant Buddhism, the creation of tradition, Buddhist marriage, the contemporary resurgence of nuns, the Venerable Balangoda Ananda Maitreya’s theosophy, and three Buddhist leaders: Motilal Banarsidass? Actually, the relevant chapter treats three leaders including the Utuma Sathu and the Suniyam Buddha tradition as part of new Buddhist formations. Part Four, “Toward a New Synthesis?,” studies the Bodhi Pūjā and Sinhala firewalkers, especially the Buddhist appropriation of Kataragama. Overall, the work presents modern Sinhala Buddhism as a layered religious field in which canonical Theravāda, spirit cults, Protestant reform, urban class formation, nationalism, Hindu influence, and new devotional practices interact.