Seeding Buddhism with Multiculturalism

"Focusing on Sri Lankan Buddhists in Toronto, D. Mitra Barua argues that the Sri Lankan Buddhist tradition, not despite but because of the cultural adaptations to the Canadian context, has maintained its coherence and integrity. Sri Lankan Buddhists have succeeded in transmitting Buddhist beliefs, attitudes and practices onto their Canada-born youth who in turn have reconstructed their own distinct Buddhist identity influenced by the individualistic, egalitarian and secular cultural ambience in Toronto. This observation derives from a comprehensive research comprised of two surveys, over fifty in-depth interviews and fieldwork conducted in Toronto (Canada) and Colombo (Sri Lanka). What makes this study outstanding is its creative fieldwork and translocal analysis. The former displays researcher's simultaneous role of being (in) the field; the latter explains that pre-migration experiences of immigrants often shape and determine the success or failure of intergenerational transmission."--