Buddhism and Ireland

Laurence Cox is Director of the MA in Community Education, Equality and Social Activism at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth. He is co-editor of Ireland's New Religious Movements, Understanding European Movements and Marxism and Social Movements, and a practising Buddhist.

• Acknowledgements 1. Buddhism in Ireland: an introduction to the problem PART I: THINKING "BUDDHISM AND IRELAND" IN WORLD-SYSTEMS CONTEXT (500 - 1850) 2. The Prologue to Buddhism in Ireland: awareness without interest PART II: BUDDHISTS AND THEOSOPHISTS, CAUGHT BETWEEN EMPIRES (1850 - 1960) 3. The Two Empires: Ireland in Asia, Asia in Ireland 4. Esotericism against Empire: Irish Theosophy 5. The First Irish Buddhists: jumping ship and "going native" PART III: BUDDHISM WITHIN IRELAND: FROM COUNTER-CULTURE TO RESPECTABILITY (1960 - 2010) 6. The New "Catholic Buddhists" and Post-colonial Social Movements 7. Buddhism through the Celtic Tiger: choices for the future Afterword Bibliography Index

"This is a truly fascinating book on how Buddhism arrived and was localised in Ireland. It shows how Ireland was never isolated from a global circuit of knowledge on Buddhism and Asia mediated by empire building, nationalism, colonialism, religion and ethnicity." Cristina Rocha, University of Western Sydney "With a cast of Buddhist characters you couldn't invent, this insightful and clearly written account of the extraordinary relationship between Buddhism and Ireland deftly challenges conventional histories of Western Buddhism." Brian Bocking, University College Cork "Laurence Cox reveals why the practice of Buddhism may flourish in Ireland - and why Irish Buddhists have a longer history than we might suppose. Focus and perspicuity inform this admirable work on conversion and seeking." Joseph Lennon, Villanova University, USA