SummaryFocusing on the place of “embodiment” for therapists in mindfulness‐based cognitive therapy, this paper reveals that care often requires an on‐going commitment to “being with” forms of uncomfortable self‐experience. This work challenges the valorization of caregiving (as “natural,” “good,” or “rewarding”) in anthropology by revealing the unsettled nature of lived experience, replete with...
In contemporary Thai Buddhism there is massive variation in the foci of Buddhist practice. While some monastic and lay organizations focus on ascetic discipline, others focus on ritual practices, social welfare projects or wealth creation. In Thailand modernist Buddhist movements have elaborated Buddhist responsibilities as both a social concern and a personal responsibility of purification....
We have seen in the foregoing that while monastic identity and ascetic practices such as vipassanā meditation have historically been the preserve of monks, requiring full ordination and celibacy, this is not the case in contemporary Thailand. Furthermore, ‘monastic’ and ‘lay’ have never been uncomplicated or mutually exclusive categories in the Thai context. I have argued that the involvement...