Buddhism, the Internet, and Digital Media: The Pixel in the Lotus

Buddhism, the Internet and Digital Media: The Pixel in the Lotus explores Buddhist practice and teachings in an increasingly networked and digital era. Contributors consider the ways Buddhism plays a role and is present in digital media through a variety of methods including concrete case studies, ethnographic research, and content analysis, as well as interviews with practitioners and cyber-communities. In addition to considering Buddhism in the context of technologies such as virtual worlds, social media, and mobile devices, authors ask how the Internet affects identity, authority and community, and what effect this might have on the development, proliferation, and perception of Buddhism in an online environment. Together, these essays make the case that studying contemporary online Buddhist practice can provide valuable insights into the shifting role religion plays in our constantly changing, mediated, hurried, and uncertain culture.

Gregory Price Grieve is an Associate Professor in Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Director of MERGE: a Network for Collaborative Interdisciplinary Scholarship in UNCG’s College of Arts and Sciences, and co-chair of the American Academy of Religion’s section on Religion and Popular Culture. He is the author of Retheorizing Religion in Nepal (2007) and co-editor of Historicizing Tradition in the Study of Religion (2005).

Daniel Veidlinger is an Associate Professor in the Religious Studies Department at California State University, Chico, and the author of Spreading the Dhamma: Writing, Orality and Textual Transmission in Buddhist Northern Thailand (2006).