From: The Journal of the American Oriental Society | Date: April 1, 1997| Author: Perry, Edmund | COPYRIGHT 1997 American Oriental Society. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group.Copyright information

Two important recent books by Richard Gombrich (and Gananath Obeyesekere) on the "modernization" of Buddhism in Ceylon are examined. Among other commentary, Walpola Rahula's spirited attacks on "innovation" are placed in context.

For reasons i will try to make apparent further along in this review one should read these two books as a unit. They both treat the phenomenon of change in the Theravada Buddhism preserved and practiced by the Sinhala people of Sri Lanka. Their account an...