How to Behave: Buddhism and Modernity in Colonial Cambodia, 1860-1930

It has become increasingly clear that the rational and ethical religion called Buddhism is as much a product of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as it is of the time of the Buddha, more than two millennia ago. What remain to be determined are the specific ways in which this Buddhism was produced within and among the cultures of Asia. In this fascinating study, Anne Hansen examines the case of Cambodia, combining extensive research with insightful analysis to both contextualize and complicate the category of modern Buddhism.–Donald S. Lopez, Jr., University of Michigan