The Irish Buddhist

Reviews / Votes

an incredible portrayal not only of a shiny eccentric coalescing the dubious and the remarkable in a Buddhist guise, but of "plebeian cosmopolitan interactions across Asia ... that facilitated both the operation of colonialism and resistance to it." An ingenious book. * Lukas K. Pokorny, University of Vienna, Religious Studies Review * The Irish Buddhist forms a very valuable addition to the historiography of Ireland and Buddhism and, indeed, of Ireland and empire. It has much of interest to say on the complexities of the 'imperial Irish' experience. Yet despite its academic rigour and scholarly apparatus, it is an engagingly written and very accessible work which will greatly appeal to specialist and general readerships alike. * Sean William Gannon, Australasian Journal of Irish Studies * For Irish Studies scholars interested in questions of Irish identity, religion, and nationalism in a colonial context, The Irish Buddhist represents a solid addition to this field of study in a fresh and unconventional way with its focus on the very unique figure of Dhammaloka. * Michael Gillingham, Irish Studies Review * Regardless of one's assessment of how Dhammaloka is presented in The Irish Buddhist, the opportunity to consider his place in the history of early modern Buddhism would have remained impossible if not for the labors of Turner, Cox, and Bocking. Their shared passion for this once forgotten monk has provided a significant contribution to the field, and their book should be required reading for any serious scholar of modern Buddhist history. * Victor Forte, The Journal of Buddhist Ethics * The authors 'shared passion for this once forgotten monk has provided a significant contribution to the field, and their book should be required reading for any serious scholar of modern Buddhist history'. * Victor Forte, Journal of Buddhist Ethics * an enthralling book * Jairam Ramesh, Rajya Sabha MP, The Light of Asia * [A] mesmerizing tale. * John Delurey, Global Asia * The Irish Buddhist-humane and absorbing-ensures that Dhammaloka will be accorded some delayed recognition, even as his story ends in almost cosmic anticlimax. * Tunku Varadarajan, New York University Law School's Classical Liberal Institute, The Wall Street Review * This is a remarkable account of the life of Irishman Lawrence Carroll... The three authors, all authorities on Buddhism, have spent a decade of digital and archive-based scholarship recovering and discovering pieces of evidence in this "plebeian intellectual" in an attempt to fill out the blanks in his life.... The authors have done an immense job in textual and religious sleuthing to diligently ressurect the many lives of the elusive Dhammaloka. * Joseph Woods, The Irish Times * "The Irish Buddhist"-humane and absorbing-ensures that Dhammaloka will be accorded some delayed recognition, even as his story ends in almost cosmic anticlimax. * Tunku Varadarajan, New York University Law School's Classical Liberal Institute, The Wall Street Review * The Irish Buddhist is ultimately a dazzling story of a forgotten Irishman whose outspoken criticism of the colonial mission and rallying of the local cosmopolitan population illuminates how we might think about colonialism, religion and nationalism today. Not only is it a joy to read, but its appeal is wide-reaching, being valuable to those interested in history, imperialism and Buddhist studies as well as those who enjoy a good story. * Olivia Porter, Contemporary Buddhism * ...The Irish Buddhist represents a solid addition to this field of study... * Michael Gillingham, Irish Studies Review * This biography is the fruit of a ten-year detective journey into a figure whose history has largely been hidden from scholarship on Buddhism and the West. It necessitated collaboration with scholars, librarians, and Buddhists across the world, and four academic conferences were held to facilitate it. The result is a study that should be essential reading not only for specialists in Buddhist Studies but also for anyone interested in the radical, pan-Asian networking that was occurring on the underside of British imperialism. * Elizabeth J. Harris, NUMEN * As biography and socio-historical portrait, The Irish Buddhist will be of interest not only to scholars of Buddhism, but also to social researchers interested in such diverse topics as religion, historical sociology, homelessness, solidarity, social movements and decolonial studies. I trust the book will find the wide readership it deserves, and that it will be translated into other languages, not least those used in the regions where Dhammaloka journeyed. * Ruben Flores, University College, Dublin * This is an extraordinary story deftly told, the fruit of ten years' work by three distinguished scholars. It succeeds in being a triumph of innovative investigation as well as an academic history of real quality. [...] Perhaps Dhammaloka studies, so ably given life by Alicia Turner, Laurence Cox, and Brian Bocking, can be seen as the begetter of a new and wider genre within the study of religions in Ireland. Their contribution here is unique and to be celebrated. * Brendan McNamara, Estudios Irlandeses * The authors, scholars of religion and sociology, admirably bring their skills to not only research this illusive person but to put together an intriguing and accurate picture of the time, using a host of research material, a source of fascination in itself. * John Bowman, The Middle Way * We are greatly indebted to the splendid collaborative research of Professors Turner, Cox, and Bocking, which frequently demanded academic detective work of a very high order. They also deserve our gratitude for their superb contextualisation of religious belief and practice in terms of their relationships with the overarching determining powers of empire. Though this is a work of scholarship which will undoubtedly attract specialists, it is written with a light touch and will certainly appeal also to a wide range of readers.Let us hope that before long we will have The Irish Buddhist: The Movie! * Tadhg Foley, NUI Galway, Dublin Review of Books * This is a wonderfully readable book that stands out for the depth and range of research behind it and adds an additional dimension to contemporary explorations of the movement of ideas and anti-colonial movements. * Thomas E Kingston * ...[a] deeply researched and fascinating biography * Taylor McNeil, Tufts University, TuftsNow * Turner, Cox and Bocking apply sophisticated analyses of archives and cutting-edge technology. Their footnotes go beyond dutiful documentation to elaborate needed background, making The Irish Buddhist blissfully accessible, always welcome amidst so much academic aridity ... The Irish Buddhist is a thoughtfully woven tale of a character long relegated to history's margins. * John L. Murphy, DeVry University, Spectrum Culture * The book, The Irish Buddhist: The Forgotten Monk who Faced Down the Britsih Empire, written by Alicia Turner, is an important story that was brought back from the forgotten regions of history. I am very grateful that this person and his life story was brought back to the collective consciousness to inspire Buddhists to continue this anti-colonial work by honouring the ancient teachings of the Buddha and the schools that have served the dhamma for thousands of years. * Acharya Samaneti * ...an astounding feat of historical detective work... * Joie Szu-Chiao Chen, Lion's Roar * Part detective work, part academic study, this book is, first and foremost, a cracking good story well told. It pieces together the tale of a famous Irishman from the very start of the 20th century. * Ian Kilroy, Independent.ie * The Irish Buddhist captures a time of significant change and enterprise, one which easily resonates with the world of today. The subtitle of the book is "The Forgotten Monk Who Faced Down the British Empire" and this biography is a fascinating, informative insight into a wonderful character who, without a decade worth of joint research, may well have been lost to the great ocean of the past. * Daniel Seery, Dublin Inquirer * This groundbreaking study rewrites our understanding of the first Westerners to embrace Buddhism as a living faith. The authors offer a vivid portrait of a working-class Irishman in colonial Burma for whom Buddhism was not just a personal spiritual quest but a radical social and political practice. * Stephen Batchelor, author of Secular Buddhism and After Buddhism * This is an extraordinary book. The authors have painstakingly tracked down scraps of evidence of U Dhammaloka's life from across continents, often in the most unlikely of places, and have succeeded in piecing together a wealth of information to reveal an unlikely and likeable hero. The result is not simply a gripping story. It is an education into the lives, ingenuity, and resilience of the usually undocumented, ordinary people living precarious lives on the margins of society across the globe at the height of Empire. It retraces the extensive networks of cooperation they formed in common cause for survival and a dignified life against a backdrop of extraction, exploitation and misrepresentation. This is a history of those who usually have no voice in its writing, a history that dismantles the civilizing myths of colonialism. * Kate Crosby, Professor of Buddhist Studies, King's College, London * With notable tenacity and thoroughness, the authors trace the wandering career of the first European convert Buddhist monk, U Dhammaloka. Recounting the life of the fascinating twentieth-century working-class Irishman turned Burmese Buddhist monk, the authors bring into sharp relief the ways in which currents of intellectual, religious, and economic change made Buddhism a global tradition in an age of migration, colonization, and empire in Asia * Richard M. Jaffe, Director of the Asian/Pacific Studies Institute and Professor of Buddhist Studies, Duke University * Among the early European converts to Buddhism, we think of Madame Blavatsky, Alexandra David-Neel, and Ananda Metteyya. But there were many more, perhaps none more intriguing than the Irishman U Dhammaloka. Drawing on some impressive detective work, the authors here paint a fascinating picture-more than a sketch, less than a portrait-of this shape-shifting Buddhist monk. In the process, they provide many insights into fin-de-siecle Buddhism. * Donald Lopez, Arthur E. Link Distinguished University Professor of Buddhist and Tibetan Studies, University of Michigan * ...insightful and rich in describing aspects and parts of the Buddhist world that have been hidden from us. Clear and well-written. * Thomas Borchert, Journal of Southeast Asian Studies * An ingenious book. * Lukas K. Pokorny, University of Vienna, Religious Studies Review * This book is a great read and it is highly recommended. * Carole M. Cusack, University of Sydney * U Dhammaloka (1856-1914, maybe) was (possibly) the first westerner to become an ordained Buddhist monk. Parts of his biography are a mystery, but what can be pieced together makes quite a story. And it's a story told in a book titled The Irish Buddhist: The Forgotten Monk who Faced Down the British Empire by Alicia Turner, Laurence Cox, and Brian Bocking. * Barbara O'Brien, The Patheos *