FromComradestoBodhisattvasisthefirstbook-lengthstudyofHanChineseBuddhisminpost-MaoChina.Supportedbyoveradecadeofethnographicresearch,itprovidesanintimateportraitoflayBuddhistpractitionersinBeijingwhohaveembracedareligionthattheywereoncesocializedtoseeasharmfulsuperstition.ThebookfocusesonthelivelydebatesthattakeplaceamongthesenewpractitionersinanunusedcourtyardofaBeijingtemple,wherelaypersonsgathertolistentothefierysermonsofcharismaticpreachers,andseeksolutionstopersonalmoralcrises.
Spurredonbythelessonsofthepreachersandstoriesinthemedia,thesecourtyardpractitionersinventivelycombinemoralelementsfromChina’sMaoistpastwithBuddhistteachingsontheworkingsofkarmaandtheimportanceofuniversalcompassion.Theiraimistoarticulateamoralantidotetowhattheyseeasblindobsessionwithconsumptionandwealthaccumulationamongtwenty-first-centuryChinese.
FullofengagingdescriptionsofthereallivesofpracticinglayBuddhists,FromComradestoBodhisattvaswillinterestspecialistsinChineseBuddhism,anthropologistsofcontemporaryAsia,andallscholarsinterestedintherelationshipbetweenreligionandculturalchange.
