Lars Fogelin draws on historical accounts, religious documents, inscriptions, and the results of his systematic archaeological survey of Thotlakonda Monastery in southern India to examine Early Buddhist monastic life. He discovers a tension between the desired isolation of the monastery and the mutual engagement with neighbors in the Early Historic Period. He also sketches how religious architecture and the use of landscape helped to structure these relationships. Fogelin s work sheds new light on the ritual and material workings of Early Buddhism in this region and shows how archaeology can contribute to our understanding of religious practice.



Author Bio: Lars Fogelin is assistant professor of anthropology at Albion College.