Pilgrims, patrons, and place : [electronic resource] localizing sanctity in Asian religions / Edited by Phyllis Granoff and Koichi Shinohara.

This book brings together essays by anthropologists, scholars ofreligion, and art historians on the subject of sacred place and sacredbiography in Asia. The chapters span a broad geographical area thatincludes India, Nepal, Thailand, Indonesia, and China, and exploreissues from the classical and medieval period to the present. They showhow sacred places have a plurality of meanings for all religiouscommunities and how in their construction, secular politics, privatereligious experience, and sectarian rivalry can all intersect.