Body, Space, and Ritual: An Ethnography of Vipassana Meditation in Argentina

This article offers an ethnographic analysis of the practice of vipassana meditation in Argentina, framed within the tradition of theravada buddhism. The research is based on fieldwork carried out at the Dhamma Sukhada meditation center, located in the town of Brandsen, Buenos Aires Province, branch...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Mesa Sánchez, Daniela
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:Perú
Institución:Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú
Repositorio:Revistas - Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú
Idioma:español
OAI Identifier:oai:ojs.pkp.sfu.ca:article/31174
Acceso en línea:http://revistas.pucp.edu.pe/index.php/anthropologica/article/view/31174
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Ethnography
buddhism
vipassana meditation
modernity
contemporary spiritualities
Etnografía
budismo
meditación vipassana
modernidad
espiritualidades contemporáneas
Descripción
Sumario:This article offers an ethnographic analysis of the practice of vipassana meditation in Argentina, framed within the tradition of theravada buddhism. The research is based on fieldwork carried out at the Dhamma Sukhada meditation center, located in the town of Brandsen, Buenos Aires Province, branch of the international buddhist organization Vipassana Meditation, founded by the Burmese teacher Satya Narayan Goenka (1924–2013). Through participant observation during a ten-day silent retreat, the study examines the ritual, performative, and experiential elements that shape this practice. The article also analyzes contemporary transformations in religiosity, subjectivity, and ritual in non-Asian contexts, within the global expansion of vipassana meditation. It concludes that the retreat experience generates specific forms of subjectivation, situated at the crossroads of non-hegemonic religiosities, contemporary spiritualities, and multiple modernities.