Toronto sustains a remarkable variety of distinct Buddhist communities. Over sixty Buddhist temples and associations represent a diversity of ethnic, national, and linguistic identities. Here, for the first time, is a rigorous, richly detailed, comparative examination of several groups within five Asian Buddhist communities: Japanese-Canadian, Tibetan, Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Chinese.

With an intimate knowledge of her subject matter, McLellan documents each group's establishment in Canada, and the specific shape of that group's practice today. She examines how innovative forms of worship and ritual services developed from the group's confrontation with Canadian social attitudes, constraints, and policies, and how transplantation acts as a catalyst for alterations in gender roles for both Sangha (ordained clergy) and laity. Buddhism, in responding to unstable local, national, and global realities, plays a crucial role in maintaining and reinforcing ethnic identity, and in coping with the stress of emigration.

Shedding light on unfamiliar concepts and presenting a wealth of new information, Many Petals of the Lotus is an essential source book for professionals, and compelling reading for anyone interested in the changing face of Buddhism.

Janet McLellan is an associate professor in the Department of Religion and Culture at Wilfrid Laurier University.

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