Eleventh International Conference on Religion & Spirituality in Society

Abstract

This paper is about the heritage in Buddhist place. In an attempt to go beyond a more traditional descriptive approach, the study brings forward a discussion about the definition, or rather the multiplicity of definitions, of the concept of heritage as such. The unavoidable tension emanating from a modern western frame of thought being applied to the geographical and cultural setting of the study provides an opportunity to develop a criticism of some of the assumptions underlying our current definitions of heritage. For this particular study, heritage is defined as to include stories, places and things. It is a heritage that is complex and ambiguous, because the stories are apparel, the definition and perceptions of place are manifold and contested, and the things and their meaning appear altered, depending on what approach to materiality is used. The objective is not to propose how to identify and manage such complex heritages. Rather, it is about what causes this complexity and ambiguity and what is in between the stories, places, and things. In addition, this paper aims to critically deconstruct the contemporary heritage discourse, which privileges material authenticity, form and fabric and the idea that heritage values are universal and should be preserved for the future and preferably forever.