The wheel-turning king and the lucky lottery: perspectives new and old on wealth and merriment within Buddhism

By placing a contemporary pilgrimage of Myanmar Buddhists to Bodh Gaya in India conversation with early Buddhist doctrine and practice, this article argues that wealth, its redistribution celebration, have provided, continue provide, non-peripheral avenues for advancement within societies. Through lavish gift-giving merry-making, the group pilgrims we encountered, led by weikza-lam practitioner or wizard, bolstered their esteem relation authoritative institutions individuals. Money—and plentiful conviviality it enabled—was crucial successful outcome pilgrimage. This contextualises donations merriment multi-layered context Vihār (resting place pilgrims) Gaya, religious hierarchies, local material inequalities, historical context. looking at multiple directions which money merit were transferred, demonstrations wealth revelry during can facilitate, rather than be hindrance to, praxis.