Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 4-16-2019 10:30 AM The Information Practices of New Kadampa Buddhists: From "Dharma of Scripture" to "Dharma of Insight" Roger Chabot The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Pyati, Ajit The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in Library & Information Science A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Doctor of Philosophy © Roger Chabot 2019 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Library and Information Science Commons Recommended Citation Chabot, Roger, "The Information Practices of New Kadampa Buddhists: From "Dharma of Scripture" to "Dharma of Insight"" (2019). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 6099. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/6099 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Abstract The research examining spiritual information behaviours has been largely dominated by studies of Christian clergy using information in work tasks to fulfill work roles. Missing are studies of everyday individuals and the spiritual information practices they engage in as part of their everyday lives. Also lacking are studies which feature non-Western religious traditions. This dissertation fills this gap with a study of the everyday life information practices of western Buddhists from the New Kadampa Tradition. The study aimed to inventory their spiritual information practices, examine existential information needs, understand Buddhist spiritual realizations as an outcome of information use, and explore whether spiritual information practices were best classified as “everyday life” or “beyond everyday life”. Two methods were used to accomplish these aims. First, a qualitative content analysis of Geshe Kelsang Gyatso’s work, Joyful Path of Good Fortune (1995) was conducted. This was complemented by 20 semi-structured interviews of New Kadampa Buddhists from Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Discovered by the study were common information practices such as reading and listening, but also new intrapersonal information practices such as contemplating and meditating. The study also found that practitioners had existential motivations for seeking spiritual information such as preparing for death. An enhancement and critique of Dervin’s Sense-Making methodology was also undertaken. Textual analyses of Dervin’s writing on Sense-Making, Martin Heidegger’s ontological hermeneutics, Buddhist philosophy and the empirical findings were used in parallel to accomplish this. These perspectives were also used to explain the connection between information needs, use, and outcomes, offering an explanation of how one transforms one’s Being-in-the-world through spiritual information, effectively becoming information. A revision to the Sense-Making three-point model is also proposed which separates the hermeneutic act of making-sense from the verbings which constitute gap- bridging. Finally, because of the dual nature of religion as a way of life and a means to an end, it was concluded that information behaviour scholars need to reconsider what is meant by “everyday life”. It can no longer be “residual by nature” (Savolainen, 1995), given the prominence that spiritual information practices have in the lives of adherents. i ii Dedication I dedicate all the pure white virtues I have gathered here So that I may accomplish all the prayers Made by the Sugatas and Bodhisattvas of the three times And maintain the holy Dharma of scripture and insight. Through the force of this, throughout all my lives May I never be separated from the four wheels of the Supreme Vehicle, And thus may I complete the paths of renunciation, Bodhichitta, correct view, and the two Tantric stages. Dedication Prayer from Offering to the Spiritual Guide iii Acknowledgements By remembering the kindness of others, we can make our mind light and peaceful. So, it is with a warm heart and a smile that I would like to acknowledge those who contributed in some way to the completion of my doctoral work. I would first like to thank my kind participants, Kadampa practitioners from around the world, who granted me access to their lives and without whom this dissertation would not have been possible. I came away from these interviews with a strengthened sense of the bonds of our international Kadampa family. It was a pleasure to get to know you and your stories. I rejoice in all of your virtues and wish you success in your practice. This work would also not have been possible without the gracious mentoring of my thesis advisor, Dr. Ajit Pyati. Thank you for your wisdom, patience, and genuine interest in my work. I very much enjoyed our conversations on the applicability of Eastern spirituality to LIS. To Dr. Lynne McKechnie, valued thesis committee member, thank you for your expertise and your relentless encouragement. I always left our conversations buoyed by your kind words. I would also like to extend a thank-you to Dr. Grant Campbell who helped guide me through the early stages of the program. Thank you for your always excellent questions which helped structure my early thinking into something more coherent! I would like to thank my parents whose eyerolls, exasperated sighs, and endless questions kept me on track. Thank you for your generosity and support throughout my entire education and especially thank you for encouraging my curiosity, intellect, and love of learning from an early age. My doctoral experience could not have been what it was without the close friendship of my fellow cohort mates. I am so happy that we were able to develop such a strong connection from early on. Davin Helkenberg, thank you for your silliness, pizza enabling, and constant honesty. Thank you for frequently sharing in my twisted sense of humour. Nicole Dalmer, thank you for being an example for me of a humble and dedicated scholar. Your frequent work invitations helped me to reluctantly make progress. Thank you for your endlessly kind words and your unwavering compassion. It would also be remiss of me not to thank the other doctoral students who made my experience at FIMS so much more pleasant through iv delicious food, drink and general merry-making: Yimin, Zak, Eugenia, and Amy. Thank you all for your humour, commiseration, and friendship. I would finally like to thank my Teachers and Sangha friends in the New Kadampa Tradition. Thank you for your support and encouragement over the years. It has been a pleasure travelling this joyful path of good fortune with you. Finally, this dissertation could not have been possible without the extreme kindness of my Spiritual Guide, Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso. Thank you for your enlightened example and precious teachings. My knowledge and experience of the Dharma comes from you, and this dissertation could not have existed without your kindness in turning the wheel of Dharma. v Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................ i Dedication .......................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iv Table of Contents ............................................................................................................... vi List of Tables .................................................................................................................... xii List of Figures .................................................................................................................. xiii Chapter 1 ............................................................................................................................. 1 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Studying spiritual information behaviours and practices: Everyday life and beyond ..................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Religious practices as information practices ........................................................... 4 1.3 Why study Buddhism and Buddhists? .................................................................... 9 1.4 Understanding the particular Buddhist context of this dissertation ...................... 10 1.4.1 An introduction to Buddhism.................................................................... 10 1.4.2 Western Buddhism / Buddhism in the West ............................................. 13 1.4.3 The New Kadampa Tradition .................................................................... 17 1.5 Chapter summary .................................................................................................. 20 Chapter 2 ........................................................................................................................... 21 2 Literature review .......................................................................................................... 21 2.1 Work-centred and resource-centred spiritual information behavior studies ......... 21