Contents: Part I: Gerneral Approaches (1) Max Weber, Capitalism, and the Religion of India, (2) What is the Anthropology of Buddhism About?, (3) Religion, Politics, and Ritual: Remarks on Geertz and Bloch, Part II: The Legitimation of Religious Specialists (4) Priesthood and Possession: Newar Religion in the the Light of Some Weberian Concepts, (5) Monkhood and Priesthood in Newar Buddhism, (6) The Newar Buddhist Monastery: An Anthropological and Historical Typology, (7) `The Perfection of Wisdom\\': A Text and its Uses in Kwa Bahah, Lalitpur, Part III: From Soteriology to Worldly Benefits (8) Priests, Healers, Mediums, and Witches: The Context of Possession in the Kathmandu Valley, (9) Portrait of a Tantric Healer (with Uttam Sagar Shrestha), (10) Law Perspectives on Health and Misfortune in the Kathmandu Valley Part IV: Hinduism and History (11) Hinduism, Tribalism, and the Position of Women: The Problem of Newar Identity, (12) From Mandalic Sacred Centres to Communist Strongholds? On the Cities of the Kathmandu Valley, (13) Does symbolism `Construct and Urban Mesocosm\\'? Robert Levy\\'s Mesocosm and the Question of Value Consensus in Bhaktapur, Part V: Comparison (14) For Syncretism: The Position of Buddhism in Nepal and Japan Compared, (15) Temples for Life and Temple for Death: Observations on Some Shingon Buddhist Temples in Tokyo.