Communicative patterns in the discussion meetings of a Buddhist society

The study develops an interpretative theory to explain the communicative processes underlying the Discussion Meetings of a Buddhist group, SGI-UK, in Aberdeen, using the inductive strategies of grounded theory. The primary data comprised recorded interactions among group members in the meetings. In the process of the analysis, conceptual codes and categories emerged from the data, and the relationships between them were established, thereby creating the theory. After further elaboration, the theory identified the underlying dynamic process: the continuous interaction between ritualised discourse and religious schemata. Ritualised discourse signifies convergent communicative tools and behaviours that centre on narratives. Religious schemata are individual members' mental representations which construct event in a range of social, ideological and cultural ways. Ritualised discourse both maintains and, in turn, is shaped by, these schemata, and thus manifest the ecological nature of the linguistic interactionsEThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo