Buddhisms in Asia

Nicholas S. Brasovan is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Religion at the University of Central Arkansas and the author of Neo-Confucian Ecological Humanism: An Interpretive Engagement with Wang Fuzhi (1619–1692), also published by SUNY Press. Micheline M. Soong is Associate Professor of Comparative Literature at Hawaii Pacific University.

• IllustrationsForewordPeter D. HershockAcknowledgmentsIntroductionNicholas S. Brasovan and Micheline M. Soong1. The Buddhist Canon and the Liberal Arts ClassroomAndy Alexander Davis2. Awakening in the Hongzhou School of Chan Buddhism: Reading a Gongan/Koan ComparativelyAnn Pirruccello3. Seeking the Pure Land (in the Classroom)Kendall Marchman4. The Representation and Transformation of Nāgas, Dragons, and Dragon Kings in Chinese PaintingJacqueline Chao5. Trials of Devotion: Orphaned Children and the Boundaries of Horror in Japanese Buddhist FictionR. Keller Kimbrough6. The Buddhist Gift: Merit-Making, Donations, and the Ambivalence of RewardJessica Falcone7. The Puzzle of the Socially Engaged Buddhist Agent and a Thai Buddhist Philosophical ResponseGeoff Ashton8. Five Themes toward Teaching the History of Vietnamese BuddhismWynn Gadkar-Wilcox9. Not Knowing Is Most Intimate: Introducing Buddhism into a Humanities CourseJane CollinsContributorsIndex

"Buddhisms in Asia is both practical and thought-provoking in its comparison of pedagogies. The strength of the book is that it brings multiple authors together for a candid discussion of what needs to be changed within introductory material in the liberal arts classroom. The essays are pertinent for instructors asked to teach Buddhism in a survey of world religions. It provides a concrete approach to tackling decontextualized and ahistorical paradigms still in circulation in the study of Buddhist traditions, for nonspecialists and instructors seeking to revitalize their curriculum." — H-Net Reviews (H-Asia)"Most valuable are the essays that bring to the table areas that typical syllabi neglect, for example, Buddhism in Vietnam and Pure Land Buddhism." — CHOICE"I teach an introductory course on Buddhism on a regular basis, and every single chapter of this book gave me ideas for materials I could incorporate, new modules I might develop, and/or better ways I might organize and present existing content to students. I think that the book will be particularly useful to educators in Asian studies who are not themselves specialized in areas of Buddhism or religion. The collection gives them the information on Buddhist philosophy, doctrine, and practice that they would need to better incorporate the role of Buddhism into classes on Asian culture, history, society, and politics." — Leah Kalmanson, coeditor of Buddhist Responses to Globalization