Figures of Buddhist Modernity in Asia

Jeffrey Samuels is professor of religious studies at Western Kentucky University.Justin Thomas McDaniel is professor of Buddhist studies and chair of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Pennsylvania.Mark Michael Rowe is associate professor in the Department of Religious Studies, McMaster University.

This is an unprecedented, kaleidoscopic portrait of contemporary Buddhism presented through short biographical vignettes of Buddhist individuals worldwide. Eschewing familiar geographical or doctrinal categories, the work examines its subject through four thematic lenses: Looking Backward: Inventing Tradition in the Modern World; Looking Forward: Social-Psychological Care in a Troubled World; Looking Inward: New Asceticism in Modern Buddhism; and Looking Outward: Local Buddhists Becoming Global Citizens. The result is a wholly original and thought-provoking approach to the varieties of Buddhism in today’s globalized, interrelated world."" —Steven Collins, University of Chicago""Impressive in aim and scope, Figures of Buddhist Modernity in Asia explores how individual Buddhists across a range of schools and practices respond to and are engulfed by modern contexts and circumstances. The numerous biographies provide students with insight into the reality of lived Buddhist practices and their articulation in the lives of Buddhists today. The multiple tables of contents are handy for accessing the profiles by region, country, and tradition as well as by the themes, making this collection especially useful when used in conjunction with traditional textbooks on Buddhism. I look forward to using it in the classroom."" —Juliane Schober, Arizona State University""Figures of Buddhist Modernity in Asia profiles a strikingly diverse range of men and women working creatively to preserve, adapt, reform, and disseminate Buddhism for the contemporary world. Crossing traditional boundaries of region and sect as well as the lay-monastic divide, their stories convey the richness and vibrancy of lived Buddhism in Asia today. This volume will complement, and complicate, our present treatments of modern transnational and global Buddhism."" —Jacqueline Stone, Princeton University.