Category: Buddhism

Our Great Qing Now Available in Paperback

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Our Great Qing: The Mongols, Buddhism, and the State in Late Imperial China, by Johan Elverskog, is now available in paperback.

“Elverskog’s book is a pleasure to read, managing as it does to weave together a detailed knowledge of modern Mongol history and the broad scope of its relevance for Asian history. His research is solidly based in the classics of Mongol history, as well as close readings of an impressive array of archive materials . . . made accessible to the non-specialist here for the first time. He frames his arguments within a wide-ranging body of theoretical work covering both religion and politics. At the same time, this book is refreshingly comparative, especially in terms of other empires (from the Roman to the British).” —Journal of Chinese Religions

“Masterful . . . represents an important contribution to the ‘new Qing history’ that is now changing the image of late imperial China by offering more nuanced interpretations of this period.” —International Journal of Asian Studies

July 2008 / ISBN 978-0-8248-3330-5 / $23.00 (PAPER)

Chan Buddhism in Song-Dynasty China

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How Zen Became Zen: The Dispute Over Enlightenment and the Formation of Chan Buddhism in Song-Dynasty China by Morten Schlütter, takes a novel approach to understanding one of the most crucial developments in Zen Buddhism: the dispute over the nature of enlightenment that erupted within the Chinese Chan (Zen) school in the twelfth century. The famous Linji (Rinzai) Chan master Dahui Zonggao (1089–1163) railed against “heretical silent illumination Chan” and strongly advocated kanhua (koan) meditation as an antidote. In this fascinating study, Morten Schlütter shows that Dahui’s target was the Caodong (Soto) Chan tradition that had been revived and reinvented in the early twelfth century, and that silent meditation was an approach to practice and enlightenment that originated within this “new” Chan tradition. Schlütter has written a refreshingly accessible account of the intricacies of the dispute, which is still reverberating through modern Zen in both Asia and the West.

“This is an important book that will significantly contribute to our knowledge of Song-dynasty Buddhism. It joins a growing body of work that seeks to place the development of Buddhism (and particularly Chan) within its broader social and cultural history. Schlütter’s research into a wide range of source materials is meticulous and thorough. Because of the important connections he draws among the state, independent (or local) literati, and Buddhist monks, this work has the potential to appeal to a wide audience of scholars beyond the field of Buddhism, including social, institutional, and intellectual historians of the Song.” —Ellen Neskar, Sarah Lawrence College

Studies in East Asian Buddhism, No. 22
Published in association with the Kuroda Institute
June 2008 / ISBN 978-0-8248-3255-1 / $48.00 (CLOTH)

Print and Power Now in Paperback

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Print and Power: Confucianism, Communism, and Buddhism in the Making of Modern Vietnam, by Shawn Frederick McHale, is now available in paperback.

“An essential starting point for what one hopes will be a fundamental reconsideration of the multiple and globally inflected ways in which the Vietnamese and other imperial subjects approached colonialism and modernity.” —American Historical Review

March 2008 / ISBN 978-0-8248-3304-6 / $23.00 (PAPER)

New in Paperback in March

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The Flaming Womb: Repositioning Women in Early Modern Southeast Asia, by Barbara Watson Andaya

“The definitive volume on women in Southeast Asia history. . . . [Anadaya’s] book is encyclopedic in its inclusiveness yet it does not force a homogenizing or uniform interpretation upon the material. Instead, Andaya brings symphonic order to the cacophony of beliefs and practices. . . . The examples are detailed, specific, precise and attentive. This is the hallmark of her work. . . . Masterfully composed.” —Pacific Affairs

March 2008 / ISBN 978-0-8248-3288-9 / $21.00 (PAPER)

Women Through the Lens: Gender and Nation in a Century of Chinese Cinema, by Shuqin Cui

“Stands out for its ambition and breadth. . . . Women Through the Lens not only lays a foundation and road map for other scholars but it should be used as a reference book by anyone interested in Chinese film.” —Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews

March 2008 / ISBN 978-0-8248-3296-4 / $28.00 (PAPER)

Cambodian Buddhism: History and Practice, by Ian Harris

“A fascinating book that contains a wealth of material that would require a series of reviews to discuss fully. It is a resource on Cambodia that adds enormously to the literature of Southeast Asian Buddhism. . . . It will become a pivotal work on the subject.” —Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society

March 2008 / ISBN 978-0-8248-3298-8 / $25.00 (PAPER)

The People of the Sea: Environment, Identity, and History in Oceania, by Paul D’Arcy

“This well-researched and beautifully written monograph opens a window in time and space. Its emphasis on the dynamics [of marine ecosystems] is convincing and serves to falsify the notion of a frozen ‘tradition’ as well as of a predictable maritime environment.” —Anthropological Quarterly

March 2008 / ISBN 978-0-8248-3297-1 / $25.00 (PAPER)

Two Precious Scroll Narratives of Guanyin and Her Acolytes

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The Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara was a handsome prince when he entered China. As Guanyin, the bodhisattva was venerated from the eleventh century onward in the shape of a beautiful woman who became a universal savior. Throughout the last millennium, the female Guanyin has enjoyed wide and fervid veneration throughout East Asia and has appeared as a major character in literature and legend. In one tale, Guanyin (as the princess Miaoshan) returns from the dead after being executed by the king, her father, for refusing to marry. The most popular version of this legend is The Precious Scroll of Incense Mountain (Xiangshan baojuan). In Personal Salvation and Filial Piety: Two Precious Scroll Narratives of Guanyin and Her Acolytes, Wilt L. Idema offers a complete and fully annotated translation of The Precious Scroll, based on a nineteenth-century edition.

This is the latest volume in the series Classics in East Asian Buddhism, published in association with the Kuroda Institute.

March 2008 / ISBN 978-0-8248-3215-5 / $50.00 (CLOTH)

Guardian of the Sea Event

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John Clark, author of Guardian of the Sea: Jizo in Hawai‘i, will be signing his book at Akiko’s Buddhist Bed and Breakfast in Wailea on Saturday, March 1, following a performance by shakuhachi grandmaster Riley Lee and a dramatic reading of a Peter Charlot script inspired by Clark’s book. Admission for the evening program (7-8:30 p.m.) is $10 ($8 for children under 12). Parking is available at Hakalau Baseball Park. For reservations and more information, please contact Akiko at 808-963-6422 or email msakiko@hawaii.rr.com.

Buddhism and Taoism Face to Face

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In Buddhism and Taoism Face to Face: Scripture, Ritual, and Iconographic Exchange in Medieval China, Christine Mollier reveals previously unexplored dimensions of the interaction between Buddhism and Taoism in medieval China. While scholars of Chinese religions have long recognized the mutual influences linking the two traditions, Mollier here brings to light their intense contest for hegemony in the domains of scripture and ritual. Drawing on a far-reaching investigation of canonical texts, together with manuscript sources from Dunhuang and the monastic libraries of Japan—many of them studied here for the first time—she demonstrates the competition and complementarity of the two great Chinese religions in their quest to address personal and collective fears of diverse ills, including sorcery, famine, and untimely death.

“This book exemplifies the best sort of work being done on Chinese religions today. Christine Mollier expertly draws not only on published canonical sources but also on manuscript and visual material, as well as worldwide modern scholarship, to give us the most sophisticated book-length study yet produced on the textual relations between the Buddhist and Taoist traditions. She pushes past the tired, vague, and rather innocent-sounding trope of ‘influence’ to pinpoint much more complex—and fascinating—processes of textual repackaging, hybridization, adaptation, appropriation, reframing, pirating, remodeling, and transposing. Throughout, the urgent concerns of medieval Chinese people—life, health, protection, salvation—are sensitively and elegantly evoked. Anyone interested in Chinese religions, in the ways in which religious texts are formed, and in cross-religious interactions should want to read this book.”—Robert Ford Campany, University of Southern California

January 2008 / ISBN 978-0-8248-3169-1 / $55.00 (CLOTH)

Buddhist Cults and the Hwaom Synthesis in Silla Korea

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Western scholarship has hitherto described the assimilation of Buddhism in Korea in terms of the importation of Sino-Indian and Chinese intellectual schools. This has led to an overemphasis on the scholastic understanding of Buddhism and overlooked evidence of the way Buddhism was practiced “on the ground.” Domesticating the Dharma: Buddhist Cults and the Hwaom Synthesis in Silla Korea, by Richard D. McBride, II, provides a much-needed corrective to this view by presenting for the first time a descriptive analysis of the cultic practices that defined and shaped the way Buddhists in Silla Korea understood their religion from the sixth to tenth centuries. Critiquing the conventional two-tiered model of “elite” versus “popular” religion, Richard McBride demonstrates how the eminent monks, royalty, and hereditary aristocrats of Silla were the primary proponents of Buddhist cults and that rich and diverse practices spread to the common people because of their influence.

November 2007 / ISBN 978-0-8248-3087-8 / $52.00 (CLOTH)

Faith and Power in Japanese Buddhist Art

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Faith and Power in Japanese Buddhist Art, 1600–2005, by Patricia J. Graham, explores the transformation of Buddhism from the premodern to the contemporary era in Japan and the central role its visual culture has played in this transformation. Although Buddhism is generally regarded as peripheral to modern Japanese society, this book demonstrates otherwise. Its chapters elucidate the thread of change over time in the practice of Buddhism as revealed in temple worship halls and other sites of devotion and in imagery representing the religion’s most popular deities and religious practices. It also introduces the work of modern and contemporary artists who are not generally associated with institutional Buddhism and its canonical visual requirements but whose faith inspires their art.
157 illustrations, 46 in color

October 2007 / ISBN 978-0-8248-3126-4 / $55.00 (CLOTH)

Patricia J. Graham is the author of Tea of the Sages: The Art of Sencha, also published by University of Hawai‘i Press. 

The Making of a Savior Bodhisattva

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In modern Chinese Buddhism, Dizang is especially popular as the sovereign of the underworld. Often represented as a monk wearing a royal crown, Dizang awaits the faithful to help them navigate the complex underworld bureaucracy, avert the sufferings of hells, and arrive at the happy realm of rebirth. The Making of a Savior Bodhisattva: Dizang in Medieval China, by Zhiru, examines this important Buddhist deity during his formative period—before he settled into his modern role as beneficent ruler of the underworld, when his iconography and hagiography were still rife with possibilities.

August 2007 / ISBN 978-0-8248-3045-8 / $50.00 (CLOTH)
Kuroda Institute Studies in East Asian Buddhism, No. 21
Published in association with the Kuroda Institute

“This is a welcome, important, and very helpful study of a hitherto poorly understood topic, and will remain the standard work of reference on the distinctively Chinese development of this important bodhisattva figure for years to come.” —Robert Campany, University of Southern California

Late Buddhist Sculpture from Indonesia

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The mention of Buddhism in Indonesia calls to mind for many people the Central Javanese monument of Borobudur, one of the largest Buddhist monuments in the world and the subject of extensive scholarly scrutiny. The neglect of scholarship on Buddhist art from later periods might lead one to assume that after the tenth century Buddhism had been completely eclipsed by the predominantly Hindu Eastern Javanese dynasties. Yet, as the works discussed here illustrate, extraordinary Buddhist images were still being produced as late as the fourteenth century. Violence and Serenity: Late Buddhist Sculpture from Indonesia, by Natasha Reichle, offers a close examination of some of the impressive works from East Java and Sumatra and explores their political and religious roles.

July 2007 / ISBN 978-0-8248-2924-7 / $55.00 (CLOTH)

Translation of an Important Commentary in the Korean Buddhist Tradition

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Wŏnhyo’s (617–686) Exposition of the Vajrasamâdhi-Sûtra (Kŭmgang sammaegyŏng non) is one of the finest examples of a scriptural commentary ever written in the East Asian Buddhist tradition. The Exposition is the longest of Wŏnhyo’s extant works and is widely regarded as his masterpiece. In Cultivating Original Enlightenment, the first volume in The International Association of Wŏnhyo Studies’ Collected Works of Wŏnhyo series, Robert E. Buswell, Jr.’s, translation of the Exposition, the eminent Silla exegete brings to bear all the tools acquired throughout a lifetime of scholarship and meditation to the explication of a scripture that has a startling connection to the Korean Buddhist tradition.

July 2007 / ISBN 978-0-8248-3076-2 / $37.00 (CLOTH)

Robert E. Buswell, Jr., is co-editor of Christianity in Korea (with Timothy S. Lee),  and editor of Currents and Countercurrents: Korean Influences on the East Asian Buddhist Traditions, both published by University of Hawai‘i Press.

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