Florida State University (FSU) scholar Jimmy Yu (also known as Guo Gu) has received a US$50,000 grant to translate key Chinese Huayan Buddhist texts into English, and develop retreats and public programs aimed at making the tradition more accessible to contemporary Buddhist practitioners.
Yu, the Sheng Yen Professor of Chinese Buddhism in FSU’s Department of Religion, was awarded the Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Public Impact Grant in Buddhist Studies from the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS). The award will support his project, “Interdependence: Bridging Chinese Huayan Buddhism and Western Buddhist Practice.” (FSU News)
The project includes English translations of two classical Huayan works: Contemplation on the Extinction of Delusion and the Cultivation of the Source of Profound Implications in the Flower Garland and Commentary on the Contemplations on the Flower Garland Dharmadhatu. The grant will also support a one-year sabbatical during which Yu will lead meditation retreats and workshops based on the translated material.
“Winning this grant came with great excitement and pride,” said Yu. “Now that these texts are translated, people can engage with their teachings, connect them to their own fields of study and apply them to everyday life. I hope it sparks interest in secular, religious and academic fields.” (FSU News)
Huayan Buddhism emerged as a distinctive school of Chinese Buddhism during the Tang dynasty (618–907 CE). Drawing heavily on the Avatamsaka Sutra, or Flower Garland Sutra, Huayan thought emphasizes the interdependence and mutual interpenetration of all phenomena, commonly expressed through the formulation, “One is all, all is one.”
Yu’s research focuses on Chinese Buddhism from historical, textual, and anthropological perspectives, including Chinese Buddhist history from 1100–1800, Buddhist ritual practices, and Chan and Zen traditions. His new project seeks to connect this academic work with contemporary Buddhist practice.
“The grant has given me time to bridge the academic study and the practice of Buddhism together by using my text translations and annotations to design hybrid meditation retreats,” Yu stated. “The retreats, scheduled for this year and next, are aimed at English-speaking Buddhists who wouldn’t normally be able to read classical Chinese texts and are seeking greater access to ancient Huayan teachings.” (FSU News)
Retreats associated with the project are scheduled for the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies in Massachusetts later this year, followed by events in 2027 at San Francisco Zen Center, Great Vow Monastery in Oregon, and Tallahassee Chan Center in Florida. Yu also plans to draw on the translations for Dharma talks, articles for Buddhist publications, and digital media projects.
The chair of FSU’s Department of Religion, Martin Kavka, said the project illustrated the potential for academic research to reach audiences outside universities.
“Religious studies scholars like Jimmy remind us that the arena of our research is the world outside of our offices and libraries,” Kavka said. “The retreats he is planning and the various publications that will stem from his work will give Buddhist practitioners in the US a greater self-knowledge about the stakes of their own practices and address a deep lack in Westerners’ understanding of Buddhism.” (FSU News)
The ACLS was established in 1919 in an effort to rebuild international scholarly cooperation following World War I. Its Buddhist studies programs, supported by the Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation, fund research and public-facing projects intended to broaden understanding of Buddhist traditions, texts, and material culture.
Yu earned his doctorate in Buddhist studies from Princeton University in 2008 and joined Florida State University the same year. In addition to teaching Chinese and Japanese religious traditions, he serves as an editor for the Journal of Chinese Buddhist Studies and the Sheng Yen Series in Chinese Buddhism published by Columbia University Press.
Yu is also the founder of Tallahassee Chan Center, a nonprofit Buddhist meditation center offering regular meditation sessions and retreats, and has authored six books on Chinese and Chan Buddhism. (FSU News)
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FSU researcher awarded humanities grant to make Buddhist knowledge more accessible (FSU News)
Tallahassee Chan Center
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