David McMahan is professor of Religious Studies at Franklin & Marshall College, Pennsylvania. In recent years he has offered the Buddhist Studies community a more
Qianfo’an (千佛庵), the Temple of One Thousand Buddhas, better known as Xiaoxitian (小西天) or the Little Western Paradise, is located in present-day Xi County, Linfen
Alexandra David-Neel (1868–1969), a French traveler and a prolific writer, is variously celebrated for being “the first Buddhist in France,” “a fearless explorer,” “the first
By the early 20th century, Chan Buddhism had declined and diminished in China. As the Dharma heir of both the Caodong and Lingji lineages, Master
Venture into remote places and you will find a joyful purity. During our recent summer fieldwork in Himachal Pradesh, northern India, we distributed copies of
Between the full moon of September 2016 and the full moon of September 2017 there will be worldwide commemorations of the 2600th anniversary of the
In this article, I would like to reflect on how to read Japanese Buddhist texts. To explain my strategies for approaching texts distant in time,
Japan’s esoteric Buddhist traditions boast a rich and diverse array of imagery, ranging from figures of individual deities to elaborate mandalas depicting specific deity families
When Chan Buddhist practices were first transmitted to China, they were the same as those practiced in India. Over time, however, the contemplative practices (禪觀)
Victoria Montrose (“Tori” to her friends, a fittingly Japanese epithet) has been immersed in Japanese culture since childhood. Victoria was four when her American father
One needs to take a long view—one that spans vast distances and many centuries—to appreciate the context of the Cham dance traditions that were preserved
The pagodas of Myanmar are tangible, physical expressions of the vast accumulations of merit (Burmese: kutho, also known as hpon) by the Buddhist communities that support
