ABSTRACT
This is the first scholarly treatment of the emergence of American Buddhist Studies as a significant research field. Until now, few investigators have turned their attention to the interpretive challenge posed by the presence of all the traditional lineages of Asian Buddhism in a consciously multicultural society. Nor have scholars considered the place of their own contributions as writers, teachers, and practising Buddhists in this unfolding saga. In thirteen chapters and a critical introduction to the field, the book treats issues such as Asian American Buddhist identity, the new Buddhism, Buddhism and American culture, and the scholar's place in American Buddhist Studies. The volume offers complete lists of dissertations and theses on American Buddhism and North American dissertations and theses on topics related to Buddhism since 1892.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part One|68 pages
Asian American Buddhist Identities
chapter Chapter Three|21 pages
Placing Palms Together: Religious and Cultural Dimensions of the Hsi Lai Temple Political Donations Controversy
chapter Chapter Four|12 pages
Ritual and the Performance of Buddhist Identity among Lao Buddhists in North America
part Two|46 pages
Profiling the New Buddhists
chapter Chapter Five|20 pages
Night-Stand Buddhists and Other Creatures: Sympathizers, Adherents, and the Study of Religion
part Three|66 pages
Modes of Dharma Transmission
part Four|81 pages
The Scholar's Place in American Buddhist Studies