The Oxford Handbook of Contemporary Buddhism

As an incredibly diverse religious system, Buddhism is constantly changing. The Oxford Handbook of Contemporary Buddhism offers a comprehensive collection of work by leading scholars in the field that tracks these changes up to the present day. Taken together, the book provides a blueprint to understanding Buddhism's past and uses it to explore the ways in which Buddhism has transformed in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

The volume contains 41 essays, divided into two sections. The essays in the first section examine the historical development of Buddhist traditions throughout the world. These chapters cover familiar settings like India, Japan, and Tibet as well as the less well-known countries of Vietnam, Bhutan, and the regions of Latin America, Africa, and Oceania. Focusing on changes within countries and transnationally, this section also contains chapters that focus explicitly on globalization, such as Buddhist international organizations and diasporic communities. The second section tracks the relationship between Buddhist traditions and particular themes. These chapters review Buddhist interactions with contemporary topics such as violence and peacebuilding, and ecology, as well as Buddhist influences in areas such as medicine and science.

Offering coverage that is both expansive and detailed, The Oxford Handbook of Contemporary Buddhism delves into some of the most debated and contested areas within Buddhist Studies today.

Michael Jerryson's research interests pertain to religion and identity, particularly with regard to gender, race, and class. He is the co-founder and co-chair of the American Academy of Religion's Comparative Approaches to Religion and Violence. He co-edits the Journal of Religion and Violence and serves as a senior editor of religion for the Oxford University Press' Handbook series.

Contributors

Introduction: The Buddhist System in Transition
Michael Jerryson, Youngstown State University


Part I: Regions

South Asian
1. Contemporary Sri Lankan Buddhist Traditions
Mahinda Deegalle, Bath Spa University

2. Buddhism in Contemporary India
David Geary, University of British Columbia, Okanagan and
Sraman Mukherjee, Presidency University, Kolkata

3. Buddhism in Contemporary Bhutan
Samdrup Rigyal, Royal University of Bhutan and
Alyson Prude, Georgia Southern University


East Asian
4. Contemporary Chinese Buddhist Traditions
Mario Poceski, University of Florida

5. Contemporary Korean Buddhist Traditions
Mark A. Nathan, University at Buffalo, SUNY

6. Contemporary Japanese Buddhist Traditions
Elisabetta Porcu, University of Cape Town


Central Asian
7. Contemporary Tibetan Buddhism
Abraham Zablocki, Agnes Scott College

8. Contemporary Mongolian Buddhism
Vesna Wallace, University of California, Santa Barbara and
Christine Murphy, University of California, Santa Barbara


Southeast Asian
9. Contemporary Vietnamese Buddhism
Alexander Soucy, Saint Mary's University

10. Contemporary Thai Buddhism
Rachelle Scott, University of Tennessee

11. Contemporary Burmese Buddhism
Niklas Foxeus, Stockholm University

12. Contemporary Cambodian Buddhist Traditions: Seen from the Past
Ashley Thompson, SOAS, University of London

13. Contemporary Buddhism in Malaysia
Jeffrey Samuels, Western Kentucky University

14. Contemporary Lao Buddhism
Patrice Ladwig, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology


European-American
15. Buddhism in Latin America
Cristina Rocha, University of Western Sydney

16. U.S. Buddhist Traditions
Joseph Cheah, University of Saint Joseph

17. European Buddhist Traditions
Laurence Cox, National University of Ireland


Southern
18. Buddhism in Africa
Michel Clasquin-Johnson, University of South Africa

19. Buddhism in Australia and the Oceania
Michelle Barker, James Cook University


Global
20. Diasporic Buddhisms and Convert Communities
John Nelson, University of San Francisco

21. Buddhist International Organizations
Brooke Schedneck, Chiang Mai University


Part II: Modalities

Material Culture
22. Buddhist Relics and Pilgrimage
Jovan Maud, Georg-August University, Göttingen

23. Contemporary Buddhist Architecture: From reliquary to theme park
Lawrence Chua, Syracuse University

24. Contemporary Buddhism and Iconography
Jessica Patterson, University of San Diego

25. Buddhism and Media Technologies
Gregory Price Grieve, University of North Carolina, Greensboro and
Daniel Veidlinger, California State University- Chico


Social Engagement
26. Contemporary Buddhism and Ecology
Susan M. Darlington, Hampshire College

27. Buddhism, Business, and Economics
Trine Brox, University of Copenhagen
and Elizabeth Williams-Oerberg, University of Copenhagen

28. Contemporary Buddhism and Education
Vladimir Tikhonov, University of Oslo

29. Buddhism, Nationalism and Governance
Matthew J. Walton, St. Antony's College

30. Buddhism, Conflict, and Peacebuilding
Michael Jerryson, Youngstown State University


Practices
31. Contemporary Buddhism, Chanting and Music
Paul Greene, Penn State, Brandywine

32. Buddhist Healing and Taming in Tibet
Barbara Gerke, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

33. Contemporary Buddhism and Magic
Erick White, Cornell University

34. Contemporary Tantric Buddhist Traditions
David Gray, Santa Clara University

35. Buddhism and Death
Mark Rowe, McMaster University


Identity
36. Buddhism and Gender
Sharon Suh, Seattle University

37. Buddhism, Race, and Ethnicity
Joseph Cheah, University of Saint Joseph

38. Buddhism and Sexual Orientation
Hsiao-Lan Hu, University of Detroit Mercy

39. Buddhist Encounters with Diversity
Donald Swearer


Academics
40. Buddhism and Science as Ethical Discourse
Francisca Cho, Georgetown University

41. The Contemporary Study of Buddhism
Nathan McGovern, Dalhousie University

Index