I work in the multidisciplinary field of Buddhist studies, and study many of the elements – visual, conceptual, textual, aural, social – that we might think of when we consider the culture(s) of Buddhist China.  Most broadly, I am concerned with understanding and explicating the variety of historically and socially situated views of the world associated with Chinese Buddhists: how (at specific times and places) have Buddhists characteristically seen the world, where does meaning reside, in what ways have these matters been articulated and transmitted?  Much of my early work concentrated on the medieval period of Chinese history; now in recent years I have focused on more recent times, mainly from the late nineteenth century to the present.  That work most especially has centered on an enigmatic and compelling individual, the dazzlingly talented monk Hongyi (1880-1942), and his range of activity and circles of association.  I’ve also recently been completing a book on some Buddhist approaches to social engagement, taken from Chinese Buddhist angles.

Earlier publications centered on Buddhist “deity” traditions, beginning first with studies on the international cult of the Healing Buddha, and then on the Chinese traditions of mountain sites where bodhisattvas are believed to appear before devotees (especially Manjusri Bodhisattva and his spectacular light-filled visionary emanations in the Wutai Mountains of northern China).  In relation to alpine visions, I’ve also been interested more broadly in the construction of geography in Chinese Buddhist worlds, most particularly the formation of a variety of conceptual maps of power across the Chinese landscape, with potent nodal points and intricate webs of connections.

In addition to continuing study of Chinese Buddhist texts and visual materials, my work has been strongly influenced by intensive field study over several decades within Chinese Buddhist monastic communities and across a wide variety of the mountain sites that form the backbone of this tradition’s conceptual geography.  That engagement with these living traditions, including close study with some of its exemplars, has been fundamental to the progress of my research and understanding.