Buddhist Encounters and Identities Across East Asia

Encounters, networks, identities and diversity are at the core of the history of Buddhism. They are also the focus of Buddhist Encounters and Identities across East Asia, edited by Ann Heirman, Carmen Meinert and Christoph Anderl. While long-distance networks allowed Buddhist ideas to travel to all parts of East Asia, it was through local and trans-local networks and encounters, and a diversity of people and societies, that identities were made and negotiated. This book undertakes a detailed examination of discrete Buddhist identities rooted in unique cultural practices, beliefs and indigenous socio-political conditions. Moreover, it presents a fascinating picture of the intricacies of the regional and cross-regional networks that connected South and East Asia.

Ann Heirman Ph.D. (1998), Ghent University, is Professor of Buddhist Studies and Classical Chinese. She has published extensively on Chinese Buddhist monasticism and the development of disciplinary rules, including Rules for Nuns according to the Dharmaguptakavinaya (Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 2002).



Carmen Meinert Ph.D. (2001), Ruhr-Universität Bochum, is Professor of Central Asian Religions. Her research interest focuses on the transfer of Buddhism in Central Asia, Tibet and China. Her latest publication is Transfer of Buddhism Across Central Asian Networks (7th to 13th Centuries) (Brill 2016).



Christoph Anderl Ph.D. (2004), Ghent University, is Professor of Buddhist Studies and Chinese Linguistics, with an emphasis on the vernacular language of Medieval China and Chan Buddhist material among the Dunhuang manuscripts.