Positions Held

The Catholic University of America

Ordinary Professor, School of Theology and Religious Studies (2020- )

Associate Professor, School of Theology and Religious Studies (2002–2020)

Associate Dean for Graduate Studies, School of Theology and Religious Studies (2009–2015)

Assistant Professor, Dept. of Religion and Religious Education, School of Religious Studies (1996–2002)

Other Institutions

Instructor, Religion Department, Carleton College (1995–1996)

Instructor, College of William and Mary (Spring 1992)

Education

Ph.D.: 1996. University of Virginia. Department of Religious Studies, History of Religions program, emphasis on East Asian Buddhism. Title of dissertation: Buddhism in Taiwan: An Historical Survey.

M.A.: 1992. University of Virginia. Department of Religious Studies.

M.T.S.: 1988. The Divinity School, Duke University, magna cum laude. Thesis: The Buddhist-Christian Dialogue: the History and Theology of Encounter.

B.A.: 1980. Morehead State University. Major: music.

Publications

Books

(as author)

1.     Buddhism in Taiwan: Religion and the State, 1660–1990. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 1999.

2.     The View from Mars Hill: Christianity in the Landscape of World Religions. Cambridge, MA: Cowley Publications, 2005.

3.     Chinese Pure Land Buddhism: Understanding a Tradition of Practice. Pure Land Buddhist Studies Series. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 2019.

4.     Pure Land Buddhism: A Brief Introduction to the History, Tradition, and Practice. Boston: Shambhala. Under contract.

Books

(as editor)

(with Philip Clart). Religion in Modern Taiwan: Tradition and Innovation in a Changing Society. University of Hawai’i Press, 2003.

Book chapters

1.     “A Bundle of Joy: a Confucian Response,” in Ethics in World Religions: a Cross-cultural Casebook. ed. Regina W. Wolfe and Christine E. Gudorf. Maryknoll: Orbis, 1999. p. 177 184.

2.     “Transitions in the Practice and Defense of Chinese Pure Land,” in Buddhism and the Modern World: Adaptations of an Ancient Tradition. ed. Charles Prebish and Steven Heine. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. p. 125-142.

3.     “Religion in Taiwan at the End of the Japanese Colonial Period,” in Religion in Modern Taiwan: Tradition and Innovation in a Changing Society. ed. Charles B. Jones and Philip Clart. University of Hawai’i Press, 2003. p. 10-35.

4.     (with Philip Clart). “Introduction,” in Religion in Modern Taiwan: Tradition and Innovation in a Changing Society. ed. Charles B. Jones and Philip Clart. University of Hawai’i Press, 2003. p. 1-9.

5.     “Buddha One: a One-Day Buddha-Recitation Retreat in Contemporary Taiwan,” in Approaching the Land of Bliss: Religious Praxis in the Cult of Amitabha. ed. Richard K. Payne and Kenneth K. Tanaka. University of Hawai’i Press, 2003. p. 264-280.

6.     “Yuan Hongdao and the Xifang helun: Pure Land Theology in the Late Ming Dynasty,” in Path of No Path: Contemporary Studies in Pure Land Buddhism Honoring Roger Corless. ed. Richard K. Payne. Berkeley: Institute of Buddhist Studies and Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, 2009. p. 89-126.

7.     “Foundations of Ethics and Practice in Chinese Pure Land Buddhism,” in Destroying Mara Forever: Buddhist Ethics Essays in Honor of Damien Keown. Ed. John Powers and Charles Prebish. Ithaca: Snow Lion, 2009. p. 237-259. (reprint)

8.     “The Pure Land in the History of Chinese Buddhism,” in The Buddhist World. ed. John Powers. London: Routledge, 2015, p. 219-234.

9.     “The Prospects for Interreligious and Intercultural Understanding: the Jesuit Case and its Theoretical Implications,” in Understanding Religious Pluralism: Perspectives from Religious Studies and Theology. Ed. Peter Phan and Jonathan Ray. Eugene: Pickwick Publications, 2014; p. 66-86.

10.  “Chinese Scholarship on Pure Land Buddhism in China,” in Mochizuki, Shinkō. Pure Land Buddhism in China: A Doctrinal History. Richard K. Payne and Natalie Quli, eds. Contemporary Issues in Buddhist Studies Series. Berkeley and Honolulu: Institute of Buddhist Studies and the University Press of Hawai'i, 2016, p. 2:33–52.

11.  “Answers to Forty-Eight Questions About the Pure Land’ by Yunqi Zhuhong (1535-1610),” in Pure Lands in Asian Texts and Contexts: An Anthology, ed. Richard K. Payne and Georgios Halkias, University of Hawaii Press, 2019, p. 322-348.

12.  “Pure Land Practice,” in Oxford Handbook of Buddhist Practice, ed. Kevin Trainor and Paula Arai. New York: Oxford University Press. forthcoming.

13.  “Is a Dazangjing a Canon? On the Use of ‘Canon’ with Regard to Chinese Buddhist Anthologies,” in Methods in Buddhist Studies: Essays in Honor of Richard Payne. ed. Scott A. Mitchell and Natalie E.F. Quli. New York: Bloomsbury, 2019.

14.  “Ven. Taixu’s Goal of Establishing the Pure Land in the Human Realm,” in Secularizing Buddhism, ed. Richard K. Payne. Boston: Shambhala, forthcoming.

Articles

1.     (with Elizabeth Wei). “A Christian Rite for Expressing Respect to One’s Ancestors,” in Current Dialogue (World Council of Churches), vol. 27 (December 1994), p. 34-40.

2.     “Relations Between the Nationalist Government and the Buddhist Association of the Republic of China (BAROC) Since 1945,” in The Journal of Chinese Religions, no. 24 (fall, 1996), 77-99.

3.     “Stages in the Religious Life of Lay Buddhists in Taiwan,” in Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 20/2 (1997), p. 113-139.

4.     “Reflections on the Buddhist-Christian Dialogue in its Second Decade: Issues in Theory and Practice,” in Journal of Buddhist Ethics 4 (1997), p. 310-320.

5.     “The Necessity of Religious Diversity,” in Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses, vol. 28, fasc. 4 (Dec., 1999), p. 403-417.

6.     “Codes of Monastic Conduct in the Chinese and Japanese Zen Traditions,” in The Jurist 60/1 (2000), p. 63-84.

7.     “Mentally Constructing What Already Exists: The Pure Land Thought of Chan Master Jixing Chewu 際醒徹悟 (1741–1810),” in Journal of the International Society of Buddhist Studies 23/1 (2000), 43-70.

8.     “Buddhism and Marxism in Taiwan: Lin Qiuwu’s Religious Socialism and its Legacy in Modern Times,” in Journal of Global Buddhism, vol. 1 (2000), 82-111.

9.     “Toward a Typology of Nien-fo: a Study in Methods of Buddha-Invocation in Chinese Pure Land Buddhism,” in Pacific World: Journal of the Institute of Buddhist Studies. 3rd series, no. 3 (2001), 219-239.

10.  “Apologetic Strategies in Late Imperial Chinese Pure Land Buddhism,” in Journal of Chinese Religions, no. 29 (2001), 69-90.

11.  “Evil and Suffering in the World’s Religions: a Review Essay of Evil and the Response of World Religions,” in The Living Light, 38/4 (summer 2002), 59-67.

12.  “Foundations of Ethics and Practice in Chinese Pure Land Buddhism,” in Journal of Buddhist Ethics, vol. 10 (2003), 1-20.

13.  “Emptiness, Kenosis, History, and Dialogue: The Christian Response to Masao Abe’s Notion of ‘Dynamic Sunyata’ in the Early Years of the Abe-Cobb Buddhist-Christian Dialogue,” in Buddhist-Christian Studies vol. 24 (2004), 117-133.

14.  “Marketing Buddhism In The United States Of America: Elite Buddhism And The Formation Of Religious Pluralism,” in Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, vol. 27, no. 1 (2007), 216-223.

15.  “Was Lushan Huiyuan 盧山慧遠 a Pure Land Buddhist? Evidence from His Correspondence with Kumarajīva About Nianfo 念佛 Practice,” in Chung-Hwa Buddhist Journal, vol. 21 (July 2008), 175-191.

16.  “Modernization and Traditionalism in Buddhist Almsgiving: The Case of the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu-chi Association in Taiwan,” in Journal of Global Buddhism, vol. 10 (2009), p. 291-319.

17.  “The Wheelwright and the Butcher: Master Zhuang’s Recipe for Mindful Living,” in Education About Asia, vol. 18, no. 1 (spring 2013), p. 62-64.

18.  “Creation and Causality in Chinese–Jesuit Polemical Literature,” in Philosophy East and West, vol. 66, no. 4 (Oct. 2016), p. 1251–1272. (Project Muse: http://muse.jhu.edu/article/633055)

19.  “Master Sheng Yen’s Pure Land Teachings: Synthesizing the Traditional and the Modern,” in Shengyan yanjiu 聖嚴研究 (Studies of Master Sheng Yen), 11 (2019), p. 217-241.

20.  “A Brief Reflection on Mochizuki Shinkō’s Pure Land Buddhism in China: A Doctrinal History,” in Pacific World: Journal of the Institute of Buddhist Studies. 3rd series, no. 20 (2018), p. 485-488.

Book Reviews

1.     Leo Lefebure. Life Transformed: Meditations on the Christian Scriptures in Light of Buddhist Perspectives. Reviewed in Buddhist-Christian Studies, 1990, p. 278-279.

2.     Paul O. Ingram. The Modern Buddhist-Christian Dialogue: Two Universalistic Religions in Transformation. Reviewed in Buddhist-Christian Studies, 1989, p. 308-310.

3.     Winston L. King. Zen and the Art of the Sword: Arming the Samurai Psyche.. Reviewed in Journal of Buddhist Ethics, vol. 3 (1996), p. 73-76.

4.     Julian Pas, Visions of Sukhavati: Shan-tao’s Commentary on the Kuan Wu-liang-shou-fo Ching. Reviewed in Journal of Buddhist Ethics, vol. 3 (1996), p. 85-90.

5.     Alan Cole, Mothers and Sons in Chinese Buddhism. Reviewed in Journal of Buddhist Ethics, 1998, p. 409-413.

6.     Esben Andreasen, Popular Buddhism in Japan: Shin Buddhist Religion and Culture, Reviewed in Journal of Buddhist Ethics, 1998, p.406-408.

7.     Robert Magliola, On Deconstructing Life-worlds: Buddhism, Christianity, Culture. Reviewed in Theological Studies, 59/2 (June 1998), p. 349-351.

8.     Galen Amstutz, Interpreting Amida: History and Orientalism in the Study of Pure Land Buddhism. Reviewed in Journal of Buddhist Ethics, vol. 5 (1999), p. 215-218.

9.     Marc L. Moskowitz. The Haunting Fetus: Abortion, Sexuality, and the Spirit World in Taiwan. Reviewed on H-Buddhism. http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-AN/103390.htm. Posted in fall, 2002.

10.  Welter, Albert. Monks, Rulers, and Literati: the Political Ascendancy of Chan Buddhism. Reviewed in the Journal of Buddhist Ethics, vol. 15 (2008), p. R1-R7 http://www.buddhistethics.org/15/jones-review.pdf

11.  Richard Madsen. Democracy’s Dharma: Religious Renaissance and Political Development in Taiwan. (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2007). Reviewed in the Journal of Global Buddhism, vol. 9 (2008), p. 38-44. http://www.globalbuddhism.org/9/jones08.pdf

12.  Chou, Kai-ti. Contemporary Religious Movements in Taiwan: Rhetorics of Persuasion. (Lewiston: The Edwin Mellen Press, 2007). Reviewed in the Journal of Global Buddhism, vol. 10 (2009), p. 49-55.

13.  Francesca Tarocco. The Cultural Practices of Modern Chinese Buddhism. London and New York: Routledge, in History of Religions, vol. 49, no. 4 (May 2010) forthcoming.

14.  C. Julia Huang. Charisma and Compassion: Cheng Yen and the Tzu Chi Movement. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2009. In Journal of Asian Studies 69 (2010), p. 220-222.

15.  Elise Anne DeVido. Taiwan’s Buddhist Nuns. Albany, State University of New York Press. 2010. In Journal of Global Buddhism, vol. 12 (2011), p. 33-35.

16.  Michael J. Walsh, Sacred economics: Buddhist monasticism and territoriality in medieval China. (New York: Columbia University Press, 2010, in The Economic History Review, vol. 64, no. 1 (February 2011), p. 332-333.

17.  Jiang Wu. Enlightenment in Dispute: the Reinvention of Chan Buddhism in Seventeenth-Century China. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. In China Review International, vol. 18, no. 4, p. 545-549.

18.  Georgios T. Halkias. Luminous Bliss: a Religious History of Pure Land Literature in Tibet : with an Annotated English Translation and Critical Analysis of the Orgyan-Gling Gold Manuscript of the Short Sukhāvatīvyūha-sūtra. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2013. In H–Net reviews (https://www.h–net.org/reviews/showpdf.php?id=40391)

19.  Henry Rosemont, Jr. A Reader’s Companion to the Confucian Analects. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013. In Education About Asia, forthcoming.

20.  Han Huanzhong 韩焕忠. A Discussion of Confucian-Buddhist Interactions / Ru fo jiaoshe lun 儒佛交涉论. Hefei 合肥: Anhui People’s Publishing 安徽人民出版社, 2013. In Dao: a Journal of Comparative Philosophy, vol. 13, no. 3 (2014), p. 431-433.

21.  Beverley Foulks McGuire. Living Karma: The Religious Practices of Ouyi Zhixu. New York: Columbia University Press, 2014, in Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, forthcoming.

22.  Shu-jyuan Deiwiks, Bernhard Führer, and Therese Geulen, eds.Europe Meets China, China Meets Europe: The Beginnings of European-Chinese Scientific Exchange in the 17th Century. Sankt Augustin: Institut Monumenta Serica, 2014, in Journal of Chinese Religions, vol. 44 (May 2016), p. 73-74.

23.  Justin R. Ritzinger, Anarchy in the Pure Land: Reinventing the Cult of Maitreya in Modern Chinese Buddhism. New York: Oxford University Press, 2017, in The Journal of Religion, vol. 99, no. 1, p. 124-125.

Translations

1.     “Pì xiè jí 闢邪集: Collected Refutations of Heterodoxy by Ouyi Zhixu (蕅益智旭, 1599–1655),” in Pacific World: Journal of the Institute of Buddhist Studies. 3rd series, no. 11 (2011), p. 351-407.

2.     “Treatise Resolving Doubts About the Pure Land (Jingtu jueyi lun 凈土決疑論) by Master Yinguang 印光 (1861–1947),” in Pacific World: Journal of the Institute of Buddhist Studies. 3rd series, no. 14 (2012), p. 27-61.

3.     Chen, Chienhuang 陳劍鍠. “The Process of Establishing and Justifying the Thirteen Patriarchs of the Lotus School.” trans. Charles B. Jones. In Pacific World: Journal of the Institute of Buddhist Studies, 3rd ser., vol.19 (2017): 129-148. (Original publication: 陳劍鍠. 2016. 蓮宗十三位祖師的確立過程及其釋疑, in 無上方便與現行法樂：彌陀淨土與人間淨土的周邊關係. 臺北: 香海文化, p. 129–147).

4.     Yunqi Zhuhong. “Answers to Forty-eight Questions about Pure Land (Selections),” in Pure Land in Asian Texts and Contexts: an Anthology. Ed. Georgios T. Halkias and Richard K. Payne.Pure Land Buddhist Studies Series. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘I Press, 2019, p. 322-348.

5.     “Yunqi Zhuhong 雲棲袾宏, 1535-1615: Da jingtu sishiba wen 答淨土四十八問 (Answers to Forty-eight Questions about Pure Land).” trans. Charles b. Jones. In Pacific World: Journal of the Institute of Buddhist Studies, 3rd ser., p. 399-473.

Awards and Honors

1.     Skinner Scholarship, 1989–90 academic year, renewed 1990–91, 1991–92, and 1994–95 for graduate studies in religion at the University of Virginia.

2.     William H.P. Young Award, summer 1990 for summer Chinese language study.

3.     Ellen Bayard Weedon East Asia Travel Grant, summer 1990, summer 1991, summer 1992 to fund airfare for trips to the Republic of China for language study and dissertation field research.

4.     Tuition grant from Inter-University Program in Chinese Language Studies in Taipei for 1992–93 academic year.

5.     Dupont Fellowship, University of Virginia, to fund dissertation research in the Republic of China for 1993–94 academic year.

6.     Visiting Research Student, Ethnology Institute, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan, for 1993–94 academic year.

7.     Pacific Cultural Foundation Grant to fund field research for dissertation in the Republic of China, September 1993–May 1994.

8.     University of Virginia Graduate Arts and Sciences Dissertation Year Fellowship; 1994–95 academic year.

9.     Chiang Ching-Kuo Foundation for Scholarly Exchange grant for five weeks of study in Taiwan; summer 1997.

10.  Dean’s Award, CUA School of Religious Studies, for pre-tenured faculty to make a presentation at a professional conference. Fall, 1999.

11.  Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for Scholarly Exchange for the project, “The Study and Creation of Taiwanese Buddhist Digital Database.” Grant period for two years 2001-2002.

12.  Fulbright research grant for project, “Pure Land Buddhist Theology and Gentry Buddhism: the Life and Writings of Yuan Hongdao (1568–1610).” Grant period September 2004-June 2005.

13.  Visiting Scholar, Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan, 2004–2005.