“classics”), Confucius, Mencius, Xunzi (Hsün-tzu), and HanDynasty developments. The final two chapters concern late-imperial thinkers (such as the eighteenth-century “natural-ist” Dai Zhen—subject of earlier studies by Lodén) andtwentieth-century thinkers. The terseness of the presenta-tion and the slightness of Lodén’s interpretive moves mightlead some teachers to consider this as a textbook on Confu-cian “thought,” especially if a paperback edition becomesavailable.

Russell KirklandUniversity of Georgia

FALUN GONG AND THE FUTURE OF CHINA. ByDavid Ownby. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.Pp. xi + 291. $29.95.

Falun Gong is a new religious movement claiming rootsin Chinese traditional medicine, martial arts, and the“ancient wisdom” of the Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhisttraditions. Founded by the charismatic and mercurial LiHongzhi, it rose to prominence on the heels of the Tianan-men massacre and has suffered severe and ongoing govern-ment persecution in the years since. Falun Gong became aworldwide movement with Li’s departure from China in1995 and is now practiced by Chinese emigrants in NorthAmerica and around the world. Ownby, trained primarily asa historian of late imperial China, has written a highly read-able, interdisciplinary study of the movement, linking FalunGong historically to the heterodox “White Lotus” societies ofthe Ming and Qing Dynasties and to the “qigong craze” of the1950s. He addresses a number of themes of interest to reli-gious studies scholars: religion and social unrest, charis-matic leadership, the “scientific” basis for religious power,syncretic movements, and the alternating sponsorship andsuppression of religion by an ambivalent state. Ownby’swriting is witty and accessible to the general reader. Thebook is both critical and sympathetic in its treatment of themovement and is based on interviews with followers as wellas historical and archival research.

Randall NadeauTrinity University

BuddhismIN PRAISE OF DHARMADHATU: NAGARJUNAAND THE THIRD KARMAPA, RANGJUNG DORJE.Translated by Karl Brunnhölzl. Nitartha Institute Series.Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 2007. Pp. 432. $29.95.

Brunnhölzl’s translations are a significant contributionto knowledge about Kagyu interpretations of Nagarjuna’sthought. Although not the first translation of this text attrib-uted to Nagarjuna, its pairing with Rangjung Dorje’s com-mentary serves well to illuminate its interpretation in aTibetan context. The translations are prefaced by substantialintroductions that occupy approximately two thirds of thebook. Clearly aiming to straddle the scholar/practitioner

line, the introduction is most useful as a window into aparticularly Kagyu interpretation of the life and works ofNagarjuna. Brunnhölzl’s introduction does give a nod to—butnonetheless skirts—the major controversies surrounding thestudy of Nagarjuna (his dates, the possible existence of mul-tiple Nagarjunas, and what he actually wrote). However, areader already familiar with the many possible interpreta-tions will not have any difficulty situating his evaluation inthe broader context of Nagarjuna studies. While his discus-sion of major concepts like alayavijñana, trisvabhava, andtathagatagarbha is limited by its lack of engagement withscholarly debates and its casual dismissal of Gelukpathought, his discussion of shentong and rangtong (gzhanstong, rang stong) is very helpful insofar as it nuances pre-vious attempts to identify Tibetan figures monolithically asshentongpas or rangtongpas. Even taking the previouslymentioned concerns into account, Brunnhölzl’s book is aworthwhile read and a useful point of entry into Kagyu inter-pretations of Nagarjuna.

Lara BraitsteinMcGill University

EMINENT NUNS: WOMEN CHAN MASTERS OFSEVENTEENTH-CENTURY CHINA. By Beata Grant.Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2009. Pp. xiii + 241.N.p.

This intriguing monograph should pique the interest ofSinologists as well as scholars of Buddhism and Women’sStudies. Taking her cue from C. W. Bynum’s studies of medi-eval Catholic nuns, Grant presents a careful analysis of thecareers and writings of seven women Chan masters of theseventeenth century, focusing on their “discourse records”(yulu) and translating many passages into English for thefirst time. It is clear from this study that these women wereformidable figures, mixing freely with their male counter-parts and playing key roles in the “reinvention” of Chanduring the late-Ming/early-Qing Dynasties. Needless to say,this is a highly specialized subject and Grant’s attention todetail, while impressive, makes it difficult at times to see theforest for the trees. Perhaps because Grant focuses on such aselect few cases, she does not present as full a picture ofMing-Qing Chan’s life as the reader might like. In part, suchnarrowed attention tends to recapitulate the “great(wo)man” view of history that is all too common even inscholarly circles. Still, Grant handily counters the standardview that Chinese women were necessarily oppressed in theearly modern period. Moreover, this book suggests thatthe romanticized view of “Zen” we often associate withtwentieth-century Japanese figures (e.g., D. T. Suzuki) maypredate Meiji Japan by some 200 years. Grant’s work thussheds a welcome light on the roots of the so-called ModernBuddhism and so helps further our understanding of how“Buddhism” has been constructed as a global religion.

John M. ThompsonChristopher Newport University

Religious Studies Review • VOLUME 35 • NUMBER 2 • JUNE 2009

143

HARIBHATTA� �

IN NEPAL: TEN LEGENDS FROMHIS JATAKAMALA AND THE ANONYMOUSSAKYASIMHAJATAKA

�´ ¯ ¯ . EDITIO MINOR. Edited byMichael Hahn. Studia Philologica Buddhica MonographSeries, XXII. Tokyo: The International Institute for BuddhistStudies, 2007. Pp. vi + 197. ¥900.00.

The fifth-century Jatakamala of Haribhatta��

consists ofstories of the previous lives of the Bodhisattva told in anelegant Sanskrit poetic style using both verse and prose,taking as its model the work of the same name by Arya-sura. This edition offers an expertly edited text of thestories still available in Sanskrit manuscripts, togetherwith another story contained in those manuscripts butbelieved by Hahn to be by another author. The volume iscalled an Editio Minor in contrast to a more detailedversion to come; the present version aims at a shortervolume, allowing a low price, uses Roman letters ratherthan Devanagari script, and gives the edited text withoutannotations or critical apparatus, instead listing significantvariant readings in an appendix. The claim that the use oftransliteration makes the text easier to read for non-Indianreaders because of its analytical character is questionable,especially for the very long compounds found in the prosepassages because the analysis provided extends only toleaving gaps between inflected words where possible. Yetthe edition succeeds in presenting an uncluttered and well-edited version of the text, which Sanskrit readers at alllevels will be grateful to have. Despite the deliberately“less ambitious” approach of this edition, the introductionalso provides a wealth of well-argued information on thetext and its sources.

Gary TubbUniversity of Chicago

CAMBODIAN BUDDHISM: HISTORY AND PRAC-TICE. By Ian Charles Harris. Honolulu: University of HawaiiPress, 2005. Pp. 352. Cloth, $64.00, paper, $25.00.

This book successfully addresses an important need inBuddhist studies by providing a general history and over-view of Cambodian Buddhism. Buddhism in Cambodia haslong been obscure to English readers owing to a combinationof French-dominated scholarship and political upheaval. Ithas also been the subject of fascination and surmise owing toits long history and its apparent heterodoxy compared withthe more well-known traditions of Thailand, Burma, and SriLanka. Drawing on inscriptions, texts, secondary sources,and interviews, Harris manages to cover an astonishingamount of ground, beginning in prehistory and ending afterthe horrors of Democratic Kampuchea (the Khmer Rouge).The book does not attempt to make an argument about Cam-bodian Buddhism, but instead to provide a general founda-tion upon which such arguments can be built in the future.In this respect, Harris’s most important contribution is argu-ably his summarizing of the crucial work of French scholars,especially that of François Bizot. There are drawbacks to thetext: the lack of a consistent argument may bewilder readers

not already familiar with Cambodia on account of the flow ofnames and places. Also, Harris has unfortunately followedthe example of other scholars of Cambodia in using an incon-sistent transliteration system, which can be very confusingeven to the initiated. Still, Cambodian Buddhism stands as anenormous accomplishment and should be read by all thoseinterested in Buddhism, Cambodia, and Southeast Asianhistory.

Erik DavisMacalester College

BUDDHISM, POWER AND POLITICAL ORDER.Edited by Ian Harris. London: Routledge, 2007. Pp. xvi + 237.$150.00.

“Buddhism and the State” has been the major theme forscholars in Southeast Asian religious studies. It seemed thatscholars have said all that could be said on the topic. Workby Suksamran, Spiro, Tambiah, Keyes, Bechert, Nidhi,Jackson, Reynolds and many others are standard readings incourses on religion in the region. However, Harris’s newcollection of essays proves that there is considerably moreresearch to be done on the topic. Harris, a scholar of Cam-bodian Buddhism, has drawn together some of the bestminds on the topic, including P. Skilling, E. Guthrie, J.Marston, V. K. Dhammasami, A. Huxley, J. Schober, V.Grabowsky, P. Gyally-Pap, and P. Koret. Although Harris’sintroduction does not necessarily raise new questions for thefield, his choice of authors does. For example, instead ofsimply reifying the dichotomy between the elite and thenonelite in Southeast Asia that has so dominated approachesto the subject, contributions from Schober and Koret lookrespectively at ways in which monastic students in Burmaand nonelite Lao Buddhist intellectuals both ignored thepower of the elite and/or engaged in subversive propheticwriting about the demise of royal power. Skilling, Guthrie,and Grabowsky demonstrate that the elite are not a homo-geneous group of oppressors trying to control their respec-tive populations through religious symbols, rituals, andecclesiastical structure. Top members of the Sangha,Brahmin ritualists, and members of the royal families inLaos, Thailand, and other places are internally diverse intheir approaches to belief, practice, and leadership. Forexample, Guthrie shows that members of Thailand’s politicalright not only employed Buddhist monks to preach againstcommunist activity in the 1960s and 1970s but also pro-moted the myth of the Earth-goddess Nang Thoranee andsponsored rituals and monuments to invoke her power toprotect the nation. Marston, Gallay-Pap, and Huxley all con-tribute in-depth studies of ways in which Buddhism wasemphasized as a positive civic religion more than a system ofpersonal spiritual development and ascetic practice in Cam-bodia and Burma. Overall, Harris’s goal was not to show howthe Sangha and the state work together to control the popu-lace. He and his contributors go beyond Weberian andMarxist approaches to reveal the complexity and tensions inthe Sangha–state relationship throughout the region.

Religious Studies Review • VOLUME 35 • NUMBER 2 • JUNE 2009

144

Although some of the pieces might seem eclectic andnarrow, it is the way these tensions and complexities arehighlighted in nearly every chapter that makes this collec-tion a must-read for scholars in the field or anyone con-cerned with the relationship between religion and politicalpower in Asia.

Justin McDanielUniversity of California at Riverside

NORTH AMERICAN BUDDHISTS IN SOCIALCONTEXT. Edited by Paul David Numrich. Religion and theSocial Order Series, 15. Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers,2008. Pp. ix + 246. $99.00.

Numrich’s useful collection of essays seeks to maturethe study of North American Buddhism by injecting a dia-logue founded on social science. To this end, most of thevolume’s contributors are sociologists rather than special-ists in the humanities, and the essays present data andanalyses of North American Buddhism through historical,ethnographic, and statistical lenses. Contributors spotlightforms of Buddhism derived from East Asia, leaving Southand Central Asian forms of Buddhism unfortunatelyneglected. A common theme that connects most of the essaysis the oft-employed “two Buddhisms” model of Buddhism inthe West, which perceives Buddhist forms as either “ethnic”or “convert.” C. Chen’s essay on Taiwanese immigrant Bud-dhism describes “ethnic” Buddhists who practice in a wayusually associated with “convert” forms, thereby providing ahelpful refinement of the model. Alternate models such as atraditionalist/modernist distinction are explored in J. McLel-lan’s study of Toronto Buddhists. J. Tamney places reflec-tions on the two Buddhisms model in terms of theories ofglobalization. J. Coleman predicts that North American Bud-dhism will move forward in different streams that reflect thecommon Three Vehicles distinction plus a fourth nonsectar-ian vehicle. Other essays of uneven quality provide exami-nations of how North American Buddhist manifestationshave or have not absorbed congregational styles of organi-zation and practice from the dominant culture.

Daniel CapperUniversity of Southern Mississippi

INTRODUCTION TO BUDDHIST MEDITATION. BySarah Shaw. London: Routledge, 2009. Pp. xvi + 296. $23.95.

Introduction to Buddhist Meditation by Shaw is a verydifficult book to place. Its format, cover, plates, and overallaesthetic present it as a book for nonspecialists, Westernenthusiasts of New Age spirituality, and/or lay students whohave little interest in Buddhist Studies, texts, philology,history, or doctrine. However, the sophistication of itsdescription of meditation systems and methods—and thescope of its coverage (from early Pali texts to modern Japa-nese and Thai practices)—is impressive. Shaw is a clear writerand has previously done research on descriptions of medita-tion (which are surprisingly a small part of the early Buddhisttradition) in canonical texts. Here, she offers an overview that

is ideal for advanced undergraduate students and seriouspractitioners alike. Unlike many such descriptions, Shawacknowledges the historical and cultural shifts among earlyBuddhist communities that affected the practice and peda-gogy of meditation. It is refreshing that she notes (albeitbriefly) that meditation was a social activity, not a privateaffair. She offers a good overview of Buddhaghosa’s fortymeditation objects among other early textual guides. Shelooks at Tibetan (G. Halkias contributes this chapter),Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Thai, and even Vietnamese prac-tices while showing the diversity of practices in each. Shenotes the devotional and protective motivations behindcertain methods and highlights the use of images and yantradrawings. She includes a number of short excerpts from textsused as mantras or guides to practitioners. While there are acouple of minor factual errors and occasionally historicalcomplexity is bracketed, this book would be a valuable (andaffordable) addition to courses and as a reference for scholars.

Justin McDanielUniversity of California at Riverside

SHOTOKU: ETHNICITY, RITUAL, AND VIOLENCEIN JAPANESE BUDDHIST TRADITION. By MichaelComo. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. Pp. viii + 240.$45.00.

Como analyses the early Shotoku cult in terms of evolv-ing notions of ethnicity, lineage, textual tradition, and ritualthat he argues formed the core of the early religious andpolitical discourse of the period to reveal how the immigrantkinship groups, mostly from Korea, constructed the Shotokucult over a period of roughly 200 years—a period that wit-nessed a series of revolutionary political and social develop-ments in Japanese religious history. He places these kinshipgroups in their historical and social contexts and therebydemonstrates their role in bringing continental influences toalmost every aspect of early Japanese communal history,politics, and religion, particularly the establishment of Bud-dhism. By correlating these kinship groups to the numerouslegends surrounding Shotoku and the Imperial chronicles,Como clearly makes the case that these kinship groupsplayed a formative role not only in the formation of JapaneseBuddhism but also in establishing the major themes inwhich the Imperial Cult and the Japanese nation were con-ceptualized up to contemporary times. This is a very creativework that breaks new ground in understanding the histori-cal sources of early Shinto and Buddhist traditions. All stu-dents of Japanese religious and cultural history will findComo’s insights invaluable.

Paul O. IngramPacific Lutheran University (Emeritus)

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL SOURCES FOR BUDDHISTSTUDIES FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF BUDDHISTPHILOLOGY. By Yasuhiro Sueki. 2nd ed., revised andenlarged. Bibliographia Indica et Buddhica, III. Tokyo: The

Religious Studies Review • VOLUME 35 • NUMBER 2 • JUNE 2009

145

International Institute for Buddhist Studies, 2008.Pp. xxvii + 810. ¥3,100.00.

This second edition supplants the original 1998 edition(of merely 195 pages) and its three subsequent addenda witha much more robust work that incorporates much new mate-rial. It is a useful reference, providing a convenient list ofmany of the most essential catalogs and sources for thecritical study of Buddhist literature across the entire range ofAsian languages. While the sheer mass of material—coupledwith a somewhat nonintuitive organizational structure—canbe daunting at first, the volume rewards closer attention,providing reference to a worthy array of important studiesscattered across a plethora of journals and series and in arange of European and Asian languages (with a particularstrength in Japanese). Five newly added indices—to authors,reviewers, institutions, scholars, and subjects—add to itsvalue as a reference work, although browsing is still perhapsthe best way to derive full benefit. The rubrics cover catalogsand surveys of Buddhist literature in Sanskrit, Pali, Tibetan,Mongolian, Manchu, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnam-ese, and Central Asian languages (Sogdian, Khotanese,Uigur, Tocharian, and Hsi-hsia), as well as general bibliog-raphies, historical studies of the field and its many subfields,and “bio-bibliographical surveys” of important scholars.Where possible, the entries refer the reader not only to themain works but also to reviews of them published in aca-demic journals. This volume will be of great value to anyonewith an interest in the study of Buddhist literature but isessential for any institution with a graduate program inBuddhist Studies.

Christian K. WedemeyerUniversity of Chicago

ENLIGHTENMENT IN DISPUTE: THE REINVEN-TION OF CHAN BUDDHISM IN SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY CHINA. By Jiang Wu. Oxford: OxfordUniversity Press, 2008. Pp. xix + 457; figures, charts.$74.00.

This detailed study argues that entrepreneurial Linjiclerics in the seventeenth century “reinvented” the Chan

tradition by reviving the iconoclastic performance ofbeating and shouting and by publishing new polemicalworks on dharma transmission. Wu draws upon a richarray of rare primary sources to show that this reinventionwas a textually constructed phenomenon. He shows howthe thriving print culture and the literati’s active participa-tion in Chan circles created a textual community that led tothe resurgence and demise of Chan in the seventeenthcentury. He contends that the vibrancy of Chan dependedsolely on external conditions; it was only by adventitiousmeans (i.e., Chan extemporaneous dialogues and perfor-mance and hype in print) that it remained in vogue. Whenthe literati lost interest in Chan in the changing intellectualcontexts of the eighteenth century, Chan went back toobscurity. Wu focuses on two controversies to flesh out thestory of how Linji clerics defined the Chan orthodoxy. Thefirst controversy involved the volatile master–disciple rela-tionship between Yuanwu (1566-1642) and Fazang (1573-1635). Their conflicting views on what constituted the“principle of Linji Chan” led to heated public debates andYongzheng Emperor’s later adjudication. The second con-troversy involved Daomin’s (1596-1674) new tract in 1632that not only altered the traditional line of the Chan lineagebut also denied the legitimacy of his contemporaryCaodong masters’ dharma transmission. Feiyin Tongrong’s(1593-1662) book in 1654 further denounced the Caodongline, which led its followers to instigate a lawsuit againstTongrong for changing the imperially sanctioned Changenealogy. Warrants were posted for Tongrong’s arrest,and his book was burned. Wu is exceedingly successful inindexing the historicity of these two controversies and inchallenging the assumption of modern scholarship thatthere was no vibrancy in Buddhism during this time,although his theorizing of the “pattern of Buddhist revival”as externally based is unconvincing. This book opens upnew venues for thinking about Chinese Buddhism in lateimperial times and will also be highly useful to scholars ofChinese sociointellectual history.

Jimmy YuFlorida State University

Religious Studies Review • VOLUME 35 • NUMBER 2 • JUNE 2009

146