Methods in Buddhist studies : essays in honor of Richard Payne Both a demonstration of and critical self reflection on method this book explores how methodologies shape our understanding of the diversity of Buddhist traditions in the past and the present. International contributors from the West and Asia explore case studies and reflect on methods in the study of Buddhism united in their debt to Richard K. Payne the influential Buddhist studies scholar. Methods in Buddhist Studies features new translations of Buddhist works as well as ethnographic studies on contemporary Buddhism in the United States and China. Topics discussed include Buddhist practices in relation to food material culture and imperial rituals; the development of modern Buddhist universities; the construction of the canon from the perspective of history textual analysis and ritual studies; and the ethical obligations of scholars toward the subject of Buddhism itself. Chapters are drawn from Paynes students and his colleagues demonstrating the breadth of his intellectual interests. Paynes scholarship has left a remarkable impact on the field making this volume essential reading for students and scholars of contemporary Buddhism and Buddhist studies. Bloomsbury publishing Notes On Contributors Preface Judith Berling (Graduate Theological Union Berkeley USA) Introduction: On Maps Elephants and Buddhists Scott A. Mitchell (Institute of Buddhist Studies Berkeley USA) Part 1: Historical Studies 1. When Food Becomes Trespass: Buddhism and the Kami in Local Economies Lisa Grumbach (Ryukoku University Kyoto Japan and the Institute of Buddhist Studies Berkeley USA) 2. Making the Modern Priest: The Otani Denominations Proto University and Debates about Clerical Education in the Early Meiji Period Victoria R. Montrose (University of Southern California USA) 3. Taking the Vajrayana to Sukhavati Aaron P. Proffitt ( University at Albany SUNY USA) Part 2: Textual Studies 4. Yijings Sciptural Text about Impermanence (T. 801) Charles Willemen (International Buddhist College Thailand) 5. Dualistic and Bifunctional Spirits: A Translation of the Oni no Shikogusa Takuya Hino (Komazawa University Japan) 6. A Note Concerning Contemplation of the Marks of the Buddha Charles D. Orzech (Colby College Maine USA) Part 3: Ethnographic Studies 7. Buddhism Consumerism and the Chinese Millennial Courtney Bruntz (Doane University USA) 8. Describing the (Nonexistent) Elephant: Ethnographic Methods in the Study of Asian American Buddhists Chenxing Han (Graduate Theological Union Berkeley USA) Part 4: Theoretical Concerns 9. Is a Dazang jing a Canon On the Nature of Chinese Buddhist Textual Anthologies Charles B. Jones (University of America Washington USA) 10. Our Buddhadharma Our Buddhist Dharma Franz Metcalf (California State University USA) 11. On Authenticity: Scholarship the Insight Movement and White Authority Natalie Fisk Quli (Institute of Buddhist Studies Berkeley USA) Notes Bibliography Index.