|education=Ph.D., Harvard University (1975). Dissertation: "The Awakening of Faith in Mahayana (Ta-ch'eng ch'i-hsin lun) - A Study of the Unfolding of Sinitic Mahayana Motifs."
Ph.D., Harvard University (1975). Dissertation: "The Awakening of Faith in Mahayana (Ta-ch'eng ch'i-hsin lun) - A Study of the Unfolding of Sinitic Mahayana Motifs."
B.A., International Christian University, Tokyo
publications
===Selected Publications===
Books:
Book co-edited with Lewis Lancaster, Early Ch’an in China and Tibet. (Berkeley: Asian Humanities Press, 1983).
Book co-authored with Michael von Brueck, Buddhismus und Christentum: Geschichte, Konfrontation, Dialog. Munich: Beck, 1997.
Partial translation into English, Christianity and Buddhism: A Multicultural History of their Dialogue. New York: Orbia, 2001.
Encyclopedia Entries in Encyclopedia of Monasticism, ed. William M. Johnston (Chicago London: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2000).
Entries on: “Images: Buddhist,” “Conversion/Initiation: Buddhist,” “Scholasticism: Buddhist Spiritual Ladders,” “Master/Disciple: Buddhist,” “Governance: Buddhist,” “Hierocrat: Buddhist,” “Prophethood: Japanese Buddhist,” “Charities/Social Service: Buddhist,” “Gnostic Cosmogony: Buddhist,” “Sacred Topography: Buddhist,” “Intercession for the Dead,” “Economic Justice: Buddhist.”
Encyclopedia Entries on. “Chinese Buddhism,” “Chinese Myth,” “Hui Shih,” “Kung-sun Lung,” “Ma-tsu Tao-i.” In Encyclopedia of Chinese Philosophy, ed. Antonio Cua (New York: Routledge, 2003).
The whole China section in Encyclopedia of Asian Philosophy, ed. Oliver Leaman (London-New York: Routledge, 2002).
Essays or Chapters in Books
1984. "Symbolism of Evil in China: The K'ung-chia Myth Analyzed." History of Religions, 23, 4:316-3 43.
1985. "Ma-tsu Tao-i and the Unfolding of Southern Zen." Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, (Special Volume for Heinrich Dumoulin) 12, 4:173-192.
1985 (Paper). "The One-Legged and the Three-Legged." Asian Cultural Studies, (International Christian University, Tokyo) 3, A:67–80.
1986 (Paper). "Dating the Hsiang-fa Chüeh-i Ching." Annual Memoirs of Otani University Shin Buddhist Comprehensive Research Institute, 4:61–91.
2004. “The Earth Mother Scripture: Unmasking the Neo-Archaic.…” Beyond Primitivism: Indigenous Religious Traditions and Modernity, ed. Jacob Olupona (New York: Routledge), pp. 200–213.
2004. “The Origin of Ming Buddhist Schism.” Heterodoxy in Late Imperial China, ed. Kwang-Ching Liu and Richard Shek (Honolulu : University of HawaiiPress), pp. 109–135.
2003. “The Century of the Holy Man in Chinese History (316-439): The Death of Hsuan-Kao,” In Pacific World: Journal of the Institute of Buddhist Studies, (Special section: “In Memory of Masatoshi Nagatomi”) Third series, 5:143–161.
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Full Name
Whalen Lai
Whalen W. Lai
Affiliation
Professor and Director of the Religious Studies Program, University of California-Davis, California.
Education
Other Information
He specializes in Chinese philosophy and East Asian Buddhism and has published numerous works in various academic journals and collections.
