James A. Benn

PersonType	Category:Authors of English Works Category:Professors
FirstName / namefirst	James
LastName / namelast	Benn
MainNamePhon	James A. Benn
SortName	Benn, James
bio	James A. Benn was trained primarily as a scholar of medieval Chinese religions (Buddhism and Taoism). His research is aimed at understanding the practices and world views of medieval men and women, both religious and lay, through the close reading of primary sources in literary Chinese—the lingua franca of East Asian religions. He has concentrated on three major areas of research: bodily practice in Chinese Religions; the ways in which people create and transmit new religious practices and doctrines; and the religious dimensions of commodity culture. In particular he has worked on self-immolation, Chinese Buddhist apocrypha, and the religious and cultural history of tea. (Adapted from Source Aug 9, 2023)
associatedwebsite	Faculty Page
affiliation	McMaster University
phduniversity	University of California, Los Angeles
education	Ph.D. in East Asian Languages and Cultures (Chinese Buddhism), 2001, University of California, Los Angeles. Advisor: Robert Buswell. Dissertation: "Burning for the Buddha: Self-Immolation in Chinese Buddhism" M.A. in Religious Studies (with Distinction), 1994, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. Advisor: T. H. Barrett. Thesis: "Temperance Tracts and Teetotallers under the T’ang: Buddhism, Alcohol and Tea in Mediaeval China." BA, MA in Oriental Studies (Chinese), 1986. Special Subject: Tang Intellectual History. University of Cambridge (St. John’s College), supervised by T. H. Barrett and David McMullen
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Full Name

James A. Benn

Affiliation

Associate Professor, Department Chair
McMaster University, 1280 Main St W, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4L8, Canada
Department of Religious Studies
University Hall, Room 120
Email: bennjam@mcmaster.ca
Work: 905 525 9140 ext. 24210

Education

PhD. UCLA 2001

Other Information

• Professor Benn's University Page
• Website: http://jamesabenn.ca/

CV: CV for James Benn-Updated September 2013

Research Interests

I was trained primarily as a scholar of medieval Chinese religions (Buddhism and Taoism). My research is aimed at understanding the practices and world views of medieval men and women, both religious and lay, through the close reading of primary sources in literary Chinese—the lingua franca of East Asian religions. I have concentrated on three major areas of research: bodily practice in Chinese Religions; the ways in which people create and transmit new religious practices and doctrines; and the religious dimensions of commodity culture. In particular I have worked on self-immolation, Chinese Buddhist apocrypha, and the religious and cultural history of tea. Source (Accessed Dec 3, 2013)

Select Publications

• Images, Relics and Legends: the Formation and Transformation of Buddhist Sacred Sites. Essays in Honour of Professor Koichi Shinohara. Edited by James A. Benn, Jinhua Chen, and James Robson. Oakville, Ont.: Mosaic Press, 2012.

• “One Mountain, Two Traditions: Buddhist and Taoist Claims on Zhongnan shan in Medieval Times,” in Images, Relics and Legends: the Formation and Transformation of Buddhist Sacred Sites. Essays in Honour of Professor Koichi Shinohara. Edited by James Benn, Jinhua Chen, and James Robson, 69–90. Oakville, Ont.: Mosaic Press, 2012.

• “Multiple Meanings of Buddhist Self-Immolation in China—A Historical Perspective,” Revue des Études Tibétaines 25 (December 2012), 203–212.

• “The Silent Saṃgha: Some Observations on Mute Sheep Monks,” Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 32, no. 1–2 (2009 [appeared 2010]), 11–38.

• The Lotus Sūtra and Self-immolation,” in Readings of the Lotus Sūtra, edited by Jacqueline I. Stone and Stephen F. Teiser, 107–131. New York: Columbia University Press, 2009.

• Buddhist Monasticism in East Asia: Places of Practice, edited by James A. Benn, Lori Meeks, James Robson. Routledge, 2009.

• Burning for the Buddha: Self-immolation in Chinese Buddhism. Kuroda Institute Studies in East Asian Buddhism, 19. University of Hawai‘i Press, 2007.

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