Lai Wai-lun was born on July 8, 1944 in Canton, People's Republic China. He is Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of California, Davis. He was a Fellow of the United Board of Xian Higher Education from 1964–1968 at Harvard University, Yenching, a Kent Fellow from 1969–1974, and he is a member of the Society for the Study of Chinese Religions at the Harvard Center for the Study of World Religions. (Source Accessed Jan 20, 2020)
YearBirth
1944/07/08
affiliation
University of California, Davis
phduniversity
Harvard University
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."
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.
