Papers by Jimmy Yu
This paper argues that while there has been much scholarly advancement in the field of Southern S... more This paper argues that while there has been much scholarly advancement in the field of Southern Song dynasty Chan literature, the lens through which some scholars read Caodong Chan literature is still strikingly reminiscent of early Japanese sectarian biases that connect distinct Chan discursive motifs with specific lineages and institutions, even when there is little justification in the primary sources themselves. This paper proposes a reassessment of the supposed polemics between Caodong and Linji pedagogical styles by looking more broadly at different discourse records to appreciate the shared literary Chan motif of passivity during the Southern Song period and to disentangle these motifs from sectarian affiliations.
RELIGIOU S SUICIDE HAS developed into a robust fi eld of research in religious studies since 9/u.... more RELIGIOU S SUICIDE HAS developed into a robust fi eld of research in religious studies since 9/u. While much has been written in the conte � of modern religious terrorist attacks,1 relatively little attention has been given to just how integral religious suicide was doctrinally, ritually, historically, and socially to premodern religious traditions. While religious suicide naturally relates to the irreducibilit y of death as a biological fact, premodern people imagined and experienced it within a specific cultural and historical frame work. Like many religious traditions, Buddhism and Daoism understood re ligious suicide as a form of sanctifi ed death. They formulated such sanct � t � on their own terms and provided distinct justification s, even a model, of rehg1ous practice.
This introduction to the special issue of “Asian Religions and Violence” in the Journal of Religi... more This introduction to the special issue of “Asian Religions and Violence” in the Journal of Religion and Violence summarizes the contributing articles by using three interrelated categories of efficacy, sovereignty, and power to show how violence is instantiated. The six contributing articles focus on various aspects of violence: the destructive tantric rituals in India and its later manifestations in Tibet and Japan; the invisible and non-human sovereignty of the lok ta in Cambodia; the autophagous imagery of Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad Gītā; the hegemonic power of martyrological discourse used by local Chinese elites in their lineage construction; the dehumanizing propaganda of the Taiping Civil War in the nineteenth-century China through which hegemonic power was harnessed to justify violence against the “other.” These papers show how violence is signified, manipulated, and instituted in several Asian religions in different regions and periods. Using the three interrelated dimensions efficacy, sovereignty, and power, this paper hope to provide critical angles for the study of violence in Asian religions and cultures that may be useful to scholars in these fields.
The paper examines the historiography of zong in Chan/Zen studies in relation to Venerable Sheng ... more The paper examines the historiography of zong in Chan/Zen studies in relation to Venerable Sheng Yen's Dharma Drum Lineage in the historical context of postwar Taiwanese religions. It also examines the evolution and the theoretical basis of Sheng Yen's formulation of Chinese Buddhist orthodoxy.
The Wiley-Blackwell Companions to Religion series presents a collection of the most recent schola... more The Wiley-Blackwell Companions to Religion series presents a collection of the most recent scholarship and knowledge about world religions. Each volume draws together newly-commissioned essays by distinguished authors in the field. and is presented in a style which is accessible to undergraduate students, as well as scholars and the interested general reader. These volumes approach the subject in a creative and forward-thinking style. providing a forum in which leading scholars in the field can make their views and research available to a wider audience. S elf-inflicted violence is a recurrent motif in Chinese cultural and religious history.
In 2006 the late Master Shengyen Huikong 聖嚴慧空 ) (hereafter, Sheng Yen) established a new Chan Bud... more In 2006 the late Master Shengyen Huikong 聖嚴慧空 ) (hereafter, Sheng Yen) established a new Chan Buddhist school called the Dharma Drum Lineage (Fagu zong 法鼓 宗), which unites the two lineages of Linji 臨濟 and Caodong 曹洞 that Sheng Yen was heir to. Sheng Yen's creation of a new Chan school was a momentous historical development in Chinese Buddhism. This article aims to historicize the process of Sheng Yen's formation of the Dharma Drum Lineage and how his own teachings have evolved over time in response to different conditions. It argues that Sheng Yen Chan teachings does not constitute a stagnant, premeditated set of doctrines, but was a product of his own life experiences, interpretations of early Buddhism, and appropriations of the Japanese Buddhist response to modernity. Sheng Yen's Chan was unique in that he synthesized the early Buddhist Āgama teachings with the teachings embodied in the Platform Scripture. His formulation of Chan as a form of "Buddhist education" was uniquely modern, but at the same time not out of line with the adaptive nature of Chan in Chinese history. He took a critical stance against contemporary representations of Chan as antinomian and spontaneous, ungrounded in Buddhist doctrine, and appropriated, reinterpreted, and reinvigorated traditional teachings, especially in a time when these values and teachings had already lost much of their ideological vigor to meet the needs of modern times and revive Chinese Buddhism.
Teaching Documents by Jimmy Yu
This course is a graduate seminar on Chinese religions, open also to upper-level undergraduate st... more This course is a graduate seminar on Chinese religions, open also to upper-level undergraduate students. This seminar examines important or recent scholarly studies on the histories, doctrines, and rituals of medieval Daoism, Buddhism, and popular religions. The focus is primarily on the intersection of cultic traditions and Chinese culture, with special attention to several themes: Chinese gods and the problem of unity vs. diversity; patterns of authority in Chinese religions; diviners, shamans, and priests; and death, mortuary rites, and salvation.
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Papers by Jimmy Yu
Teaching Documents by Jimmy Yu