The history of Buddhism has been characterized by an ongoing tension between attempts to preserve traditional ideals and modes of practice and the need to adapt to changing cultural conditions. Many developments in Buddhist history, such as the infusion of esoteric rituals, the rise of devotionalism and lay movements, and the assimilation of warrior practices, reflect the impact of widespread social changes on traditional religious structures. At the same time, Buddhism has been able to maintain its doctrinal purity to a remarkable degree. This volume explores how the traditional Buddhist communities of Asia have responded to the challenges of modernity, such as science and technology, colonialism, and globalization. Editors Steven Heine and Charles S. Prebish offer a pan-Asian approach, giving proportional treatment to the three regional legacies under which Buddhism is classified today: the traditions of East Asia (represented here by China, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea), India and Southeast Asia (Sri Lanka and Thailand), and the Himalayas (Tibet). Nine essays, all commissioned expressly for this volume, consider how the encounter with modernity has impacted the disciplinary, textual, ritual, devotional, practical, and socio-political traditions of Buddhist thought throughout Asia. The result is the most comprehensive available overview of Asian Buddhism today.

Buddhism in the Modern World: Adaptations of an Ancient Tradition, Steve Heine and Charles Prebish (Editors), Oxford University Press, Paperback, 304 pages, $19.95

Steven Heine is Professor of Religious Studies and Director of Asian Studies at Florida International University. Among his many publications are Dogen and the Koan Tradition; (1994), Japan in Traditional and Postmodern Perspectives (1995), The Zen Poetry of Dogen (1997), Shifting Shape, Shaping Text (1999), The Koan: Texts and Contexts in Zen Buddhism (OUP, 2000), and Opening a Mountain: Koans of the Zen Masters (OUP, 2002).

Charles S. Prebish is Professor of Religious Studies at the Pennsylvania State University. He is the author or editor of many books, including Historical Dictionary of Buddhism (1993), A Survey of Vinaya Literature (1994), Luminous Passage: The Practice and Study of Buddhism in America (1999), and Westward Dharma: Buddhism Beyond Asia (2002). He is a founding co-editor of the online Journal of Buddhist Ethics.

Contributors	ix
Introduction: Traditions and Transformations in Modern Buddhism	3
Aniconism Versus Iconism in Thai Buddhism	9
The Modernization of Sinhalese Buddhism as Reflected in the Dambulla Cave Temples	27
Varying the Vinaya: Creative Responses to Modernity	45
Master Hongyi Looks Back: A Modern Man Becomes a Monk in Twentieth-Century China	75
Transitions in the Practice and Defense of Chinese Pure Land Buddhism	125
Won Buddhism: The Historical Context of Sot'aesan's Reformation of Buddhism for the Modern World	143
Abbreviation of Aberration: The Role of the Shushogi in Modern Soto Zen Buddhism	169
"By Imperial Edict and Shogunal Decree": Politics and the Issue of the Ordination Platform in Modern Lay Nichiren Buddhism	193
The Making of the Western Lama	221
"Liberate the Mahabodhi Temple!" Socially Engaged Buddhism, Dalit-Style	249
Index