Yuan Ren

Biography

Dr. Ren is interested in the study of Eastern religions, including Buddhism, Hinduism, and Confucianism. In those large areas, her research mainly focuses on the following: Select concepts in Eastern religious traditions, such as "dana (donation)," creation," "attitude towards society," and so on; the contradictions and complements among different religious traditions, for example, "the attitude towards Brahman from Buddhist eyes," "the final achievements in Confucianism and Buddhism," and so on; and the study of so-called "Great Tradition" and "Little Tradition" (or "elite tradition and popular tradition") reflected in the religious texts and actually practiced among those religions listed above; and Religious Syncretism between Buddhists and Confucians. Dr. Ren was invited to join the editorial group for a huge collection of the Chinese Buddhist Canon (Section II) some years ago, and has been doing editorial work. The final publication will be over 200 vols. At present, Dr. Ren has begun research on "Buddhism on the Silk Road," mainly focusing on: a) How Buddhism developed along the Silk Road (not limited by today's Chinese borders); b) How Buddhism influenced and has been influenced by the local religions (e.g., Confucianism, Shamanism and Daoism) along the Silk Road; and c) Even after Islam dominated this large area now for centuries, was Buddhism completely"wiped out?"

Research Interest

Chinese and Indian Buddhism, Religious Syncretism in Asia, Texts in Asian Religions