H-Buddhism serves as a medium for the exchange of information regarding academic resources, new research projects, scholarly publications, university job listings, and so forth, for specialists in Buddhist Studies who are currently affiliated with academic institutions.
Hi John,
Not sure if your use of modern is specific to the figures or the biographies themselves, but here are some suggestions.
There are over 100 Buddhist biographies here (http://shmb.la/buddhist-bios), but here are a few specific ideas:
Dear John,
You might consider Urmila Pawar’s The Weave of My Life: a Dalit Woman’s Memoirs. Although the narration is focused on her life generally, she writes a good deal about what it meant to her and those around her to follow BR Ambedkar in converting to Buddhism.
The translation from Marathi is very readable, although students with no prior knowledge of South Asia (esp. caste and untouchability) may feel a bit lost in the cultural references.
Dear John,
An excellent book designed for just this purpose is:
Todd Lewis (ed.), *Buddhists: Understanding Buddhism Through the Lives of Practitioners * (West Sussex: Wiley Blackwell, 2014).
Many of its 33 short bios are devoted to pre-modern figures, but at the same time there are several treatments of modern figures too.
Brad Clough
Dear John,
I'm not sure if this will be out in time for your class, but Alicia Turner, Brian Bocking and myself are publishing "The Irish Buddhist" with Oxford in spring 2020.
Dear John,
I could recommend Chen-hua, In Search of the Dharma. Memoirs of a Modern Chinese Buddhist Pilgrim, edited by Yü Chün-fang, State University of New York Press, 1992. Hope this helps.
Best,
daniela campo
