Buddhist studies, also known as Buddhology, is the academic study of Buddhism. The term Buddhology was coined in the early 20th century by the Unitarian minister Joseph Estlin Carpenter to mean the "study of Buddhahood, the nature of the Buddha, and doctrines of a Buddha", but the terms Buddhology and Buddhist studies are generally synonymous in the contemporary context.[1][2] According to William M. Johnston, in some specific contexts, Buddhology may be viewed as a subset of Buddhist studies, with a focus on Buddhist hermeneutics, exegesis, ontology and Buddha's attributes.[3] Scholars of Buddhist studies focus on the history, culture, archaeology, arts, philology, anthropology, sociology, theology, philosophy, practices, interreligious comparative studies and other subjects related to Buddhism.[3][4][5]
In contrast to the study of Judaism or Christianity, the field of Buddhist studies has been dominated by "outsiders" to Buddhist cultures and traditions, hence it is not a direct subfield of Indology or Asian studies. However, Chinese, Japanese and Korean universities have also made major contributions, as have Asian immigrants to Western countries, and Western converts to Buddhism.
The first graduate program in Buddhist studies in North America started in 1961 at the University of Wisconsin–Madision.[6] According to Prebish, Buddhist studies in the United States prior to 1975 was dominated by the University of Wisconsin, Harvard University and the University of Chicago.[7] Prebish cites two surveys by Hart[full citation needed] in which the following university programs were found to have produced the most scholars with U.S. university posts: Chicago, Wisconsin, Harvard, Columbia, Yale, Virginia, Stanford, Berkeley, Princeton, Temple, Northwestern, Michigan, Washington, and Tokyo.[8]
Charles Prebish, a scholar-practitioner and Chair of Religious Studies at Utah State University, states that the Buddhist studies and academics in North American universities include those who are practicing Buddhists, the latter he terms as “scholar-practitioners.”.[7]
In addition, many scholars publish in journals devoted to area studies (such as Japan, China, etc.), general Religious Studies, or disciplines such as history, anthropology, or language studies. Some examples would be:
Major university presses that have published in the field include those of Oxford, Columbia, Cambridge, Indiana, Princeton, SUNY, and the Universities of California, Chicago, Hawaii, and Virginia. Non-university presses include E.J. Brill, Equinox, Palgrave, Routledge, Silkworm Books, and Motilal Banarsidass. A number of scholars have published through "dharma presses" such as BPS Pariyatti, Parallax Press, Shambhala, Snow Lion, and Wisdom Publications.
Lopez, Donald S. Jr., ed. (1995). Curators of the Buddha. University of Chicago Press.
Prebish, Charles (1999). "The Academic Study of Buddhism in America: A Silent Sangha". In Duncan Ryuken Williams; Christopher S. Queen (eds.). American Buddhism: Methods and Findings in Recent Scholarship. Surrey, UK: Curzon Press. pp. 183–214.
Further reading
de Jong, J. W. A Brief History of Buddhist Studies in Europe and America. Tokyo: Kosei Publishing Company, 1997, ISBN4-333-01762-9
Swearer, Donald K. and Promta, Somparn. The State of Buddhist Studies in the World 1972-1997. Bangkok: Center for Buddhist Studies, Chulalongkorn University, 2000, ISBN974-346-371-2
