David L McMahan Charles A. Dana Professor of Religious Studies, Department Chair of Religious Studies
Personal Website
Education and Research
Course Information
RST 122 Introduction to Asian religions
RST 248 Buddhism
RST 322 Buddhism in North America
RST 337 Hindu Literature and Practice
RST 367 Self, Society, and Nature in Chinese and Japanese Religions
RST 372 Zen Buddhism: Thought, Practice and Culture
CNX 121 The Self in Global Contexts
CNX 188 The Good Life
Publications and Presentations
Books
McMahan, David L. Rethinking Meditation: Buddhist Meditative Practices in Ancient and Modern Worlds. New York: Oxford University Press, 2023.
McMahan, David L. and Erik Braun, eds. Meditation, Buddhism, and Science. New York: Oxford University Press, 2017.
McMahan, David L., ed. Buddhism in the Modern World. New York and London: Routledge, 2012. (Spanish translation, La construcci贸n del budismo moderno, by Juan Manuel Cincunegui.)
McMahan, David L. The Making of Buddhist Modernism. New York: Oxford University, 2008.
McMahan, David L. Empty Vision: Metaphor and Visionary Imagery in Mah膩y膩na Buddhism. New York and London: RoutlegeCurzon, 2002.
Articles and Chapters
鈥淏uddhism and Secular Subjectivities: Individualism and Fragmentation in the Mirrors of Secularism.鈥 In Richard Payne, ed., pp. 56-78. Secularizing Buddhism: New Perspectives on a Dynamic Tradition. Boulder: Shambhala, 2021.
鈥淪ecularism Is Not Secular: Investigating the Urge to Purge Secularism of Buddhist and Hindu Influence.鈥 Religious Studies Review. Vol 46, no. 2. June 2020.
鈥淏uddhism and Global Secularisms.鈥 In John S. Harding, Victor S艒gen Hori, and Alexander Soucy, ed. Buddhism in the Global Eye: Beyond East and West. London: Bloomsbury, 2020.
鈥淢isuses of Mindfulness: Ron Purser and David Loy鈥檚 鈥楤eyond McMindfulness.鈥 鈥 In Peirce Salguero, ed. Buddhism and Medicine: Modern and Contemporary Sources. 221-230. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020.
鈥淚ntroduction: From Colonialism to Brainscans: Modern Transformations of Buddhist Meditation鈥 (with Erik Braun). In David L. McMahan and Erik Braun, ed. Meditation, Buddhism, and Science. New York: Oxford University Press, 2017.
鈥淗ow Meditation Works: Theorizing the Role of Cultural Context in Buddhist Contemplative Practices.鈥 In David L. McMahan and Erik Braun, ed., Meditation, Buddhism, and Science. New York: Oxford University Press, 2017.
鈥淏uddhism and Global Secularisms.鈥 Journal of Global Buddhism, vol. 18, 2017, 122-28.
鈥淭he Venerable Olande Ananda: The Return of the Dutch to Sri Lanka.鈥 In Figures of Buddhist Modernity, edited by Jeffrey Samuels et al. Honolulu: University of Hawai鈥檌 Press, 2016, 168-70.
鈥淏uddhism and Multiple Modernities.鈥 In Buddhism Beyond Borders, edited by Scott Mitchell and Natalie Quli. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2015, 181-96.
鈥淭he Jade Buddha for Universal Peace.鈥 In Conversations: An Online Journal of the Initiative for the Study of Material and Visual Cultures of Religion. Initiative for the Study of Material and Visual Cultures of Religion, Yale University, 2013.http://mavcor.yale.edu/conversations/object-narratives/jade-buddha-universal-peace
鈥淭he Enchanted Secular: Buddhism and the Emergence of Transtraditional 鈥楽pirituality鈥.鈥 The Eastern Buddhist, vol. 43, no. 1&2, 2012, 205-223.
鈥淚ntersections of Buddhism and Secularity.鈥 In Interreligious Dialogue and the Cultural Shaping of Religions, edited by Catherine Cornille and Stephanie Corigliano. Eugene, Ore.: Wipf and Stock, 2012, 137-158.
鈥淚ntroduction.鈥 In Buddhism in the Modern World, edited by David L. McMahan. New York and London: Routledge, 2012, 1-6.
鈥淏uddhist Modernism.鈥 In Buddhism in the Modern World, edited by David L. McMahan. New York and London: Routledge, 2012, 159-176. Translated into Japanese by TANAKA Satoru in SUEKI Fumihiko, ed., Transformations of the Buddha: Criss-crossing Streams of Buddhist Modernism. Kyoto: Hozokan, ltd., 2014.
鈥淐lifton Buddha.鈥 In Frequencies: A Collaborative Genealogy of Spirituality. , edited by Kathryn Lofton and John Lardas Modern, 2011.
鈥淏uddhism as the 鈥楻eligion of Science鈥: From Colonial Ceylon to the Laboratories of Harvard.鈥 In Handbook of Religion and the Authority of Science, edited by James R. Lewis and Olav Hammer. Leiden: Brill, 2010, 117-140.
鈥淎 Brief History of Interdependence.鈥 Pacific World: Journal of the Institute of Buddhist Studies, Series 3, No. 10, 2008, 131-176.
鈥淏uddhism and the Epistemic Discourses of Modernity.鈥 In The Boundaries of Knowledge in Buddhism, Christianity, and the Natural Sciences. Edited by Paul Numrich. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2008, 43-58.
鈥淏uddhist Meditational Systems.鈥 Series of fourteen articles for The Encyclopedia of Buddhism. Edited by Damien Keown and Charles Prebish. New York and London: Routledge, 2007.
鈥淢odernity and the Discourse of Scientific Buddhism.鈥 Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Vol. 72, No. 4 (2004), 897-933.
鈥淒emythologization and the Core-versus-Accretions Model of Buddhism.鈥 Indian International Journal of Buddhism. Vol. 10, No. 5 (2004), 63-99.
鈥淭ranspositions of Metaphor and Imagery in the 骋补峁囜笉补惫测奴丑补 and Tantric Buddhist Practice.鈥 Pacific World: Journal of the Institute of Buddhist Studies. Vol. 3, No. 6 (Fall 2004), 181-194.
鈥淩epackaging Zen for the West.鈥 In Westward Dharma: Buddhism Beyond Asia. Edited by Charles S. Prebish and Martin Baumann. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002, 218-229.
鈥淣ew Frontiers in Buddhism: Three Recent Works on Buddhism in America.鈥 Journal of Global Buddhism, Vol. 1, October (2000), 116-135.
鈥淢ah膩y膩na,鈥 鈥淏uddhist Schools/Traditions: South Asia,鈥 鈥淒haramsala,鈥 in Encyclopedia of Monasticism, Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 2000.
鈥淎 Long Awaited Call: A Buddhist Response.鈥 Ethics and World Religions: Cross-cultural Case Studies. Edited by Regina Wentzel Wolfe and Christine E. Gudorf. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1999: 273-279.
鈥淥rality, Writing and Authority in South Asian Buddhism: Visionary Literature and the Struggle for Legitimacy in the Mah膩y膩na.鈥 History of Religions. Vol. 37, No. 3 (1998), 249-274. Reprinted in The Bodhisattva Ideal: Essays on the Emergence of Mahayana. Edited by Nyanatusita Bhikkhu. Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 2013.
Presentations
鈥淢aking, Unmaking, and Discovering Buddhahood: Three Paradigms of the Relationship between Meditation and Ethics.鈥 German-Israeli Foundation Workshop, University of Hamburg, Germany. July 9, 2022.
鈥淏uddhist Visionary Literature and the Logic of Visionary Imagery.鈥 National Endowment for Humanities Summer Research Institute. Berkeley, Calif. June 21, 2022.
鈥淚magining Things as They Are: Imagination in Buddhist Meditation Practices.鈥 National Endowment for Humanities Summer Research Institute. Berkeley, Calif. June 15, 2022.
鈥淪ituating Consciousness and Reflexivity in Context: Analytic and Holistic Approaches in the History of the Study of Mind & Meditation.鈥 Perspectives on Consciousness conference. Hebrew University, May 15, 2019.
鈥淢editation and Culture: Self-Cultivation, Context, and Social Imaginaries.鈥 German-Israeli Foundation Workshop, Hebrew University, Jerusalem. May 13, 2019.
鈥淗ow Meditation Became Secular: Historicizing Buddhist Contemplative Practices from the Monastery to Goldman Sachs.鈥 Invited lecture at St. Mary鈥檚 University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, March 1, 2019.
鈥淗ow Meditation Works: Self-Cultivation, Context, and Social Imaginaries.鈥 Invited talk at Harvard University, December 3, 2018.
鈥淣eural Maps and Enlightenment Machines.鈥 Invited paper at 鈥淓xpert Knowledge and Contested Authority: Where the Sciences and Humanities Meet鈥 conference. Franklin & Marshall College, March 24, 2018.
鈥淓pistemic Presuppositions in the Scientific Study of Meditation.鈥 International Association of Buddhist Studies symposium. University of Toronto, August 24, 2017.
鈥淚mplicit Epistemologies and Anthropologies of Mindfulness.鈥 At 10-day seminar, 鈥淧utting the Buddhism and Science Dialogue on a New Footing.鈥 Mangalam Research Center for Buddhist Languages, Berkeley, Calif., July 17-26, 2017.
鈥淣eural Maps and Enlightenment Machines: Implicit Anthropologies and Epistemologies in Scientific Approaches to Mindfulness.鈥 Invited paper for the conference, 鈥淏eyond the Hype: Buddhism and Neuroscience in a Ney Key,鈥 Columbia University, November 11, 2016.
鈥淢editation in Context: From Ancient Buddhist Monastery to Modern Psychotherapist鈥檚 Office.鈥 Invited lecture at Brown University, Providence, RI. November 29, 2016.
鈥淢editation in Context: From Ancient Buddhist Monastery to Modern Psychotherapist鈥檚 Office.鈥 Invited lecture at University of Calgary, Canada. September 30, 2016.
鈥淢editation in Context: From Ancient Buddhist Monastery to Modern Psychotherapist鈥檚 Office.鈥 Invited lecture at University of Lethbridge, Canada. September 27, 2016.
鈥淏uddhism and Global Secularisms.鈥 Keynote address at 鈥淏uddhism in the Global Eye: Beyond East and West鈥 conference. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. August 11, 2016.
鈥淏uddhism, Secularism, and Modernity in a Global Context.鈥 Keynote address at Sheng Yen Educational Foundation conference, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan. July 2, 2016.
鈥淭axonomies, Lifeworlds, and Self-cultivation: Contemplative Practices in Multiple Contexts.鈥 Invited lecture at Mind & Life Summer Research Institute. June 13, 2016.
鈥淢indfulness and Yoga Practice in Modernity.鈥 Invited lecture/panelist, Goucher College, Baltimore, Maryland. April 5, 2016.
鈥淏uddhism and Modernity: Conversations at the Edge.鈥 Panel discussion, Mangalam Research Center for Buddhist Languages, Berkeley, Calif. June 7, 2015.
鈥淢indfulness as Self-Cultivation in Ancient and Modern Contexts.鈥 Keynote address at 鈥淢indfulness and Compassion: the Art and Science of Contemplative Practice鈥 conference. San Francisco State University. June 5, 2015.
鈥淗ow to Think About Buddhist Meditation: Taxonomies of the Lifeworld and Practices of the Self.鈥 Invited lecture at Temple University. April 18, 2015.
鈥淗ow Meditation Works: Self-Cultivation in Specific Social Imaginaries.鈥 Paper delivered at the American Academy of Religion conference, San Diego, California, November 22, 2014.
鈥淢editation in Context: From Ancient Buddhist Monastery to Modern Psychotherapist鈥檚 Office.鈥 Invited lecture at Smith College. September 25, 2014.
鈥淢odern Configurations of Meditation, Selfhood, and the Secular.鈥 Paper delivered at the International Association of Buddhist Studies Conference, Vienna, Austria, August 20, 2014.
鈥淏uddhism and Global Secularisms.鈥 Keynote address at 鈥淏uddhisms in Modern China: Between Resistance, Secularization, and New Religiosities鈥 conference. University of G枚ttingen, Germany. May 14, 2014.
鈥淏uddhist Modernism in the West: Colonialism, Beat Poets, and Brainscans.鈥 Invited lecture at University of Virginia, Contemplative Studies Center, February 3, 2014.
鈥淗ow Meditation Works: Theorizing the Role of Cultural Context in Buddhist Contemplative Practices.鈥 Invited paper at 鈥淏uddhism and Modernity鈥 conference. Aarhus University, Denmark, October 29, 2013.
鈥淢editation in Context: From Ancient Buddhist Monastery to Modern Psychotherapist鈥檚 Office.鈥 Bradley R. Dewey Award For Outstanding Scholarship lecture. Franklin & Marshall College, October 17, 2013.鈥淏uddhism and Science: Rivals or Allies?鈥 Invited lecture at Berry College. April 4, 2013.
鈥淢editation in Context: Ancient and Modern.鈥 Invited paper at 鈥淪ecular Buddhism: Rethinking the Nik膩yas for Our Times鈥 colloquium at Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, March 27, 2013.
鈥淩eflections on the Emory-Tibet Science Initiative.鈥 Invited talk at panel: 鈥淏uddhism & Science: An Unholy Alliance? Reflections on the Emory-Tibet Science Initiative,鈥 March 29, 2012.
鈥淭he Enchanted Secular: Buddhism and the Emergence of Transtraditional 鈥楽pirituality.鈥 鈥 Invited paper at the 41st International Research Symposium, 鈥淢odernity and Buddhism Conference,鈥 Nichibunken, International Research Center for Japanese Studies, October 14, 2011.
鈥淚ntersections of Buddhism and Secularity.鈥 Invited paper at 鈥淚nterreligious Dialogue and the Cultural Shaping of Religions鈥 conference, Boston College, September 23, 2011.
鈥淭he Intertwining of Buddhism and Science: Historical and Cultural Reflections.鈥 Invited lecture at Mind and Life Summer Research Institute, Garrison, NY, June 14, 2011.
鈥淪cience, Meditation, and Multiple Modernities: Tibetan Buddhism in Three Keys.鈥 American Academy of Religion conference, Atlanta, October 31, 2010.
鈥淏uddhist Meditation as Scientific Practice? Sorting Out the Implications of the Neuroscientific Study of Meditation.鈥 American Academy of Religion conference, Atlanta, October 30, 2010.
鈥淏uddhisms in North America.鈥 Invited lecture, Minzu University, Beijing, China, May 18, 2010.
鈥淏uddhism and the Discourses of Modernity.鈥 Invited lecture, Princeton University, April 1, 2010.
鈥淭he Making of Buddhist Modernism.鈥 Invited lecture, Franklin & Marshall, Philadelphia Alumni Writers House, March 31, 2010.
鈥淪ecularism, Re-sacralization, and Legitimation in Buddhist Modernism.鈥 鈥淩econfigurations of the Religious Field鈥 conference, Bochum, Germany. December, 3, 2009.
鈥淏uddhism as Anti-colonialism: The Colonial Origins of Buddhist Modernism.鈥 Invited lecture, 鈥淕lobal Asias鈥 conference, Penn State University, October 23, 2009.
鈥淏uddhist Modernism and Hybrid Modernities.鈥 Invited lecture, 鈥淎lternative Modernities?鈥 conference, University of Zurich, Switzerland, September 9, 2009.
鈥淲ays of Being Buddhist in the Modern World.鈥 Invited lecture, University of Heidelberg, Germany, June 19, 2009.
鈥淏uddhist Modernism.鈥 Invited lecture, University of Heidelberg, Germany, June 18, 2009.
鈥淏uddhism as the 鈥楻eligion of Science鈥: From Colonial Ceylon to Laboratories of Wisconsin.鈥 Invited lecture, Muhlenberg College, March 25, 2009.
鈥淎 Brief History of Interdependence.鈥 American Academy of Religion National Conference, November 17, 2007.
鈥淏uddhism and the Epistemic Discourses of Modernity.鈥 Invited lecture at 鈥淭he Boundaries of Knowledge in Buddhism, Christianity, and the Natural Sciences鈥 conference, Columbus, Ohio, November 11, 2006.
鈥淎nagarika Dharmapala and the Discourse of Scientific Buddhism.鈥 American Academy of Religion National Conference, November, 2003.
鈥淧aradoxical Dialectics in the Buddhist Perfection of Wisdom literature.鈥 Invited lecture, Pomona College, April, 2003.
鈥淭ranspositions of Metaphor and Imagery in Tantric Buddhist Practice.鈥 Society for Tantric Studies conference, San Marino, Italy, June, 2002.
鈥淭antric Sadhana as Ritualization of Encounter Narratives in Mah氓y氓na S脣tras.鈥 American Academy of Religion National Conference, November, 2000.
鈥淰isual and Spatial Metaphor in the Buddhist Epistemic Paradigm.鈥 American Academy of Religion National Conference, November, 1999.
鈥淓ast Asian Buddhism, Past and Present.鈥 Series of lectures at University of Vermont鈥檚 Institute for Asian Studies, April-June, 1999.
鈥淩eality-Limit and Social Boundary in Buddhist Discourse.鈥 Borderlands Symposium, University of Vermont, April, 1999.
鈥淭heistic Trends in Buddhism and Hinduism.鈥 Panel respondent, American Academy of Religion National Conference, November, 1998.
鈥淰isual Metaphor and Visionary Discourse in Mahayana Buddhism.鈥 University of Vermont, October, 1998.
鈥淟ecture Series on the Religions of Japan.鈥 University of Vermont, Institute on Japan, Department of Asian Studies, August, 1998.
鈥淪ensory Metaphors in the Construction of Religious and Philosophical Paradigms.鈥 University of California, Santa Barbara, January, 1998.
鈥淜nowledge and Vision in South Asian Mahayana Buddhism.鈥 American Academy of Religion National Conference, November, 1996.
鈥淩epresentations of Non-Western Religions in the Popular Media.鈥 Media and Society Forum, University of California, Santa Barbara, April, 1996.
鈥淟anguage and Vision in Early Mahayana Buddhism.鈥 American Academy of Religion Western Regional Conference, March, 1996.
鈥淭antric Appropriation of Traditional Mahayana Buddhist Themes.鈥 Association for Asian Studies Regional Conference, October, 1994.