Biography:
I am a specialist in Buddhist Studies whose research focuses on early Indian Buddhism, with emphasis on the monastic tradition and sectarian movement, and on the development of Buddhism in the West. I have published over twenty books and nearly one hundred articles and chapters. My books Buddhist Monastic Discipline (1975) and Luminous Passage: The Practice and Study of Buddhism in America (1999) are considered classic volumes in Buddhist Studies. I have been an officer in the International Association of Buddhist Studies, and was the co-founder of the Buddhism Section of the American Academy of Religion. In 2005, I was honored with a “festschrift” volume by my colleagues titled Buddhist Studies from India to America: Essays in Honor of Charles S. Prebish. I recently published my memoir, titled An American Buddhist Life: Memoirs of a Modern Dharma Pioneer. In addition to my emeritus status at Penn State, I am also the Charles Redd Endowed Chair in Religious Studies Emeritus at Utah State University, where I served as Director of the Religious Studies Program from 2007 until 2010.