Dixuan Yujing Chen
Dixuan Yujing Chen (religious name: Dixuan Shi), Assistant Professor of East Asian Religions at Grinnell College, is an ordained Buddhist nun of the Mahayana tradition. She received her Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies and East Asian Religions from the University of Florida. Her research explores a range of issues, including Buddhist doctrines, Buddhist art, the history of Buddhism in China, the development of Buddhism in the West, and the mutual interactions between Buddhism and other religions. Her dissertation investigates how medieval Chinese devotees’ utilitarian concerns, dominant social norms and cultural values, and assorted political reasons were interwoven with beliefs and practices centered on Medicine Master Buddha. Her main areas of teaching include Buddhist studies, East Asian religions, gender and religion, and religious healing practices.
Education and Degrees
M.A. in Buddhist Studies, Graduate Program in Buddhism, Yuan Kuang Institute
of Buddhist Studies, Taiwan. Thesis: “The Two Truths in the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā
Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras.”
M.A. in Philosophy and Religious Studies, Department of Religious Studies,
National Chengchi University, Taiwan. Thesis: “The Doctrines of the Non-Duality in the
Mañjuśrī-related Scriptures.”
Ph.D. in East Asian Religions, Department of Religion,
University of Florida. Dissertation: “The Worship of Medicine Master Buddha in
Medieval China.” Dissertation advisor: Mario Poceski.