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This chapter identifies the legacies of 17th‐century Chan Buddhism as expansion of Chan influence in Chinese culture and society, integration of monastic practice, and intensive networking by dharma transmission. The chapter argues that Chan Buddhism has a larger role in the history of Chinese Buddhism because it not only bridged the gap between Buddhism and Chinese culture and society and also unified the Buddhist world by systemizing monastic rituals and spreading dharma transmission. The reinvention of Chan also shows that there was a boundary within Chinese society to limit the growth of Buddhism and a general pattern of Buddhist revival can be discerned.

Set in the treaty-port city of Yingkou, this chapter describes and analyzes Tanxu’s spiritual quest that led him away from his wife and children and toward a career as a Buddhist monk. Tanxu finds himself part of the Buddhist Revival that swept across China in the early 20^th-century, and his ongoing spiritual quest—that included studies of Daoism, Christianity, and other religions—brought him to the decision to become a monk. The chapter also assesses the options left to Tanxu’s wife, highlighting the place of women in traditional Chinese society.

This chapter provides a synopsis of Dharmapala’s early career. He perceived his mission to be the restoration of Buddhism in its place of birth, India, and the refashioning of its practice in Sri Lanka. His predominant aim was to reclaim for the Buddhists the custody of Buddhagaya. He also had an interest in propagating a modern philosophy and practice of Buddhism and forging links among Buddhists world-wide. Dharmapala was also an early enthusiast of the American theosophists led by Col Olcott who took a keen interest in the Buddhist revival in Sri Lanka. However, Dharmapala soon became disillusioned with them and parted company, forming his own organization, the Mahabodhi Society, to spearhead the Buddhagaya campaign. The chapter concludes with a description of the economic and social transformations that took place under the aegis of colonialism around the turn of the twentieth century and the beginning of the Buddhist revival as a reaction to it.

This chapter relates the first involvement of the American theosophists with the Buddhist revival in Sri Lanka and subsequent developments. The theosophists, having become aware of the Buddhist revival in Sri Lanka, had come there. Col Olcott and his co-theosophists were enthusiastically received and the Buddhist Theosophical Society was formed. Funds were established to finance various Buddhist causes: Buddhist schools were established; a Buddhist press was started; and a Sinhalese newspaper was inaugurated. One important event that occurred around this time was the attack on a Buddhist procession by the Catholics in Kotahena. In the aftermath, as an outcome of the offenders not being prosecuted by the colonial authorities, the Sri Lankan Buddhists took various measures: representations were made to the Colonial Office in London; a Buddhist flag was devised; and an agitation for a new legislation to prevent abuse of Buddhist temporalities was started. One outcome of this was Dharmapala’s falling out with the theosophists and the formation of the Mahabodhi Society.

This chapter studies the relationship between the state and religion during the last century. It starts with a description of the Buddhist Revival that began in the first part of the twentieth century, and how the state has promoted the view that Buddhist reformers put forward. The way that these state discourses play out is demonstrated through an introduction to two primary pagodas: Quan Su Pagoda, which is the state-backed representation of Buddhism; and Phuc Loc Pagoda, which is politically marginal and artistically embodies a more holistic cosmology that recognizes a range of potent and imminent supernatural actors. Ultimately, within the Buddhist context, the spirits are safely and actively ignored because they represent a presecular, premodern understanding of the cosmos, and are seen as inherently opposed to the imaginings of the historical Buddha.

This chapter begins by looking at historical boundaries, demographic legacies, and the geopolitics of Buryatia's location on the border with Mongolia. The splintering of Buryat identities has occurred on numerous fronts, beginning with difficulties of maintaining the Buryat language in a multiethnic and demographically divided homeland. Throughout the republic, urban language politics have served as proxies for identity politics. However, it has been particularly difficult to mobilize civic society in Buryatia, due to its history of divided territory, demographic imbalances, and impoverishment. The chapter then explores why interethnic relations involving Buryats and others have been described with diametrically opposite conclusions, why identity politics are particularly complex in Buryatia, and how the boundaries of the republic have become threatened. It reveals a geopolitical discrepancy between Buryats' concept of their homeland as Greater Buryatia and internal republic boundaries within Russia. The chapter also highlights multiethnic ecological activism, including its interconnections with Buddhist, shamanist, and Russian Orthodox revival projects.

This chapter focuses on Yinyuan’s early years before he was established as abbot of Huangbo monastery. His early exposure to Buddhism suggests that his syncretic practice was deeply influenced by the local cultic culture in Fuqing area. His journey to Putou Island and Jinsu monastery marked his transition to Miyun Yuanwu’s “authentic” Chan Buddhism. His enlightenment experience and hermit life in Lion Cliff contributed to his spiritual growth as a Zen master. Through tracing his spiritual journey, this chapter also reveals characteristics of the Buddhist revival during the late Ming dynasty and the impact of such a revival on Yinyuan’s early life.

This chapter reviews the things the author has learned about the Tibetans. It presents a record of her interview with one of her friends, Kazang, and takes a look at the Tibetans' Buddhist revival efforts in post-Mao China, re-examining the gender dynamics among Tibetans and the gendered nature of the post-Mao Buddhist revival. The chapter also considers the configuration of sex and gender categories among Labrang Tibetans, and the socioeconomic encounters since the founding of the Labrang monastery.

This concluding section revisits the main points raised throughout the book and argues that monastery reconstructions introduce innovations and change into what is otherwise a highly stable system. The chapter suggests that the case of monastery reconstructions can provide us with a framework for understanding change and development among Chinese Buddhists during the modern era more generally. Both destruction and reconstruction processes are proven to be ephemeral, and as new threats and disasters arise, efforts to renew monasteries must be undertaken time and time again. As the previous chapters have shown, reconstructions were expected interventions in the lifecycle of a Chinese Buddhist monastery, and records describing such reconstructions typically credit them with helping to revive the Dharma more generally.