[Buddha-l] essays on influential teachers and translators of B. in USA

[John Whalen-Bridge]

Dear everybody,
 
My co-editor Gary Storhoff and I are making nice progress with our volumes of essays on Buddhism and American Culture.  The series title at SUNY will, editorial board willing, be "Finding the Ox: Buddhism and American Culture."  Right now we are in good shape on three volumes: one on literature, one on film and popular culture, and one on identity and ethics/ self and community.  The fourth volume is about half strength, and I do not yet have a number of really important figures covered: influential teachers and translators.  We have interesting essays on Alan Watts, DT Suzuki, and an overview of difficulties in Zen contexts.  I need specific treatments of a number of other key figures, eg Chogyam Trungpa, Robert Aitken, Sunryu Suzuki, and Philip Kapleau.  Kornfield/Goldstein.  Suchlike. Not limited to these figures.  Translators who have brought Buddhist texts to America are also appropriate.  Many Americans read Buddhist texts and lore via the work of writers like Burton Watson and John Blofield.  An essay on MOON IN A DEWDROP would be very interesting.
 
If anyone knows an appropriate person, or, better, if anyone has the perfect essay already formatted in Chicago style...could you send me notice offline?  As I think I've said before, we're wanting to steer the middle way between cheerleading and vilification.  Some essays will have a more specific focus, but some may take a Dictionary of Literary Biography format, and give a good biographical grounding to create a foundation for writings, the creation of specific institutions, and so forth.  How have such teachers modified practices for the American context?  Have these practices been successful?  How have sangha and teacher understood one another? And so forth.  Your help will be most appreciated--and please forward this message to anyone whom you think might be interested.
 
Happy New Year and polyvalent good wishes,