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Assistant Professor of Buddhist and Korean Studies

• Affiliation(s)

  • Asian Languages & Cultures
  • Center for Japanese Studies
  • Nam Center for Korean Studies

• About

  Research interests
  Professor Juhn Ahn is currently investigating the intricate relation between the transformation of the Koryo elite and the new forms of Buddhism that developed in Korea during the fourteenth century. This research is being developed into a book-length study on the history of medieval Korean Buddhism and its relation to the question of identity among the Koryo elite. In addition to the history of Korean Buddhism, Professor Ahn also conducts research on Choson Dynasty (1392-1910) intellectual history and the history of Chan/Zen learning.

  Recent Courses Taught
  Introduction to Buddhism 
  Introduction to Premodern Korean Civilization
  Introduction to the Study of Korean Religions
  Natural Disasters in East Asia

  Recent publications

  • "The Merit of Not Making Merit: Buddhism and the Late Koryo Fiscal Crisis" (2010)
  • Who Has the Last Word in Chan? Transmission, Secrecy, and Reading During the Northern Song Dynasty" (2009)
  • This Way of Ours: Buddhist Memorial Temples and the Search for Values during the Late Koryo Dynasty (2009)
  • "Zen and the Art of Nourishing Life: Labor, Exhaustion, and the Malady of Meditation" (2008)

• Education

  • PhD, Buddhist Studies, University of California (Berkeley), 2007