Personal profile

Wei Shan is Associate Professor of Buddhist studies at the School of Philosophy, and senior research fellow at the School of Global and Area Studies, Renmin University of China, executive chief editor of Religion Studies held by Institutefor the Study of Buddhismand Religious Theory, the Key Research Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences at Universities. He had studied Buddhism, Pāli and Sanskrit at the Postgraduate Institute of Pali and Buddhist Studies, University of Kelaniya since 1997 and obtained his MA and PhD in 2000 and 2005 respectively. He was a visiting Scholar in the Department of Asian Languages & Literature at the University of Washington from August 2012 to August 2013, and Visiting Associate Professor in the Centre of Buddhist Studies, the University of Hong Kong from March to September 2019. His research focuses mainly on Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma philosophy, Buddhism in South Asia and China. He has published an academic work on Sarvāstivāda meditation in Chinese and more than 50 papers both in Chinese and English.

Courses Taught

philosophy of religion (for undergraduates)

Buddhist philosophy (for undergraduates)

Introduction to religious studies (for undergraduates)

Introduction to Buddhism (for undergraduates)

Buddhism and culture in South Asia (for undergraduates)

Selected readings of Buddhist Sanskrit classics (for graduate students)

Selected readings of Buddhist classics (for graduate students)

Sanskrit and Buddhist Culture (for graduate students)

Representative Works:

1. Dhyāna-samāpatti in Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma: A Study based on the Abhidharmakośabhāşya and its Sanskrit and Chinese commentaries (in Chinese), Beijing: Renmin University of China, 2011.）

2. Dhammajoit’s Reading Buddhist Sanskrit Texts, a Chinese translation from English , Centre of Buddhist Studies, Hongkong University, 2022.

3. The Movement of Studying Abroad by Chinese Monks and Nuns – A Case Study of Chinese Sangha Students in Sri Lanka” (in Chinese), published in World Religious Culture (2006/2).

4. “Features of the Vajropama-samādhi in the Sarvāstivāda School”，2020 Journal of Buddhist Studies (VOL. XVII)

5. “Impact of Buddhist Values on Chinese Social Life in Contemporary China: Criticism and Countercriticism on Yinshun’s Humanistic Buddhism in Mainland China”, 2021 Journal of Buddhist Studies (VOL. XVIII)