Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction / Stephanie Balkwill and James Benn -- 1. Metropolitan Buddhism vis-à-vis Buddhism at the Metropolis: How to Understand the Ling in the Empress Dowager's Name / Stephanie Balkwill -- 2. Silla King Chinhŭng Institutes State-Protection Buddhist Rituals / Richard D. McBride II -- 3. The Commissioner of Merit and Virtue: Buddhism and the Tang Central Government / Geoffrey C. Goble -- 4. Images of Humane Kings: Rulers in the Dali-Kingdom Painting of Buddhist Images / Megan Bryson -- 5. Buddhism and Statecraft in Korea: The Long View / Gregory N. Evon -- 6. Refusing the Ruler's Offerings: Accommodation and Martyrdom in Early Modern Nichiren Buddhism / Jacqueline I. Stone -- Index.

"Buddhist Statecraft in East Asia explores the long relationship between Buddhism and the state in premodern times and seeks to counter the modern, secularist notion that Buddhism, as a religion, is inherently apolitical. By revealing the methods by which members of Buddhist communities across premodern East Asia related to imperial rule, this volume offers case studies of how Buddhists, their texts, material culture, ideas, and institutions legitimated rulers and defended regimes across the region"-- Provided by publisher.