Just Awakening

Jessica Zu’s work reveals the startlingly prescient social theories of early twentieth-century Buddhist intellectual Lü Cheng. Zu captures the creativity and fervor of Chinese efforts to counter Western pseudo-scientific theories that naturalized racism and colonialism. Skillfully contextualizing Lü’s aesthetic theories and practice-program, Just Awakening takes his “socio-soteriology” seriously as an antidote to ongoing social maladies. -- Wendi Adamek, author of <i>Practicescapes and the Buddhists of Baoshan</i> Who would have thought that an apparently idealistic philosophical system such as Yogācāra would inspire political and social revolution? This is just what happened in early twentieth-century China. Jessica Zu shows us how the revolutionary Chinese philosopher and activist Lu Cheng adapted Yogācāra ideas to the task of remaking Chinese culture and politics. A fascinating history of philosophical impact on society! -- Jay L. Garfield, author of <i>Losing Ourselves: Learning to Live Without a Self</i> Just Awakening is a finely crafted investigation of transformations in Buddhist Chinese intellectual life in the early twentieth century. It is also a deft socio-soteriological revelation of the creative value of intercultural encounters and a welcome plea to bend the arc of contemporary Buddhist studies to the moral labor of societal transformation. -- Peter D. Hershock, author of <i>Valuing Diversity: Buddhist Reflection on Realizing a More Equitable Global Future</i> This innovative study explores how modern Chinese intellectuals, in particular Lü Cheng, adapted Yogācāra Buddhism to envision a just society. It merges Yogācāra philosophy with social theory, creating a framework called socio-soteriology. This approach redefines social issues and justice through the lens of Buddhist soteriology, emphasizing intersubjectivity, compassion, and nonviolence. -- John Makeham, editor of <i>Transforming Consciousness: Yogācāra Thought in Modern China </i>