Books by Stephen F. Teiser

Explores the history and varied interpretations of the Wheel of Rebirth, a circle divided into sections depicting the Buddhist cycle of transmigration. This work shows how the metaphor of the wheel has been interpreted in divergent local traditions, from India to Tibet, Central Asia, and China.

An examination of medieval Chinese Buddhist thanatonic practices. Bridging area studies and the history of religions, Teiser explores the concerns, practices and beliefs of 9th- and 10th-century Chinese Buddhists.

Largely unstudied, the religious festivals that attracted Chinese people from all walks of life provide the most instructive examples of the interaction between Chinese forms of social life and the Indian tradition of Buddhism. This title examines one of the most important of such annual celebrations.