Faculty Spotlight: Maxwell Brandstadt

 In broad strokes, I’m a historian of religions who specializes in Buddhism, specifically Buddhism in China between 550 CE and 850 CE. That period roughly covers the Sui and Tang dynasties—a pivotal time in the history of China and the development of Buddhism in East Asia. I’m especially interested in the nature of religious authority, the Buddhist use and interpretation of scripture (hermeneutics), and the relationship between the Buddhist monastic order and the state—what we might call the Buddhist version of “church-state” relations.

 

 I mentioned above that I’m interested in authority, scripture, and the state. One of my main projects intertwines all three of those themes. I’m working on reconstructing the history and thought of a lost Buddhist sect from the Sui and Tang dynasties, the so-called “Three Levels Movement” (sanjie jiao 三階教). This group flourished in the sixth and seventh centuries and disappeared by 950 or so. It appears that they were suppressed by the Chinese imperial government. It also seems as if they had a very unusual idea about how to interact with Buddhist scriptures. One might say that they were scriptural fundamentalists—that’s very rare in the history of the Buddhism. Even though this group disappeared a long time ago, I think that they had an outsized influence on the later direction that Buddhism took in East Asia. I suspect the Three Levels Movement provoked a strong reaction among their fellow Buddhists, one that led East Asian Buddhists to rethink how they used and interpreted scripture. I’m currently writing a book on this lost chapter in the history of Buddhism.

 

I’m also working on another project that deals with the nature of “authority” in general. Very broad! But I think this concept is currently undertheorized and deserves greater scrutiny. “What is authority?” That question is surprisingly hard to answer, and its something I want to think through carefully as a historian of religions.

 

 I’m very excited to be teaching here at the U. I’ve only been here a few months, and the students I’ve met so far have been wonderful—curious, passionate, earnest, and willing to work hard at learning material that is often quite difficult. This semester, I’m teaching “Introduction to the Study of Buddhism” (RELS 3510). The course is an intensive overview of the development of Buddhism, from its origins in Northern India in the first millennium BCE to its place in the modern world. Along the way, we look at the spread of Buddhism from India to Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, and also to Tibet, China, and Japan. We talk about the history of Buddhist practice and philosophy and also about how Buddhism interacts with society at large.

Next semester, I’ll teach “Chinese Religions” (RELS 3810) an intensive survey of the diverse traditions of China and the broader Sinosphere. I’ll also teach “Thinking About Religion” (RELS 3620), which introduces students, particularly Religious Studies majors, to methods for studying a topic as complex as religion.

 

In all of my courses, I want students to find some clarity about some very confusing topics. Let’s say a student comes in with almost no knowledge of Buddhism or Chinese religions. I hope they leave the course with a “mental map” of these traditions—I hope they’ll be able to perceive the difference between distinct branches of Buddhism and understand how and when those branches came into being. But I also want to give them the opportunity to practice speaking, writing, and thinking. Thinking clearly, and thinking for oneself, are skills that require practice. It’s very hard, in our society, to get that practice. I try to make my courses a training space for thinking—both for my students, and for me.

 

 I’ve been fortunate to have had many mentors who have helped me along my way. When I was still a high school student, my guidance counselor heard that I was particularly interested in history and in academia. She put me in touch with a history professor at a local liberal arts college who agreed to let me be his “intern.” I very enthusiastically offered to do typical intern tasks, like getting my mentor coffee and making copies for him; he kindly declined. Instead, he let me audit his class and he patiently explained to me what academia was like—how one goes about preparing for college and grad school, how to decide what to specialize in, and how the academic job market works. That advice was invaluable. Navigating college, grad school, and academia is very hard to understand from the outside, and I didn’t have friends or relatives who had done it before. It would have been very difficult for me to follow the path I did without that early guidance. Of course, many other people helped me a great deal after that, too, for which I’m extremely grateful.

 

A moment that had a big impact on me came during an undergrad study-abroad session in China. During one of our breaks, some friends and I took a trip to the Leshan Buddha in Sichuan Province. The Leshan Buddha is a huge, monumental Buddha statue dating to the Tang dynastic. The Buddha is set into a steep cliffside overlooking a river; as one hikes down a winding path in the cliff to the feet of the Buddha, one finds that the entire cliff is covered with smaller buddha images, including thousands and thousands of miniature buddhas. As an undergraduate, I found that site (and sight) completely mesmerizing. I had known I wanted to study China and Chinese history, and I had always been interested in Buddhism, but that visit spurred me on to my eventual course of study in grad school.

 

 I have a family, including a young child, so I spend most of my time with them. Often, we spend our time in the outdoors, hiking or running. I also love gardening, especially growing roses. Before coming to Utah, I lived in New England, which has a much different climate. I’m looking forward to learning what flourishes here in Salt Lake’s climate. I go often to the Red Butte Botanic Garden to expand my understanding of what’s possible in a garden here.

 

 There are many fantastic books on Buddhism that have come out recently—some academic and some aimed at a wider audience. But in the spirit of the previous question, let me recommend a book on horticulture: Brickell’s Encyclopedia of Plants & Flowers. This book is an amazing attempt to provide an ordered, organized overview of something that would seem to defy systematization. It is a garden of knowledge. I think of this book as I tend my own, much different scholarly garden.

 

 

World Languages & Cultures is an extraordinary department that brings together a very diverse range of scholars, from Classics to Spanish to Religious Studies. I’m looking forward to learning from them and from the students here at the U.