The study of Buddhism during the Sung Dynasty (960-1279) has lagged behind that of other periods of Chinese history. One reason for the neglect of this important aspect of Sung society is undoubtedly the tenacity of the view that the Sung marked the beginning of an inexorable decline of Buddhism in China that extended down through the remainder of the imperial era. As this work asserts, however, new research attests that, far from signalling a decline, the Sung was a period of great efflorescence in Buddhism. The studies presented in the volume focus largely on elite figures, elite traditions, and interactions among Buddhists and literati. The contributors include Ali Borrell, Chi-wah Chan, T. Griffith Foulk, Ding-hwa E. Hsieh, Miriam Levering, Koichi Shinohara, Albert Welter and Brook Ziporyn.