Henry C. H. Shiu

Shi Wu De Professorship in Chinese Buddhism

釋悟德漢傳佛教教授席

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Henry Shiu is the Shi Wu De Professor in Chinese Buddhism. He has a strong research interest in Mahāyāna Buddhism in India, China and Tibet, with particular emphasis on historical and doctrinal studies of the Madhyamaka and Yogācāra traditions. His primary area of specialization is the theory of tathāgatagarbha, or Buddha nature.

Shiu has published widely in peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes on dementia care, disability, ecological ethics, chaplaincy, intercultural competencies and the ritual of animal release, all examined from a Buddhist perspective, as well as on the history of Buddhism in Canada. His Chinese-language publications include annotated studies of Nāgārjuna’s hymns and the Dharmadharmatāvibhāga, reflecting his sustained engagement with both classical Buddhist philosophy and contemporary applications of the Dharma.

In addition to his work in Buddhist studies, Shiu has conducted research in Western classical music. Three books on this subject have been published by Oxford University Press in Hong Kong. He is also deeply engaged in the study of Daoist texts such as the Laozi and the Zhuangzi, along with other Chinese classics including the Yijing (Book of Changes).

Specializations

• Mahāyāna Buddhism (historical, textual and doctrinal studies)
• Buddhism in Canada
• Buddhist contemplative care (Buddhist approaches to dementia care)
• Engaged Buddhism
• Buddhist chaplaincy
• Buddhist liturgy
• Western classical music

Selected Publications

Books

• The Heart Sūtra: Revisiting Its Texts, History, and Meaning. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2025.
• Libeng yue buhuai 禮崩樂不壞 (Music of the Times). Hong Kong: The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press, 2023.
• Zhushen de huanghun 諸神的黃昏 (In Time with the Late Style). Hong Kong: Oxford University Press, 2019. Joint-authored with Leo Ou-fan Lee 李歐梵.
• Longshu zange ji miyi 龍樹讚歌集密義 (The Hymns of Nāgārjuna). Taipei: BuddhAll Publications, 2015.
• Putixinshi miyi 菩提心釋密義 (A Study of Nāgārjuna’s Bodhicittavivaraṇa). Taipei: BuddhAll Publications, 2015.
• Yaoyue zhi le 樂樂之樂：巴赫〈郭德堡變奏曲〉的藝術 (J.S. Bach, Joy of Man’s Desiring: The Art of the “Goldberg” Variations). Hong Kong: Oxford University Press, 2014.

Journal Articles and Book Chapters

• “Navigating the Two Buddhist Perspectives on Disability.” In Disrupting Images of the Church, edited by Allen Jorgenson, Laura Macgregor and Thomas Reynolds, 225–239. Lanham, MD: Lexington Press, 2026.
• “Dreaming Buddha: Dream Interpretation in Buddhism and Contemporary Psychotherapy,” co-authored with Glenn McCullough. Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies 19 (2025): 69–111.
• “Addressing the Challenges and Strategies for Western Classical Music in North America as a Living Heritage Art Form.” International Journal of Anthropology and Ethnology 8 (2024): Article 20.
• “The Pig, the Snake and the Pigeon: A Buddhist Reimagination of the Classic Tale of Zhou Chu.” Journal of Religion & Film 28, no. 2 (2024).
• “Advocacy for a Buddhist Approach to Dementia Care.” Journal of Religion, Spirituality and Aging 36, no. 4 (2024): 389–398.
• “Canadian University Chaplaincy: A Closer Look at the Distinctive Role of Buddhist Chaplains.” In The Buddhist Campus Chaplaincy Sourcebook, edited by Ji Hyang Padma and Jonathan Makransky, 141–150. Manotick: Sumeru Press, 2025.
• “Intercultural Competencies.” In Kalyāṇamitra, Volume II: Pragmatic Skills for Buddhist Spiritual Care, edited by Monica Sanford, 157–166. Manotick: Sumeru Press, 2025.
• “The Fourfold Environmental Protection Initiative of Dharma Drum Mountain.” Religions 14, no. 12 (2024).
• “Beyond Binary Distinctions: Reappraising the Intricate Nature of Apocrypha in the Sūtra of Perfect Enlightenment.” South Asian Journal of Religion & Philosophy 4, no. 1 (2023).
• “The Emergence of Buddhist Chaplaincy Training in Ontario, Canada.” Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies 17 (2022): 138–167.
• “A Prime Example of Buddhist Architecture in Canada,” co-authored with James S. Scott. Journal of the Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada 46, no. 2 (2022): 38–59.
• “Chinese Diaspora and Buddhist Women.” In Relation and Resistance: Racialized Women, Religion and Diaspora, edited by Sailaja Krishnamurti and Becky R. Lee, 147–169. Montreal and Kingston: McGill–Queen’s University Press, 2021.
• “Non-Substantialism in New Confucianism: Mou Zongsan and the Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna.” Journal of Chinese Philosophy 38, no. 2 (2011): 223–237.
• “Buddhism After the Seventies.” In Wild Geese: Studies of Buddhism in Canada, edited by John Harding, Victor Sōgen Hori and Alexander Soucy, 84–110. Montreal and Kingston: McGill–Queen’s University Press, 2010.
• “Buddhist Animal Release Practices: Historical, Environmental, Public Health and Economic Concerns,” co-authored with Leah Stokes. Contemporary Buddhism 9, no. 2 (2008): 181–196.
• “The Polarity in the Two Trends of Practising Tibetan Buddhism in Hong Kong.” In The Image of Tibet in the 19th and 20th Centuries, edited by Monica Esposito, 11–36. Paris: EFEO, 2008.

Other Publications

• Buddhist Voices of Two Cities, Los Angeles and Toronto: The Toronto Chapter. Documentary film, funded by the Wabash Digital Salon Grant.

Other Information

• Guest editor, Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies, special issue on “Applied Buddhism,” co-edited with Sarah Haynes, vol. 17 (2022): 1–341.

Memberships

• American Academy of Religion
• International Society for Chinese Philosophy
• Canadian Society for the Study of Religion
• International Association of Buddhist Studies
• Association for Asian Studies

Selected Courses

• EMT 1620HF – History of Buddhist Traditions
• EMT 1631HF – Foundational Tenets and Practices of Buddhism
• EMT 2629HS – Classic Buddhist Texts
• EMT 2630HS – Buddhist Ethics
• EMP 2011HS – Buddhist Contemplative Care
• EMP 2671HF – Buddhist Meditative Traditions