Jimmy Yu

Jimmy Yu (Ph.D. '08, Princeton University, Department of Religion) joined the Department of Religion in 2008. He teaches both graduate and undergraduate courses, specializing in Chinese and Japanese religious traditions, including Buddhism, Daoism, and Shintō. His research interests include the history of somatic practices and Chan Buddhism within the broader context of the twelfth to seventeenth centuries.

Dr. Yu is the editor for the Journal of Chinese Buddhist Studies, and the Sheng Yen Series in Chinese Buddhism through Columbia University Press. He is also a grant committee advisor of the Chung-Hwa Institute of Buddhist Studies Fellowships for MA and Ph.D. students in Chinese Buddhism.

Dr. Yu is currently accepting graduate students (M.A. and Ph.D.) interested in pursuing research topics in East Asian Buddhist Studies for the 2025-26 academic year