Bibliography: leaves [384]-441. / This thesis provides the first narrative of a history of Buddhism in South Africa. In the absence of any coherent analysis, it thus seeks to expose an historical lacuna in the study of religions in the region and to redress an academic aphasia that appears preeminent in recent "authoritative" pronouncements. It suggests, in fact, that Buddhism was both present in the histories of religious pluralism and pervasive among the contours of a geography of religious diversity in South Africa since at least the 1680s. In so doing, the thesis further attempts to make the apparent "strangeness" of Buddhism in South Africa appear more familiar, and the familiar, quotidian history of religions in the region appear unconventional or exceptional. Consequently, the thesis also asks how the presence of Buddhism outside of a "normative" Asian origin can help to redefine the meaning of Buddhism and how the presence of Buddhism in South Africa, can help to refine the meaning of religion. However, in drawing on published materials, travelogues, archives, correspondence, interviews, and fieldwork, the primary assertion of the thesis is one that traces how, in that history, Buddhism was initially inscribed according to a textual imagination that was conditioned by articles and artifacts, and how that tradition was subsequently reinvented in the context of innovative, localized practice to create a living religion in the region.

Revision of the author's thesis (doctoral) under title: Fo xue yan jiu fang fa lun. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 235-269)

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Zhejiang da xue, 2002.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Zhejiang da xue, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Zhejiang da xue, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references. Also issued online.

Thesis (doctorat ès lettres)--Université de Paris, 1950. / Cover title. Includes bibliographical references (p. 7-11).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Hong Kong Baptist University, 2004. / Thesis submitted to the Dept. of Government and International Studies. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 163-182).

Thesis--M.A., University of Hong Kong, 1983.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1983. / Also available in print.