Alan Cole

This paper develops close readings of the Diamond Sutra and the Gospel of Mark in order to detail how both works present "theaters of conversion" for the reader.  The first three pages of the paper develop a theoretical perspective on what I dub the "anthropology of desire" that both authors seem to have relied on as they sculpted these narratives-of-conversion.

While no one can deny that Prof. McRae made many significant contributions to Chan Studies, it is also true that there were several forms of romanticism shaping his research and publications. 
This essay attempts to document several strains of McRae's brand of romanticism, while also offering an alternative paradigm for writing about the emergence and development of Chan Buddhism.