This book is the outcome of a long-term research collaboration undertaken as part of the project “Transcendence and Sustainability: Asian Visions with Global Promise.” We are grateful to the Norwegian Research Council for funding the pro ject, and to the Department of Culture, Religion, Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Oslo for hosting it. We would like to thank Leiden University Press for their dedicated work on the book, and especially Saskia Gieling for so efficiently and positively taking on the project with short notice