Payne has rewritten, expanded upon, and integrated recent research into this monograph. The result is a sleek volume containing critiques of “Buddhist modernism,” a sustained investigation of Euro-American philosophy of language, detailed overviews of Indic and East Asian approaches to language, and an exploration of Buddhist epistemology.

Japanese Journal of Religious Studies

Payne brilliantly deconstructs the popular notion of Buddhism being “anti- language” where meditation and silence are perceived as paramount, arguing that language, in fact, plays a pivotal role in Buddhist traditions. ... This book is a must-read for all enthusiasts of Chinese culture, both classical and modern, and a great guidebook for students of twentieth century Chinese social and ethical thought.

Religious Studies Review

This is a magisterial work that brilliantly distils and presents decades of exploring and encountering the nuances and profundity of the “extraordinary language” of Japanese Buddhism. Beautifully and clearly written, this book leads us through a sophisticated and innovative methodology that demonstrates the many dimensions and, above all, uses, of religious language. Richard Payne has provided us with a landmark contribution to Tantric Studies, Buddhist Studies, and Japanese Religion.

Glen Alexander Hayes, Professor of Religion, Bloomfield College, USA

This volume on 'extraordinary language' in different traditions of East Asian Buddhism, with its richly textured case-studies and its theoretical depth, is a brilliant contribution to the study of Buddhist philosophy and practice of language.

Fabio Rambelli, Professor of Japanese Religions and ISF Endowed Chair in Shinto Studies, University of California, USA

Payne's project is an extended meditation on “the transmission of certain ways of thinking about language from India through China to Japan.” Examining mantra, dhara?i, Daimoku, Komyu shingon, and ajikan in light of European and Asian theories of language, Payne rejects simplistic reductions of such “extraordinary language” to an apophatic rejection of language and argues that linguistic efficacy is “central to the Buddhist tradition transmitted from South to East Asia.

Charles D. Orzech, Professor of Religious Studies, Colby College, USA