John R. McRae (1947–2011) was a leading scholar in the field of Chán Buddhist studies, one who left his mark on the field from the late 1970s and until
the moment of his untimely passing. After studying at Stanford University (BA
1969), John completed his master degree (1971) at Yale University, where he
also commenced his PhD research under the guidance of Prof. Stanley Weinstein. During the work on his PhD thesis he spent an extended period of time
in Japan, studying with the two leading Chán scholars of that time, Yanagida
Seizan 柳田聖山 (1922–2006) and Iriya Yoshitaka 入矢義高 (1910–1998). After
the completion of his PhD at Yale University (1983, “The Northern School of
Chinese Ch’an Buddhism”), he taught and conducted research at several universities in the USA, including Cornell andIndiana Universities, before becoming a
lecturer at Komazawa University, Japan. In the course of his life, he conducted
research and taught at numerous academic institutions, including the Universities of Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Princeton, Harvard, Hawaii, Stanford,
Tokyo, Bangkok, Chengchi (Taiwan), and St. Petersburg State University.