Michael R. Saso, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of the University of Hawaii Department of Religion. (Born ca. 1930[?], Portland, Oregon.) (M.A., Philosophy/Anthropology, Gonzaga University, 1955; M.A., Chinese Studies, Yale University, 1964; Ph.D., Classical Chinese/Anthropology, London University 1971.)
Professor Saso is a scholar of the religious practices of Japan and China, with a particular emphasis on Taoism. He has translated Japanese and Chinese religious tracts and related works and has written several books on Asian religion, including books on Taoism as it is practiced in Asia. His knowledge of Taoism comes from within the community: he is an initiated Taoist priest of the Zhengyi Sect.
A former Jesuit, he requested reinstatement in 1998 and is now connected with the New Life Center in Carmel, California.
Michael Saso's publications include:
Taiwan Feasts and Customs; a Handbook of the Principal Feasts and Customs of the Lunar Calendar on Taiwan (1966)
Taoism and the Rite of Cosmic Renewal (1972)
Zhuang-Lin xu daozang (Supplement to the Taoist Canon of the Zhuangchen and Lin families) (editor) (1975)
Buddhist and Taoist Studies (Asian Studies at Hawaii, No. 18) (editor) (1977)
Dôkyô hiketsu shûsei: A Collection of Taiost Esoterica (editor) (1978)
Teachings of Taoist Master Chuang (1978)
Blue Dragon, White Tiger: Taoist Rites of Passage (1990)
Homa Rites and Mandala Meditation in Tendai Buddhism (1991)
Tantric Art and Meditation: The Tendai Tradition (1991)
Buddhist Studies in the People's Republic of China, 1990-1991 (trans. & editor) (1992)
Christian Education in China: 1921-1991 (1992)
Taoist Cookbook: with Meditations Taken From the Laozi Daode Jing (1994)
The Gold Pavilion: Taoist Ways to Peace, Healing, and Long life (1995)
