Holy Cross Religious Studies Professor Awarded 2011 Toshihide Numata Book Prize

Todd Lewis, professor of religious studies at the College of the Holy Cross, has received the 2011 Toshihide Numata Book Prize from the Center for Buddhist Studies at the University of California, Berkeley.  Lewis shares the award with Subarna Man Tuladhar, for their co-authored book Sugata Saurabha: An Epic Poem from Nepal on the Life of the Buddha by Chittadhar Hridaya (Oxford University Press, 2010).

The newly-created Toshihide Numata Book Prize in Buddhism is awarded on an annual basis to an outstanding book in the area of Buddhist studies. Sugata Saurabha was selected by members of an outside committee who praised the authors for their English rendering of Chittadhar Hrdaya’s complex poetic vernacular. In the words of one of the committee members, “Sugata Saurabha's great value lies in the fact that not only is it a contemporary life of the Buddha written in a vanishing classic style, a text that has been translated in painstakingly careful fashion, it is a marvelous introduction to the rich textures of Nepali religious culture in general.”

Lewis noted, “Subarna Man and I worked for over 25 years on this translation, feeling the responsibility of doing justice to this extraordinary masterpiece of 20th century Nepal’s literature.”

“Professor Lewis’ accomplished work as a scholar complements and informs the imaginative and challenging courses he offers for our students,” commented Timothy Austin, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the College. “In helping those unfamiliar with Buddhism to appreciate the richness of that faith tradition, he also continues the long tradition of interfaith scholarship on Jesuit campuses.”

Lewis and Tuladhar will be presented with the Toshihide Numata Book prize on Nov. 4 in Berkeley, Calif., and will be honored at a ceremony next winter in Kathmandu, Nepal.  At both events, Lewis will give a public lecture on the book’s themes, which will be followed by a panel discussion for leading scholars in Buddhist studies from North America.

Lewis is one of the world’s leading authorities on the religions of the mid-montane Himalayan region and the social history of Buddhism. The recipient of numerous awards and grants, he was most recently named a Guggenheim Fellow in April 2011.  In addition to scholarly books and articles published in leading academic journals, he has shot, directed and produced films for classroom use and co-authored a textbook, World Religions Today (Oxford University Press, 2008), which is widely used in college courses.  He is editor of a forthcoming book series, The Buddhist World Today.  Over the past 10 years, he has become one of the leading academics involved nationwide in the continuing education of K-12 teachers on the cultures and religions of Asia.

Lewis received his Ph.D. and M.A. from Columbia University and his B.A. from Rutgers University.  He has also been a research associate in the Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies at Harvard University since 1999.  A resident of Holden, Mass., he has been a member of the Holy Cross faculty since 1990.

• Read more about Lewis' Guggenheim Fellowship