Daoist Foundation 道教基金會

PhD. Louis Komjathy (康思奇) is an American scholar-practitioner of Daoism and Contemplative Studies as well as Director, Chóngxuán (重玄) Chair, and Distinguished Scholar-in-Residence at the Center for Daoist Studies 道學中心 in Highland Park, Illinois, United States. He specializes in Daoism, with particular expertise in contemplative practices, embodiment, movement studies, and mystical experience. His research interests encompass the history of premodern Chinese Daoism, the emergence of global Daoism in the context of modernity, the Western reception of Daoism, and the development of Daoist Studies as an academic discipline. His research explores Daoist meditation, Daoist body-maps, and Daoist commentary literature, as well as contemporary Daoist communities in China and the United States. Drawing on participant-observation and a scholar-practitioner approach, he examines the relationship between historical traditions, contemporary religious practice, and the cultural contexts through which Daoism is interpreted and transmitted. He is the author of major studies on Quanzhen (全真) Daoism, including Cultivating Perfection: Mysticism and Self-transformation in Early Quanzhen Daoism (2007) and The Way of Complete Perfection: A Quanzhen Daoist Anthology (2013). His other publications include Introducing Daoism (2013), an introduction that has been used as a textbook in university courses, and Contemplative Literature: A Comparative Sourcebook on Meditation and Contemplative Prayer (2015), which he edited. In 2023, he published a revisionist study and bilingual translation of the Daodejing (道德經), followed in 2024 by a mythopoetic study of the Daoist immortal Chen Tuan (陳摶). Komjathy was a founding co-chair of the Daoist Studies Unit of the American Academy of Religion from 2004 to 2010 and of its Contemplative Studies Unit from 2010 to 2016. He also organizes and facilitates the Daoist Studies Summer Seminar (道學沙龍), established in 2021, and the Daoist Translation Committee (道教翻譯學會), established in 2022. His current work explores cross-cultural and perennial questions concerning aliveness, extraordinariness, flourishing, transmutation, and trans-temporality, drawing on decolonial approaches to scholarship and practice.

ABOUT DAOIST FOUNDATION

Established in 2007, the Daoist Foundation 道教基金會 (United States) is a Daoist non-profit organization and public charity dedicated to fostering authentic Daoist study and practice and to preserving and transmitting traditional Daoist culture. In terms of resources for the global Daoist community, individuals may specifically benefit from consulting the "Projects," "Resources," and "Frequently Asked Questions" pages of the Daoist Foundation website (www.daoistfoundation.org). Although the FAQ page is specifically intended for clarifying involvement and affiliation with the Foundation, it also may be consulted to reflect on one's personal affinities, interests, and aspirations. Under the direction of Louis Komjathy 修靜 and Kate Townsend 抱靜, the Daoist Foundation is currently in the process of establishing a Daoist retreat center and temple in the lower Adirondack Mountains of New York, where it hopes to eventually host intra-Daoist gatherings for the larger Daoist community.

PhD. Louis Komjathy (康思奇)