Introduces contemporary Buddhists from across Asia and from various walks of life. The editors have collected sixty-six profiles of individuals who would be excluded from most Buddhist histories and ethnographies. In addition to monks and nuns, readers will encounter artists, psychologists, social workers, healers, and librarians as well as charlatans, hucksters, profiteers, and rabble-rousers.

Draws on nearly three years of ethnographic research to provide a comprehensive view of Jodo Shinshu (True Pure Land) temple life with temple wives (known as bomori, or temple guardians) at its centre. Throughout, Jessica Starling focuses on "domestic religion", a mode of doing religion centering on more informal religious expression.