Jizhang Yi

CV

JIZHANG YI
LA210-6 Hoskin Avenue • Toronto, ON • M5S 1H8
Email: jizhang.yi@utoronto.ca 

ACADEMIC POSITIONS

  • Harvard University 

Postdoctoral Fellow, August 2025 – May 2026

  • University of Toronto, Trinity College

Founding Director, Institute for Humanistic Buddhist Thought and Practice, July 2025 – present

Director, Certificate in Theology and Inter-Religious Engagement, January – December 2025

Adjunct Faculty, September 2023 – December 2024

Junior Fellow, September 2020 – August 2022

EDUCATION

  • University of Toronto

PhD in Philosophy of Religion, May 2023

Supervisor: Abrahim Khan

Dissertation: Truth and Subjectivity: Thinking Kierkegaard through the Lens of Huineng

  • University of British Columbia

Master of Divinity, June 2019, graduated with highest academic achievement (top of cohort)

PUBLICATIONS

  • Books:

Knowing/Seeing Truth: Conceptual Bridges between Kierkegaard and Chan Buddhism. Cham: Springer, 2026 (forthcoming).

The Bible of Customer Service. Beijing: China Industry and Commerce Joint Publishing House, 2011.

The Five Mindsets of an Effective Manager. Beijing: Beijing Publishing Group, 2010. 

  • Research Articles:

“Toward an Existential-Hermeneutic Model for Comparative Theology: Reading Panikkar and Clooney through Kierkegaard.” Journal of the American Academy of Religion. 2026 (in process).

“The Responsible Architect: An Existential Hermeneutic Ethics for AI in Design.” In Architects Where Too? AI an Existential Threat or Opportunity?, edited by Mustapha El Moussaoui. Springer, 2026 (forthcoming).

“The Philosophical Foundations of Humanistic Buddhism: Middle Way and Non-Duality.” Studies on Humanistic Buddhism 8, 2026 (forthcoming).

“Subjectivity and Śūnyatā: A Conceptual Bridge Between Kierkegaard and Tsongkhapa.” Buddhist-Christian Studies 45 (2026): 41-57.

“Thinking the Starting Point of Chinese Theology through Chan’s Dharma as Nonduality.” Cultural China 111, no. 2 (2022): 71-78.

“An Introduction to the Dunhuang Manuscript of the Platform Sutra: Facts or Legends?” Cultural China 104, no. 3 (2020): 37-44.

  • Creative Works:

“There Was a Piece of Grass” (a free verse poem). The Canadian Journal of Theology, Mental Health and Disability 1, no. 2 (Fall 2021): 208-209.

“Yee: Turning Eyes into Ears” (a 14-verse poem). The Canadian Journal of Theology, Mental Health and Disability 1, no.1 (April 2021): 103-104.

Cultivating Elite Workplace Mindsets (6 DVDs). Beijing: Peking University Press, 2010.

 CONFERENCE PAPER PRESENTATIONS 

  • “Teaching as Indirect Communication: Comparative Theology and the Ethics of Encounter.” The 22nd Engaging Particularities Conference: Comparative Theology and Education, Boston College, Boston, USA, March 2026 (upcoming).
  • “Toward an Existential-Hermeneutic Model for Comparative Philosophy of Religion: Reading Panikkar and Clooney through Kierkegaard.” The 2026 Central Division Meeting of the American Philosophical Association. Chicago, USA, February 2026 (upcoming).
  • “Relational Becoming: A Comparative Process Philosophical Engagement with Kierkegaard, Chan Buddhism, and the Ethics of Technological Mediation.” The 2026 Eastern Division Meeting of the American Philosophical Association. Baltimore, USA, January 2026 (upcoming).
  • “Dialogical Dialogue and Comparative Theology: A Kierkegaardian Perspective.” 2025 Annual Meeting of American Academy of Religion. Boston, USA, November 2025.
  • “Shakuhachi and Chan/Zen Buddhist Meditation: Sound, Space, and Spirituality.” Sacred Space: Conflicts and Convergences. U of T, Toronto, Canada. November 2025.
  • “Truth as Subjectivity in the Age of AI: Kierkegaard, Indirect Communication, and the Crisis of Authorship.” 13th International Philosophical Conference and Workshop of Søren Kierkegaard. Ljubljana, Slovenia, September 2025.
  • “Realizing Mind and Radiating Wisdom, Promoting Harmony through Education: A Case Study of the Institute for Humanistic Buddhist Thought & Practice at the University of Toronto.” The 4th China–US–Canada Buddhist Forum, Columbia University, New York City, USA, September 2025.
  • “Two Concepts of the Middle Way: Confucian Zhong Yong and Nagarjuna’s Middle Path in Teaching Religious Diversity.” Alway/Emmanuel Symposium – Bridges and Boundaries: Religious Diversities in the 21st Century Classroom, U of T, Toronto, Canada. January 2025.
  • “Kierkegaard, Tsongkhapa, and Ultimate Truth.” The 2025 Eastern Division Meeting of the American Philosophical Association. New York City, USA, January 2025.
  • “Confucius’s Zhong Yong and Nagarjuna’s Middle Way.” The 2025 Eastern Division Meeting of the American Philosophical Association. New York City, USA, January 2025.
  • “A Tibetan Buddhist Perspective on Kierkegaard’s Truth and Existence.” The 2024 Annual Meeting of American Academy of Religion. San Diego, USA, November 2024.
  • “Kierkegaard and Huineng Conversing across Cultural Divide.” The 25th World Congress of Philosophy. Rome, Italy, August 2024.  
  • “Indirect Communication in Kierkegaard and Chan Buddhism.” The 2024 Eastern Division Meeting of the American Philosophical Association. New York City, USA, January 2024.
  • “A Chan/Zen Perspective on Kierkegaard’s Truth as Subjectivity.” The 55th annual Conference of the Society for Asian and Comparative Philosophy. San Francisco, USA, November 2023.
  • “A Chan Buddhist Perspective on Kierkegaard’s Truth and Existence.” Princeton Project in Philosophy & Religion: 2023 Conference. Princeton University, Princeton, USA, March 2023.
  • “Thinking Kierkegaard’s Truth as Subjectivity through the Lens of Huineng.” The 2023 Eastern Division Meeting of the American Philosophical Association. Montreal, Canada, January 2023.
  • “Dialogical Dialogue and Conceptual Metaphor: Analysis for Comparative Religion.” The 2022 Annual Meeting of American Academy of Religion. Denver, USA, November 2022.
  • “Ambiguity of Technology with respect to the Truth of Existence.” The 10th International Philosophical Conference and Workshop of Søren Kierkegaard. Ljubljana, Slovenia, June 2022.

INVITED TALKS & CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS

  • “The Way to Truth: Kierkegaardian Leap and Chan Buddhist Sudden Enlightenment.” SKC Annual Conference 2025. The Søren Kierkegaard Research Centre, Copenhagen University. Copenhagen, Denmark. August 2025.
  • “Not Telling Everything: Kierkegaard’s Indirect Communication and Chan Buddhism’s bu-shuo-po.” Kierkegaard Circle, U of T, December 2024.
  • “Sola Scriptura and Dharma as Nonduality.” International Symposium on Apologetics in Contemporary Chinese Churches. The Associated Canadian Theological Schools, Trinity Western University, Vancouver, Canada, October 2023. 
  • “Can ChatGPT Have Self-awareness?” Forum on ChatGPT: How AI Shapes Our Life? U of T, March 2023.                                         

HONORS & AWARDS

  • SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship ($140,000), recommended for funding by the merit review committee, declined upon accepting a full-time position. 2025
  • Conference Travel Grant ($1,500). Trinity College, U of T, 2023.
  • Third Prize, the 9th U of T Most Understandable Scientist Competition. U of T, December 2022.
  • The GCTS Conference Award ($1,000). Toronto School of Theology, U of T, October 2022.
  • Third Prize and People’s Choice Award, Three Minute Thesis Competition, U of T, April 2022.
  • Ontario Graduate Scholarship ($15,000), awarded to top graduate students across all disciplines in Ontario, The Province of Ontario and U of T, 2021–2022.
  • C. Douglas Jay Scholarship ($22,200), awarded to an outstanding PhD Student in Theological Studies. U of T, 2021–2022.
  • Hannah Cairns Junior Fellowship ($2,600). Trinity College, U of T, 2021-2022.
  • H. H. Clark Junior Fellowship ($6,000). Trinity College, U of T, 2020 – 2021.
  • Highest Academic Achievement Award, Carey Hall, University of British Columbia, June 2019.
  • The Shee Lee & Ah Lee Fellowship Award. Carey Hall, UBC, June 2019.

ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP & SCHOLARLY INITIATIVES

  • Organizing the IHBTP International Inaugural Conference.  U of T, May 2026 (upcoming).
  • Initiated the public lecture series Humanistic Buddhism and Beyond. Institute for Humanistic Buddhist Thought & Practice, U of T, October 2025 – present.
  • Designing and implementing a graduate-level curriculum in Buddhist thought and practice, laying the foundation for the development of a professional degree program in Buddhist ministry and leadership. U of T, July 2025 – present.
  • Founded the Institute for Humanistic Buddhist Thought & Practice (IHBTP) at Trinity College, University of Toronto, July 2025.
  • Launched the ongoing colloquy series Engaging East Asian Religious Traditions Inter-religiously. Trinity College, U of T, November 2024 – present.

PROFESSIONAL SERVICE

  • American Academy of Religion, member, September 2022 – present.
  • American Philosophical Association, member, June 2022 – present.
  • Society for Asian and Comparative Philosophy, member, June 2022 – present.
  • Trinity/Wycliffe Joint Library Committee, member, 2021 – 2023.
  • Toronto School of Theology, Associate Director Search Committee, member, June – August 2021.
  • Trinity College’s Senior Common Room, member, 2020 – 2022.
  • Divinity Council at Trinity College, member, U of T, 2019 – 2021.

 LANGUAGES

  • Chinese/Mandarin (native); Taiwanese/Hokkien (native); Wenzhounese (native); English (full professional proficiency); German (TST advanced degree research language course, A+); Classical Chinese (U of T graduate course, A+).