David L. McMahan is the Charles A. Dana Professor of Religious Studies at Franklin & Marshall College in Pennsylvania, where he teaches classes on Asian religion and philosophy.

His research is on the interface of Buddhism and modernity, including its interactions with science, psychology, literature, romanticism, and transcendentalism.

His latest book is on the ways that Buddhist and Buddhist-derived meditation is understood and practiced in different cultural and historical contexts, ancient and modern.

He has also written on ancient Buddhist literature in India.

He also makes some things to look at and things to listen to.