Richard Hugh Robinson (21 June 1926 – 6 August 1970) was a scholar of Buddhism and the founder of the first Buddhist studies program in the United States that awarded a dedicated doctorate degree.
[1][3][4] Nearly two years after his death, the journal Philosophy East and West published a memorial tribute to him,[2] in an issue that also included three of Robinson's previously unpublished papers.
I had for some time wanted to compile a rather unusual memorial volume, composed of contributions only from Professor Robinson's former students, and now a rather fitting vehicle seemed to emerge.
What better way to reveal the manner in which this brilliant scholar's genius had become manifest than to utilize the writings of his former students to actualize that to which Richard Robinson dedicated his life?
[8]: xv Nearly fifty years after his death, in 2019, Robinson was profiled in Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, and described as "the most important scholar of Buddhism you've never heard of".