Dr. Noble Ross Reat is a scholar, educator, author, editor, and translator who specializes in religious traditions, particularly in Eastern religions. He has worked in the Department of Studies in Religion, University of Queensland, Australia. Besides his contributions to scholarly journals, Dr. N. Ross Reat has written the following books: A Tibetan Mnemonic Grammar: The Divine Tree, (1982); Origins of Indian Psychology, (1990); A World Theology, co-authored with Edmund F. Perry, (1991); and Buddhism: A History (1994). He also edited Volume VII of the Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies, titled Abhidharma Philosophy. Much of his work has focused on the Buddhist tradition, but his contribution to Studies in Comparative Religion is "The Tree Symbol in Islam."