Peter Skilling, born 1949, was originally a Canadian. He has been a resident of Thailand for over 50 years and is a Thai citizen under the name Bhadra Rujirathat. He received a PhD with Honors ('Des Mahasutra tibétains aux manuscrits et inscriptions d'Asie du Sud-Est. Considérations sur les Mahasutra des Mulasarvastivadin', June, 2004) and a Habilitation ('A la recherche de communautés textuelles : Littérature bouddhique de l'Asie du sud et de l'Asie du sud-est', May 2008) at the École Pratique des Hautes Études, Section des Sciences Religieuses en Sorbonne, Paris, France His fields of research include the archaeology, epigraphy, history, and literature of Buddhism in South and Southeast Asia. He is especially interested in the history of early and middle Mahāyāna Buddhism, the history of the Saṃmitīya School, Buddhist epigraphy, Tibetan translations of Indian texts (Kanjur and Tanjur), and the Pali and vernacular literatures of Southeast Asia, particularly of Thailand. His interest in and concern for the preservation and study of Buddhist manuscripts is expressed though his activities as President of the Fragile Palm Leaves Foundation (Bangkok).

Since 1970, he has travelled widely throughout  Asia for research and intellectual exchange, and he has been a visiting professor at Harvard University, Oxford University, the University of California at Berkeley, and Savitribai Phule Pune University. From 2006 until retirement in 2017 he was Directeur d'Études (Professor) of the French School of Asian Studies (École française d'Extrême-Orient or EFEO), based primarily at the Centre de Bangkok, Thailand. At present he is Special Lecturer at Chulalongkorn University (Bangkok), Adjunct Professor at Savitribai Phule Pune University, Honorary Professor at Shan State Buddhist University (Taunggyi, Burma), and Honorary Associate, Department of Indian Sub-Continental Studies, School of Languages and Cultures, Faculty of Arts, University of Sydney (Sydney, Australia).

He is an Honorary Fellow of The Asiatic Society of Mumbai (2017–) and an Honorary Member of The Siam Society (Bangkok: 2010–). In 2025, he was appointed Honorary Fellow of the International Association of Buddhist Studies.

Skilling's publications include numerous articles and several books, including Mahasutras: Great Discourses of the Buddha (2 vols., Oxford, The Pali Text Society, 1994 and 1997) and the edited volume Wat Si Chum, Sukhothai: Art, Architecture and Inscriptions (River Books, Bangkok, 2008). His most recent publications are Questioning the Buddha: A Selection of Twenty-Five Sutras (Wisdom Publications, 2021) and Buddha's Words for Tough Times: An Anthology (Wisdom Publications, 2024). A Chinese translation of the latter in forthcoming in 2026.