Report on Eugene Wang’s Lecture on the Dunhuang Caves

Professor Eugene Wang presented his lecture “What to See in a Buddhist Cave?” to around 40 people at the C. K. Choi Building on November 30, 2011.

Professor Wang began with a summary of the Dunhuang Caves, which are famous for their distinctive Buddhist murals and sculptures. Each cave had a specific layout inviting the visitor into a Buddhist “world”–complete with a central column, statues of buddhas, and murals on the walls and ceiling. Murals often portrayed the previous lives of the Buddha (Jataka tales) and the final moments of the Buddha’s life. Used to illustrate the operation of karma, some portrayed beings emerging from Buddhist hells and predictions of their future births. Prof. Wang concluded that the caves themselves guide the visualization practice of those who enter them: from awakening to the truth of karma and rebirth, to repenting evil acts from a myriad of previous lives, to finally becoming a buddha. 

Call for Papers: Icons of Impermanence: Contemporary Buddhist Art (July 6-8, 2012)

“Icons of Impermanence: Contemporary Buddhist Art”

UBC’s Buddhism and Contemporary Society Program, funded by The Tung Lin Kok Yuen Canada Foundation, will hold a conference on contemporary Buddhist art July 6-8, 2012 at the University of British Columbia’s Point Grey campus. Part of event series for Summer 2012 that includes the “Visions of Enlightenment” exhibition (May 10 – September 30), sponsored by the Canadian Society for Asian Arts, at the Museum of Anthropology, UBC.

• Abstract submission deadline:  April 10, 2012
• Conference weekend:  July 6-8, 2012

Upcoming Lecture: Jan W. Walls on Corporate Craving and Buddhist Compassion

UBC’s Buddhism and Contemporary Society Program presents a lecture by Jan W. Walls.

“Corporate Craving and Buddhist Compassion: Is There a Middle Ground for Buddhism in Business?”

Date: Thursday, 02 February 2012
Time: 5:00 – 7:00 PM
Place: Room 120, C.K. Choi Building, 1855 West Mall

Lectures are free and open to the public. Seating will be on a first-come first-serve basis. Doors will open 30 minutes prior to the lecture.

To download a .pdf poster for printing: Jan W. Walls Poster.

Upcoming Lecture: Simon Wickham-Smith on Spiritual Ecology in Contemporary Mongolian Literature

UBC’s Buddhism and Contemporary Society Program presents a lecture by Simon Wickham-Smith.

“Spiritual Ecology in Contemporary Mongolian Literature”

Date: Thursday, 26 January 2012
Time: 5:00 – 7:00 PM
Place: Room 120, C.K. Choi Building, 1855 West Mall

Lectures are free and open to the public. Seating will be on a first-come first-serve basis. Doors will open 30 minutes prior to the lecture.

To download a .pdf poster for printing: Wickham-Smith Poster.

Upcoming Kameyama Lecture: Eugene Wang on Dunhuang Cave Murals

The UBC Kameyama Lecture Series, with the UBC Buddhism and Contemporary Society Program, presents a lecture by Dr. Eugene Wang, the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Professor of Asian Art at Harvard University:

“What to See in a Buddhist Cave?”

Date: Wednesday, 30 November 2011
Time: 4:30 – 6:00 PM
Place: C.K. Choi Building, Room 120, 1855 West Mall, UBC Point Grey Campus

Lectures are free and open to the public. Seating will be on a first-come first-serve basis.

To download a .pdf poster for printing: Eugene Wang Poster.

Call for Papers: Buddhism and the Political Process

The Department of Humanities, University of Toronto Scarborough is pleased to present,

A Call for Papers for: The Tung Lin Kok Yuen 東蓮覺苑 Conference on Buddhism and the Political Process (April 13-15, 2012)

The program committee welcomes proposals for papers from academics, professionals, graduate students and others. Proposals that include a max. 300 word abstract of the paper and a short academic CV should be made online through our submissions site at: http://link.library.utoronto.ca/buddhiststudies/conference/

The deadline for submissions is Friday November 18, 2011.  Participants will be notified by December 17th if their submission has been successful.

For more information please visit: http://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/~humdiv/prg_bs.html

Report on Dr. Paul Fleischman’s lecture on Vipassana Meditation

Dr. Paul R. Fleischman gave a talk on “Vipassana Meditation: A Practice and a Path” to around two hundred people at the First Nations Longhouse’s Great Hall on September 29, 2011.

He provided an detailed overview of its historical development, philosophical underpinnings, and practical requirements of this meditational practice–stressing its modern systematization and adaptation to modern lives.

Dr. Fleischman’s description of meditation was a self-reflective melding of natural scientific theories with the worldview that underlies vipassana meditation. He stressed two points in particular: (1) The natural laws that govern our world also govern us as embodied beings; cultivating awareness of our embodied existence, through concentration and observation, provides insight into the world itself. (2) The practice of meditation is supported by ethical practice, both in terms of basic precepts and the voluntaristic, service orientation of the vipassana movement itself. In addition to being detailed and informative, his talk was imbued with a wonderfully dry humor, making it accessible and entertaining.