As our community faces unprecedented challenges during these uncertain times, the Center for Buddhist Studies is grateful for the community’s support and pleased to celebrate our third anniversary. The Center’s research, education, and outreach activities enhance the physical, mental, and spiritual well-being of individuals and the community. We are proud to highlight the many accomplishments and future projects that have made the Center a national and international leader in the study of Buddhism, spirituality, and wellness.
As College of Humanities Dean Alain-Philippe Durand announced two weeks ago, the Center will have a new home inside the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine, a landmark health and wellness facility that will live in the heart of campus. The Center will have a suite in this innovative building that will include research space, library space for display and access to the impressive Maitreya Library of Buddhist Canon, a conference room, and a unique tea ceremony space. This new home will enable the Center to host visiting scholars, international conferences and community lecture series. A fundraising campaign is underway, including a naming opportunity.
The second year of our Lingyin Buddhist Studies Lecture Series is underway, with presentations by eminent scholars from around the world and a special concert to celebrate our third anniversary. Please join us on Nov. 7, 2020 for Poetic Melody From Hangzhou with Vocalist and Chinese Zither player He-Yi 何怡 and friends. This past year, several world-renowned scholars presented in our Khyentse Foundation Lecture Series and the Pu Yin Buddhist Studies Lecture Series.
Our faculty have been busy writing books, winning awards, and presenting at conferences all around the world. Center Director Prof. Jiang Wu’s 2019 book Spreading the Buddha’s Word in East Asia, an exploration of the formation of the Chinese Buddhist canon, was published in paperback this year. Prof. Albert Welter co-organized an international conference on Hangzhou Buddhist figures in Hangzhou, China and presented at many important conferences throughout the world, especially the 2019 China-US-Canada Buddhist Forum held at the UN headquarters in New York. Prof. Takashi Miura published his first book, Agents of World Renewal: The Rise of Yonaoshi Gods in Japan in 2019, while Prof. Caleb Simmons published Devotional Sovereignty: Kingship and Religion in India, 1782-1868, also his first book. Prof. Rae Dachille was awarded a College of Humanities Faculty research grant for 2019-2020 to fund travel to Beijing to present research for her second book project at a workshop at Tsinghua University.
Led by Prof. Albert Welter, the Hangzhou Buddhist Culture Project is a multi-year research and educational program centered on Buddhism in the Hangzhou area of China. In the summer of 2019, Prof. Welter led a group of East Asian Studies graduate students to visit the local Buddhist monasteries and Buddhist Academy of Zhejiang Province, and present at the Hangzhou Buddhist Culture conference.
International partnerships expand our visibility and have brought invaluable resources to the university. During a visit to Hong Kong, Dean Durand and Director Jiang Wu signed an agreement with Prof. Andrew Wong from the Maitreya Culture & Education Foundation Ltd. to establish a Maitreya Library at the University of Arizona.
Our undergraduate and graduate students continue to shine, producing outstanding research and winning awards and fellowships from international institutions. In addition to a doctoral fellowship, undergraduate study abroad award, and graduate student paper award supported by Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou, China, our students have also received the Khyentse Foundation Doctoral Fellowship, the Chung-Hwa Fellowship, a National Center for Interpretation Fellowship, and many other campus-wide awards.
To learn more about our center activities and ways to support our efforts, please visit our website at https://cbs.arizona.edu/ and sign up for our email list: http://eepurl.com/gb2yaD.