Dear faculty, staff, students, and friends of the Center for Buddhist Studies,
Happy New Year! On behalf of the Center’s faculty and staff, I would like to wish you a happy and prosperous 2022. It has been another difficult year for all of us. We have had to endure all kinds of inconvenience and health risks caused by the pandemic, both physically and mentally. However, our perseverance and resilience has become even stronger. New opportunities also emerged from more frequent online interactions. When the pandemic started two years ago, our Center moved quickly to online platforms and held many events virtually, attracting participants throughout the world. In the new year, we plan to continue our online presence with some experiments in hybrid events.
In the past year, our Khyentse, Pu Yin, and Lingyin lecture series continued, and our fellowship programs were carried out without interruption. In particular, we successfully organized an international online symposium on Jiangnan Buddhist Traditions in the Early Modern Context in December 2021. Awards have been given to talented students who have engaged in high-quality research, and some have already finished their dissertations successfully despite the pandemic. Our faculty also conducted amazing research and maintained their high productivity as usual.
Our building project with the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine is at the end of the design stage. Despite pandemic-related delays, we are excited to be moving into the building phase. We are still looking for visionary donors to contribute to this project. If you are interested, or know anyone who might be interested in becoming a member of this distinguished group whose names will be permanently associated with the Center and Dr. Andrew Weil, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
One of the big successes of last year was the launch of the Chinese Buddhist Canon Research Newsletter and the Community Wellness Newsletter. Both newsletters have been well received among our readers and subscribers. We are going to continue to support these two endeavors. Also, a big shout-out for our editorial teams who have made these newsletters phenomenal.
In the new year we have lined up several exciting events and I would like to make a few announcements in the beginning of the new year.
First, 2022 is the 350th death anniversary of the Chinese Zen master Yinyuan (Japanese: Ingen) who founded the Japanese Obaku tradition. We plan to make him the theme of our events during the coming year to celebrate his life and accomplishments in both China and Japan. An online exhibition of Obaku art will be launched in March. A series of lectures by scholars and specialists will introduce him and his tradition to the public. In addition, a music concert featuring the Japanese Zen monk musician Mr. Kanho Yakushiji will be premiered online in October. Tea ceremony demonstrations will also be presented in association with these events.
In addition, in the new year, our Center is going to host the 2022 Pacific Neighborhood Consortium (PNC) annual meeting together with Academia Sinica in Taiwan in mid-September. Pacific Neighborhood Consortium is one of the leading organizations in the fields of Digital Humanities, Informatics, and E-learning. We are honored to host this three-day event on the campus of the University of Arizona.
Starting in January 2021, email updates have been sent according to your group preference. If you would like to receive updates, please update your preference update your preferences or sign up for our email list by clicking http://eepurl.com/gb2yaD and select the following groups according to your preference:
“Chinese Buddhist Canon Research Newsletter”
“Lectures and Academic Research”
“Courses and Education Programs”
"Community, Health, Wellness"
Please select as many as you like. Subscribers will receive a free-monthly E-book in either English or Chinese. If you do not select any of the above options, you will receive a bi-monthly news brief.
As a friend of the Center for Buddhist Studies at the University of Arizona, you have shown that you care about keeping connected to our community. If you enjoy our lectures and programs, please renew your support today.
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Our events and projects rely on your continuous support and we are looking forward to your contribution and participation in the new year.
Best wishes and Happy New Year!
Jiang Wu
Director, Center for Buddhist Studies
Professor, Department of East Asian Studies
College of Humanities
341C, Harvill Building
1103 E 2nd St, Tucson, AZ 85721-0076
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