Date： April 27, 2015 (Mon) 4:00-5:30p.m

Venue： Main Conference Room, 3rd floor, Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia (Tobunken), the University of Tokyo

Speaker： Dr. Berthe K. Jansen (Leiden University)

Title： Buddhist Monastic Policy in Pre-modern Tibet and its Relation to Social Justice

Abstract：

This talk will present the final results of my research within ProfessorSilk¹s project on Buddhism and Social Justice. My recently completed PhDdissertation entitled The Monastery Rules: Buddhist Monastic Organizationin Pre-modern Tibet (2014), looks at the societal position Tibetanmonasteries occupied prior to 1959, with as the main sources the monasticguidelines (bca\’ yig) that were written for individual monasteries betweenthe 12th and the 20th centuries. I will discuss the key findings of thisresearch: the extent to which actual policy, rules and regulations wereproducts of a Buddhist worldview and the manner in which the Vinayainfluenced monastic organization in Tibet. I will also argue that theissues that are central to the discourse on social justice can be equallyimportant when looking at the societal influence of Buddhist notionsthroughout history.

Contact: norihisa(at)ioc.u-tokyo.ac.jp