News
JF-GJS Fellow Talk Series「The Laws of the Buddha and the Laws of the Land: Buddhist Legal Pluralism in Sri Lanka and Beyond」が開催されました
報告
So far in the JF-GJS series, we have hosted talks about the soft power of K-pop supergroup BTS, the internal debates of the Burmese communist party, and the anti-imperial aesthetics of Indonesian literature. These talks have showcased the different connections, interests, and expertise of our JF-GJS fellows and the field of Global Asian Studies. On June 5th, we hosted our first talk in the series focused on Buddhism, and 21 people joined this talk.
Dr. Ben Schonthal from the University of Otago presented on what he sees as the legal pluralism practiced within Buddhist law in Sri Lanka. Caught between the machinations of the modern state and the traditions of the Buddhist religion, monastic jurists in Sri Lanka adopt a pluralist approach to law, navigating both systems, invoking the similarities between Buddhist and national law while also maintaining the uniqueness of religious law and its aims. For Dr. Schonthal, the key to understanding this legal pluralism is to treat law not merely as a static, written set of codes, but as a practice, as an enactment that establishes the very reality it seeks to define.
After the talk, the discussion was lead by Dr. Ryosuke Kuramoto of the Institute for Advanced Studies. With his work on monastic life, regulations, and temple management in Myanmar, there is perhaps no better conversation partner for Dr. Schonthal than Dr. Kuramoto. Dr. Kuramoto pursued a fascinating line of questioning, asking how we might use the idea of legal pluralism to see the Buddhist community not just as a religious community governed by the state, but as a kind of state within a state, one that resists complete governmental control and maintains its autonomy.
This talk series is a part of the Global Asian Studies program, and in many ways, Buddhism was “global” before there was a “Global,” indeed, before there was even “Buddhism.” Buddhism is thus an integral aspect of the Global Asia paradigm, and Dr. Schonthal’s talk, although focused on Sri Lanka, contributed to the discussion on this paradigm unfolding at the IASA. written by Tony Scott
当日の様子
開催情報
日時：2026年6月5日（金）15:00-16:30
会場：Conference Room 1 (304), Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, UTokyo
講演者：Dr. Benjamin Schonthal, Professor, University of Otago
司会：Dr. Tony Scott, JF-GJS Fellow, Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia
討論：Dr. Kuramoto Ryosuke, Professor, Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia
主催：JF-GJS Initiative, Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, The University of Tokyo
登録種別：研究活動記録
登録日時：WedJun1709:49:142026
登録者 ：GAS事務局・神林
掲載期間：20260618 - 20260917
当日期間：20260605 - 20260605
