Explore past and upcoming conferences, lectures and seminars on Buddhist Studies.

03 December 2025

The Lives and Afterlives of Buddhist Icons: Deactivation and Reactivation Rituals in Medieval Japan

This lecture by Dr Benedetta Lomi will explore how Buddhist institutions of the Heian and Kamakura periods negotiated the challenges of maintaining, repairing, and reusing their icons. 

Book now
 

01 December 2025

Humour in Premodern Buddhist Literature

A workshop hosted by ECBS / Monday 1st December, 2-5pm, Senate Room, New College, and online via Zoom

What is humour?
What makes something funny? What are the diferent types or modes of humour, such as parody
and satire, that we fnd in premodern Buddhist texts?
Is humour cross-cultural?
To what extent is humour culturally specifc? What types of humour are able to travel across
linguistic and cultural boundaries? Why do we still laugh at certain things even in texts far
distant from ourselves?
What is humour for (in Buddhist literature)?
Is there such a thing as distinctively Buddhist humour? How does humour relate to moral
teaching or monastic discipline? When does humour become transgressive or ethically difcult?
Can humour be used to explore or communicate Buddhist ideals?

Schedule:
From 2pm arrival and cofee
2.10-2.30pm Naomi Appleton:
Humour in early Indian narrative
2.30-2.50pm Upali Sraman:
Humour in the Vinaya
2.50-3.00pm cofee break
3.00-3.20pm Jan Nicol:
Humour in the Liudu ji jing
3.20-3.40pm Rajyashree Pandey:
Humour in premodern Japan
3.40-3.50pm coffee break
3.50-5.00pm roundtable discussion

To attend please sign up through the Eventbrite page and select either in-person or online attendance.
https://buddhist-studies.ed.ac.uk/news-and-events

25 November 2025

Gandhāran Buddhist Manuscripts and Inscriptions: Recent Discoveries and Field Work /  Dr Stefan Baums (LMU Munich)

Meeting ID: 986 5438 2853 Passcode: 132770

Those of you in the Bristol area can join us in Room G.H01, Arts Complex, 7 Woodland Road.

Abstract:

Recent discoveries of the earliest Buddhist manuscripts from Gandhāra (modern Afghanistan and Pakistan), dating back as far as the first century BCE and written in the Gāndhārī language, are transforming our understanding of early Buddhist literature, both in terms of its content and the ways in which it was used, and in which oral and written traditions interacted. In parallel with these manuscripts’ discoveries, the available corpus of Gāndhārī inscriptions also continues to grow, shedding new light on the interface of textual and material culture in the region. In my lecture, I will introduce these discoveries, discussing the known manuscripts and their study as well as recent epigraphical fieldwork in Pakistan and its results. In the master class, we will study in greater detail Gāndhārī manuscripts containing commentaries on early Buddhist verses and the Saṃgītisūtra and their historical connections fieldwork in Pakistan and its results. In the master class, we will study in greater detail Gāndhārī manuscripts containing commentaries on early Buddhist verses and the Saṃgītisūtra and their historical connections. 

Biography:

Stefan Baums teaches Sanskrit, Prakrit and Pali language and literature and Buddhist Studies at the Institute for Indology and Tibetology of the University of Munich and serves as lead researcher of the Buddhist Manuscripts from Gandhāra project at the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities. Before joining the University of Munich, he held positions at the University of Copenhagen, the University of Washington, the University of California, Berkeley, and Leiden University. His research interests include Buddhist philology and epigraphy, classical Sanskrit court literature, the development of Buddhist hermeneutics, and the description of Gāndhārī language and literature. His current work focuses on the decipherment and edition of four Gāndhārī manuscripts containing commentaries on early Buddhist verses and the Saṃgītisūtra and a study of the historical connections and exegetical principles of this group of texts. He is editor of the Dictionary of Gāndhārī, co-editor of the Gandhāran Buddhist Texts series, academic lead of the Research Environment for Ancient Documents (READ) software development project, and epigraphist for the Italian Archaeological Mission in Pakistan.

The talk will be followed by a Q&A and a small reception of drinks and nibbles.

All are welcome!

The event is generously supported by the Khyentse Foundation

13 and 15 November 2025

Robert Ho Foundation Lecture Series in Chinese Buddhism
These events are free and open to all, but seminar registration is required. Please register here
 
[Lecture] Chinese visitors at the navel of the world: Transregional travels to Bodhgaya in the long First Millennium
 
13 November 2025, 18:00-19:30
Venue: SALT, Senate house, SOAS
 
Bodhgayā, the place of the Buddha’s Awakening, arguably is one of the most prominent places in Buddhist history and imagination. It is one of the four ‘Great Places’ (mahāsthāna) recommended for visits by the Buddha towards the end of his life (Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra); hence it is not surprising that it very quickly became one of the major Buddhist pilgrimage places, not only visited by Indian monastics and laypeople but also, from at least the 4th century to the 12th century AD, by Chinese travelers and pilgrims. Some of these travelers wrote records or left inscriptions in situ. This lecture will give an overview of these sources and will trace the history of Bodhgayā reflected in them.
 
[Seminar] Chinese sources about and from Bodhgaya from the Long First Millennium
 
15 November 2025, 10:00-13:00
Venue: DLT, Main Building, SOAS
 
As a follow-up to the Lecture, we will read and discuss selected passages from the Chinese sources on Bodhgayā; these sources will comprise Faxian’s ‘Record of the Buddhist Kingdoms’ (Foguo ji), parts of Xuanzang’s ‘Record of the Western Region of the Great Tang’, and selected Chinese inscriptions from the early Song period which were found in situ at Bodhgayā, including newly found fragments from the Bihar Museum (formerly Patna Museum).
 
 
Max Deeg is Professor in Buddhist Studies at Cardiff University, Wales. His research focuses on the transmission process of Buddhism from India to China and, more specifically, on Chinese sources on India. He is preparing a new translation and commentary of Xuanzang’s Record of the Western Regions of the Great Tang (Datang Xiyu ji) and is one of the two PIs on the ongoing “Xuanzang Trail” project in Bihar, India, which explores the Buddhist sites in Bihar mentioned in Xuanzang’s ‘Record’ (supported and funded by the Bihar Heritage Development Society).
 
These events are kindly sponsored by the Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation.

11 November 2025

Envisioning Kingship in Sixteenth-century Sri Lanka / Dr Sujatha Meeghama

Meeting ID: 963 6712 4532 Passcode: 208352
Abstract: 
Envisioning Kingship in Sixteenth-century Sri Lanka
Little remains of the monuments, sculptures, and paintings of sixteenth century Sri Lanka following the violent destruction of temples, both Buddhist and Hindu, that took place during Sri Lanka’s first encounter with a European colonial power. To understand the visual culture of this tumultuous time, one must therefore turn to the royal gifts produced for Portuguese patrons. These ivories provide rare glimpses into the courtly and religious traditions of Sri Lankan royalty. Portraying bodhisattva-like kings seated at court, these carvings illustrate an aspect of sixteenth-century kingship that has yet to be extensively examined. This research talk locates these ivory carvings within traditions of visualising the historical Buddha, while also engaging with Sinhala poetic descriptions of kings at court, to further understand how kingship was envisioned in sixteenth-century Sri Lanka. Such visual and textual comparisons suggest the significance of the divinity of kings, invoking both Buddhist and Hindu traditions.
Biography:
Dr Sujatha Meegama (The Courtauld) works on transcultural objects and sites in the Indian Ocean world. She is the author of Temples to the Buddha and the Gods: Transnational Dravida Tradition of Architecture in Sri Lanka (2024) and the editor of Sri Lanka: Connected Art Histories (Marg, 2017). Her current research focuses on ivories commissioned for colonial and local Buddhist patrons in Sri Lanka.

03 May 2025

 

Temples to the Buddha & the Gods. Keynote Speaker: Dr Sujatha Meegama;          Respondent: Dr Elizabeth Harris

 

Lecture on Buddhist Art & Architecture in Sri Lanka

On behalf of the British Mahabodhi Society / London Buddhist Vihara

Sri Lanka’s diverse and interwoven cultural heritage has led to religious art being shared by followers of Buddhism and Hinduism over millennia. Archaeological remains, inscriptions, poetry and literature provide evidence of common architectural forms, rituals and patronage that existed over centuries amongst the island’s different communities as well as in South Asia and the Indian Ocean region.

Dr Sujatha Meegama from the Courtauld Institute of Art will talk on her recently published book, Temples to the Buddha and the Gods: Transnational Drāviḍa Tradition of Architecture in Sri Lanka, which explores the legacy of religious art and architecure on the island. We are also delighted that Dr Elizabeth Harris (President, UK Association of Buddhist Studies) will respond to Dr Meegama’s talk and lead an audience Q&A session.

To join Dr Sujatha Meegama’s talk and discussion in-person at London Buddhist Vihara, kindly register here:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dr-sujatha-meegama-temples-to-the-buddha-the-gods-tickets-1329102664849?aff=oddtdtcreator

If you prefer to join online please click on the link below to receive the Zoom link via email:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/LjcYU4Z0Q2WIkNkXsi_Rdg