Workshop on “How Buddhist Studies Became an Academic Discipline in Modern East Asia?”
Date：Oct 29, 2025
Venue：線上視訊（實體僅限受邀學者參與）
Type：工作坊
Workshop on “How Buddhist Studies Became an Academic Discipline in Modern East Asia?”
Date: October 29 (Wednesday), 2025
Time: 13:20-17:40
Venue: Online (Link will be provided via E-mail.)
Registration Link: https://forms.gle/Ebx9SmktNAenyLHL7
(Deadline of Registration: October 26, 2025)
Theme of Workshop
“Buddhist Studies,” also known as “Buddhology,”—how did it become a distinct field within the modern system of knowledge in East Asia (from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century)? This question is generally considered part of the history of knowledge or intellectual history, often involves the discipline’s self-understanding. It examines how intellectual activities relate to institutions, politics, society, ideology, power, and dissemination (as seen in works like Foucault’s The Birth of the Clinic or recent studies on epidemiology). The emergence of Buddhist Studies as a component of religious and philosophical studies in modern East Asia is precisely the topic of this small workshop. The discussion of topics include: the establishment of Buddhist studies as an academic discipline, its continuity or discontinuity with traditional Buddhist teachings, the influence of Western and European philology and textual criticism, historical events and figures, case studies, and more.
Program:
13:20-13:30
Lin Chen-kuo 林鎮國 (National Chengchi University)
Opening Remarks
13:30-14:10
Isshiki Daigo 一色大悟 (Tokyo University)
Epistemological Transformations in the Modernization of Japanese Buddhist Studies
14:10-14:50
Park Dae-yong (Ven. Dongkwang東光法師) (Esan Institute of Buddhist Philosophy)
The Boom of "Early Buddhist Studies" in Contemporary Korean Buddhism: Headwind or Tailwind for Mahāyāna Buddhism? -Focusing on Early Buddhist Studies in Korea since the 1980s
14:50-15:05
Coffee Break
15:05-15:45
HU Chih-chiang 胡志強 (National Chengchi University)
“On” the Shoulders of LÜ Cheng: With Some Reflections on the Methodology of Buddhist Studies
15:45-16:25
Kim, Je Ran (Dongguk University)
Reception and Critique of Western Philosophy in Modern Korean and Chinese Buddhism
16:25-16:35
Coffee Break
16:35-17:15
Wu, Ming-Feng (Ruhr University Bochum)
Contested Awakening: Buddhist Concepts in Modern China's Reform Discourse
17:15-17:40
Lin, Pei-ying 林佩瑩 (National Chengchi University)
Closing Wrap-Up
* 30 Minutes for presentation and 10 minutes for Q & A.
Organizer:
Center for Buddhist Philosophy, National Chengchi University
Sponsors:
Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai