The Eighth Glorisun International Intensive Program on Buddhist Studies – Seminar and Lecture Series

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Segment 1

 

Seminar 1: Vincent GOOSSAERT 高萬桑 (École Pratique des Hautes Études [EPHE] 法國高等研究實踐學院)
Religious literature in late imperial China: typologies, spirit-writing and ritual uses
  1. Chinese religious texts: formats, genres, institutions
    This lecture will offer a general overview of religious texts composed and circulated in late imperial China (1600-1920) with a focus on printed editions. It will introduce and use the CRTA open-access database.
  2. Liturgical texts
    This lecture will look more closely at texts meant for ritual use. It will explore the various type of liturgical manuals, in different traditions (Daoist, Buddhist, Confucian, sectarian, etc.), and the various modes for ritualizing texts. It will also discuss how these texts shed light on the ritual activities of late imperial literati.
  3. Spirit-writing
    This lecture will introduce the history of spirit-writing in late imperial China, survey the production of texts and books by spirit-writing groups, and introduce through several examples the dynamics of relationships between humans and gods through this means.

 

晚期帝制中國的宗教文獻：類型學、扶乩活動與儀式用途
  1. 中國宗教文本：形式、體裁與機構
    本講將概述晚中華帝國晚期（1600-1920）宗教文本的創作與流傳狀況，重點關注印刷制作的宗教文獻。本講還將介紹並使用“宗教書籍規範索引”（CRTA） 開放資料庫，以展示相關資源和研究方法。
  2. 儀式文本
    本講將聚焦於用於儀式活動的文本，探討道教、佛教、儒教、民間教派等各種傳統中不同類型的儀式手冊，考察文本儀式化的不同方式。此外，本講還將討論這些文本如何有助于我們理解晚期帝制時期士人的儀式活動。
  3. 扶乩活動
    本講將介紹晚期帝制中國扶乩實踐的歷史，考察扶乩團體如何通過這一方式創作文本和相關書籍，並通過若干案例分析人與神在扶乩活動中的動態互動關係。

 

Seminar 2: ZHAN Ru 湛如 (Peking University 北京大學) / Jinhua CHEN 陳金華 (The University of British Columbia 加拿大英屬哥倫比亞大學)

1.1 forthcoming

1.2 forthcoming

2.1 forthcoming

2.2 forthcoming

3.1 forthcoming

3.2 forthcoming

 

Lecture 1: Noga GANANY 高諾佳 (University of Cambridge 英國劍橋大學): The Impact of Buddhism on Late Imperial Book Culture 佛教對晚期帝制中國書籍文化的影響

The multifaceted impact of Buddhism on Chinese writing and printing has been studied extensively in recent decades, yet we are still far from fully understanding its role in shaping Chinese book culture. This lecture will explore the impact of Buddhism on book culture in late imperial China from three interrelated perspective. First, we will discuss the significance of several ambitious Buddhist printing projects, from the Ming and Qing editions of the Buddhist Canon to compilations such as “Origins of the Śākyas” (Shishi yuanliu 釋氏源流). As we shall see, although these projects were led by Buddhist institutions and the state, they highlight the close collaboration between clerics and laypeople in Buddhist publishing, as well as a growing aspiration to circulate Buddhist knowledge widely. Second, we will look at the inclusion of Buddhist texts, themes, and visuality in lay commercial publications. In this respect, we will discuss the diffusion of Buddhist materials (doctrinal teaching, practical instruction, historiography and hagiography) in reference books (leishu 類書) and illustrated narratives (xiaoshuo 小說). Lastly, we will consider the various contributions of Buddhist ideas, texts, and images to Chinese writing and publishing vis-à-vis broader developments in Chinese book culture.

 

Lecture 2: Anna SHIELDS 田安 (Princeton University 美國普林斯頓大學): Daoism in Poetry from the Late Tang through the Early Northern Song: Losing the Way
In this lecture, we will examine the role of Daoism in poetry from the ninth century through the early Northern Song, with a focus on the ways that Daoist themes pervaded key strands of the poetic tradition, with attention to how these interests were erased in later views of the Tang poetic canon. Scholarly debates over the influence of Buddhism and Daoism on Tang poetry are often shaped by disciplinary boundaries, producing disparate conclusions about the relative role and importance of religious belief and practices on poetry, and the standard literary historical narratives of the Tang often marginalize writing on religious topoi. In the short pre-assigned readings and lecture, we will consider how we might read across such boundaries and put poetry treating Daoist topoi back into a broader literary historical understanding of the Tang, and also into conversation with poetry on Buddhist themes, sites, and figures.

 

Segment 2

 

Seminar 3: Ulrike ROESLER 鄔瑞可 (University of Oxford 英國牛津大學): Buddhist Advice for Rulers: The Dilemma of Kingship in Buddhist Ethics

Religion and politics are not always easy to reconcile, and this dilemma seems to have troubled Buddhists in Asia throughout the centuries. It is obvious that the ethical norms of Buddhism are at odds with machiavellian theories of statecraft that prescribe the use of force to secure one’s power. However, even without such a machiavellian approach to politics, Buddhist ethics does not easily go together with the pragmatic aspects of governance that seem to require a firm hand in order to generate social and political stability and well-being. And at a more fundamental level, doesn’t a personal involvement in politics contradict the soteriological goal of Buddhism in principle?

In ancient India, the uneasy relationship between Buddhist ethics and kingship has been addressed in various forms, by Buddhist scholars and teachers and by actual kings alike. This lecture course will investigate a variety of genres of Buddhist literature that provide insights into Buddhist ideas of good governance and ethical norms for rulers. The texts chosen span slightly more than a millennium, from the Pāli suttas to Buddhist letters written in the 11th century. This survey aims to provide insights into the advice early and medieval Buddhist literature has to offer to those who are in charge of running a government.

 

Topics

  1. Royal duties and Buddhist ethics: a difficult relationship
    • 1.1 Introduction: Issues of Buddhist kingship
    • 1.2 A real-life Buddhist king: Ashoka
  1. Kingship in Mahāyāna Buddhist literature
    • 2.1 Letters to Kings: Buddhist advice for rulers
    • 2.2 Advice against kingship in Buddhist sūtras and śāstras
  1. Creative solutions: Kingship in Buddhist narratives
    • 3.1 The origin of kingship and images of the ideal ruler in the Pāli suttas
    • 3.2 A kingship narrative from the tantric Buddhist world
  • Conclusion

 

Recommended pre-reads:

Nance, Richard F. 2015. “How to Address Kings: Buddhist Letters to Indian Rulers.” Revue d’études tibétaines 31, pp. 207-215.

Zimmermann, Michael 2006. “Only a Fool Becomes a King: Buddhist Stances on Punishment.” In M. Zimmermann (ed.), Buddhism and Violence, pp. 213–242. Lumbini: Lumbini International Research Institute.

 

Zhe JI 汲喆 (Inalco-CEIB 法國國立東方語言文明學院-多學科佛教研究中心)

1.1 forthcoming

1.2 forthcoming

2.1 forthcoming

2.2 forthcoming

3.1 forthcoming

3.2 forthcoming