The University of Toronto/McMaster University Yehan Numata Program in Buddhist Studies hosts an annual lecture series that invites Buddhist Studies scholars from around the globe to Southern Ontario for public lectures and reading groups at both University of Toronto and McMaster University. A uniquely collaborative Buddhist Studies program between the two universities, this program offers students the opportunity for students and the public to engage the research and scholarship of specialists across the spectrum of Buddhist Studies as well as promoting intellectual exchange between Buddhist Studies graduate communities at the Religious Studies departments of University of Toronto and McMaster University.
Founded by the Rev. Dr. Yehan Numata, the Bukkyō Dendō Kyōkai Society for the Promotion of Buddhism supports Numata programs in Buddhist Studies at universities across the globe. The University of Toronto/McMaster University Yehan Numata Program in Buddhist Studies lecture series has been an excellent opportunity for students to encounter the expertise of established scholars and to engage with the research of emerging scholars. Each visiting scholar offers both a lecture and participates in a reading group, usually addressing both their previous and current research.
Reflecting the diverse specializations and interests of the Buddhist Studies communities of University of Toronto and McMaster University, the Numata program lecture series has persistently featured regionally and methodologically diverse scholarship in Buddhist Studies—and this year is no exception. In 2016, we are looking forward to receiving our visiting lecturers who will be engaging new research, discussing their theories, and presenting their recently published works across their various regional and methodological specialties. The 2016 schedule includes:
COSTANTINO MORETTI (École Pratique des Hautes Études, Sorbonne)
Thursday, February 11, 2016, 3-5pm, University of Toronto, Jackman Humanities Building 214
Reading Group: “Preta Categories in a 6th Century Buddhist Summa Theologica”
Friday, February 12, 2016, 4-6pm, McMaster University, University Hall 122
Lecture: Preventive Morality and “Last Resort” Buddhist Devotion in Chinese Medieval Apocrypha
JOSÉ CABEZÓN (University of California, Santa Barbara)
Thursday, February 25, 2016, 3-5pm, University of Toronto, Jackman Humanities Building 214
Reading Group: “Reading a Buddhist Sūtra: The Ārya Dharmaskandha Mahāyāna Sūtra”
Friday, February 26, 2016, 4-6pm, McMaster University, University Hall 122
Lecture: An Indigenous Buddhist Theory of Gender
JOWITA KRAMER (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München)
Thursday, March 17, 2016, 3-5pm, University of Toronto, Jackman Humanities Building 214
Lecture: Sthiramati as Author and Commentator
Friday, March 18, 2016, 4-6pm, McMaster University, University Hall 122
Reading Group: “Innovation and the Role of Intertextuality in the Pañcaskandhaka and Related Yogācāra Works”
LEVI MCLAUGHLIN (North Carolina State University)
Thursday, April 7, 2016, 3-5pm, University of Toronto, Jackman Humanities Building 214
Lecture: Soka Gakkai: Buddhism and Romantic Heroism in Modern Japan
Friday, April 8, 2016, 4-6pm, McMaster University, University Hall 122
Reading Group: “A Brief History of Soka Gakkai: From Intellectual Collective to Mass Movement”
The 2015-2016 lecture series kicked off last December with the emerging scholar, Professor Stuart Young. His thought provoking lecture, “Constructing Indian Identity in Medieval China” and stimulating reading group on his article, “Bald-headed Destroyers of Living Things: Vinaya Jurisprudence, Mahayana Compassion, and Lay-Monastic Distinctions in Medieval China” (draft) were well-received and an excellent way to begin this year’s series.
Here on the CJBS Blog, we will be posting graduate student reflections on the lectures and reading groups in the series—our first reflections on Stuart Young’s presentations from our graduate students will be published here in the coming days. Stay tuned!
For reading group materials and questions please contact amanda.goodman@utoronto.ca, and for a list of previous lectures click here.
