Reading group meeting, presentation by Longyu Zhang, November 8, 2024 (11/8/2024) - GCBS reading group activities began on November 8 this year. PhD student Longyu Zhang presented her preliminary reading of narrative passages from Dharmaguptaka-vinaya, with a focus on the use of modal markers in these texts. Longyu began by introducing the… Read more
New member: August Sundin (10/25/2024) - August Sundin is PhD candidate in Buddhist Studies within the Department of Languages and Cultures at Ghent University. He is a member of the project "Corpora in Greater Gandhāra. Tracing the development of Buddhist Textuality and Gilgit/Bamiyan manuscript networks in… Read more
Indian ambassadors’s visit, October 10, 2024 (10/14/2024) - On 10th October, Mr Saurabh Kumar, Ambassador of India to Belgium and Luxembourg, and to the European Union, accompanied by Mr Venkateswaran Narayanan, First Secretary Press, Information and Culture visited Universiteit Gent to meet the Rector, Prof Rik Van de… Read more
A splendid opening ceremony launches the exhibition “Sensing the Buddha” (9/27/2024) - The exhibition “Sensing the Buddha” opened in the Domaine & Musée royal de Mariemont on Friday, September 21, 2024. Madam Minister of Culture, Elisabeth Degryse, Her Excellency Madam Kanchana Patarachoke, Ambassador of Thailand in Belgium, Madam Deputy Culture.be - Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles Mr.… Read more
Guest lecture “Monastic Monsters: Historicizing Outcaste Characters in the Grotesquerie of Indian Buddhist Literature” by Nicholas Witkowski, October 3, 2024 (9/24/2024) - The Gandhāra Corpora Project, South Asia Network Ghent, and Ghent Centre for Buddhist Studies present a lecture by Professor Nicholas Witkowski from the University of San Diego. Title: Monastic Monsters: Historicizing Outcaste Characters in the Grotesquerie of Indian Buddhist Literature Speaker: … Read more
Publication highlights (Q3 2024): Two papers by GCBS members in the Journal of Chinese Buddhist Studies (9/22/2024) - Articles from two GCBS researchers have just been published in the Journal of Chinese Buddhist Studies, Volume 37, Special issue "Chinese Buddhist Monastic Institutional Life and Buddhist Women’s Experience and Practice" (August 2024). One is by the Head of the… Read more
Exhibition “Sensing the Buddha,” 21 September 2024 to 20 April 2025, Royal Museum of Mariemont (Belgium) (9/7/2024) - In partnership with the Ghent Centre for Buddhist Studies, the Domaine & Musée royal de Mariemont has produced the exhibition "Sensing the Buddha," an unprecedented immersion in the world of Buddhism. The exhibition features innovative scenography that reveals the many… Read more
International conference “Diverse Lives: Narratives of Śākyamuni Buddha in text and image”, 17-19 October 2024, Royal Museum of Mariemont (Belgium) (9/3/2024) - Śākyamuni Buddha, the founding figure of Buddhism, has played a profoundly significant role across South and East Asian – and more recently also Western – cultures and societies. Despite his central role, no single biographical account of his life is… Read more
GCBS members participate in the 25th Biennial Conference of the European Association for Chinese Studies (EACS) (9/2/2024) - Ghent Centre for Buddhist Studies had a notable presence at the 25th Biennial Conference of the European Association for Chinese Studies (EACS) held at Tallinn University, Estonia on 27-30 August, 2024. Our professors, postdocs and PhD students made nine presentations… Read more
Visit of the Ambassadors of Thailand and Sri Lanka to the GCBS (7/15/2024) - On July 15, 2024, the Ghent Centre for Buddhist Studies welcomed H.E. Mrs. Kanchana Patarachoke, Ambassador of Thailand, and H.E. Mr. Chandana Weerasena, Ambassador of Sri Lanka, along with Mr. Nithi Patarachoke, the spouse of Mrs. Patarachoke, and Mr. Pathompong… Read more
GCBS Research Forum meeting, June 10, 2024, presentation by Mariia Lepneva (6/12/2024) - The last meeting of GCBS's Research Forum for this academic year took place on June 10, at 4 pm. FWO postdoc Mariia Lepneva presented the paper that she will further discuss at the European Association of Chinese Studies conference in… Read more
2024 Lecture Series “Asian Buddhism: Text, Art, and Practice” (6/5/2024) - GCBS's own professors and several invited guests will deliver talks in the framework of the lecture series "Asian Buddhism: Text, Art, and Practice" (June 22-23, 2024) aimed at the GENERAL PUBLIC. Participation can be both in-person and ONLINE. For details,… Read more
Lecture “Bringing Buddha Down to Earth: Celebrating Śākyamuni’s Life in Mogao Cave 61 in Dunhuang”, by Christoph Anderl at Foguang Univesity, May 30, 2024 (5/31/2024) - Centre for Buddhist Studies of Fo Guang University welcomes a guest lecturer from Ghent University in Belgium, who gives a talk about his research on Śākyamuni’s Life in Mogao Cave 61 in Dunhuang. Professor Christoph Anderl is a linguist specializing… Read more
GCBS Research Forum meeting, May 27, 2024, presentations by Jiahang Yu and Massimiliano Portoghese (5/28/2024) - On March 27, 2024, two talks for the Research Forum were given by Ph.D. students Yu Jiahang于佳航 and Massimiliano Portoghese who presented parts of their ongoing research projects at the Ghent Centre for Buddhist Studies. Please find the relevant details below:… Read more
Publication highlights (Q2 2024): “Perfect Awakening: An Edition and Translation of the Prāsādika and Prasādanīya Sūtras”, by Charles DiSimone (5/24/2024) - The Long Discourses, or Dīrghāgama, is a collection of the Buddha’s most well-known sermons that has circulated widely in the Buddhist world. Parallel collections in Pali and Chinese have long been known to scholars and practitioners, but it was not… Read more
Guest lecture “Dreaming of Buddhahood—Measuring Bodhisattva Progress in Early Mahāyāna” by Yixiu Jiang, May 16, 2024 (5/6/2024) - A guest lecture by Yixiu JIANG of Leiden University will take place on May 16 at 14:30 in Meeting Room Camelot (3.30), Campus Boekentoren, Blandij. The lecture is ogranized by GCBS's Professor Charles DiSimone. Title: Dreaming of Buddhahood—Measuring Bodhisattva Progress… Read more
GCBS Research Forum meeting, April 29, 2024, presentation by Nguyễn Khuông Hồng Ngọc (4/30/2024) - The meeting of the GCBS's Research Forum took place on April 29, 2024. Our Ph.D. student Nguyễn Khuông Hồng Ngọc (a.k.a. Ruby) presented a draft paper of a research project submitted for consideration to the European Association for Chinese Studies… Read more
PhD opportunity at the Ghent Centre for Buddist Studies (4/29/2024) - We are hiring! A four year doctoral fellowship is available in the European Research Council funded Gandhāra Corpora project led by Professor Charles DiSimone. Please consider applying or sharing this with any recent MA graduates who are looking to continue… Read more
Fieldwork of GCBS researcher Wen Xueyu in China, January 1-13, 2025 (4/2/2024) - GCBS researcher Wen Xueyu conducted her field investigation from January 1st to 13th, 2025, in the framework of her project on the development of apsara (feitian 飛天) iconography. During this period, she visited several caves, temples, and museums along the Hexi… Read more
Fieldwork concluding session (Cluster 3.4 of the FROGBEAR project), April 20, 2024 (3/13/2024) - In April, final meetings of the various Research Clusters of the FROGBEAR project hosts the final meetings of its various Research Clusters under the general title "From the Ground to the Cloud: Insights from Seven Years of Fieldwork, Training, and… Read more
Doctoral school “Chinese Buddhist Iconography and Manuscript Culture: Fieldwork Data and their Use in Pedagogical Contexts, with an Emphasis on Digital Resources”, June 17-21, 2024 (3/8/2024) - Abstract: Field work activities and the study of manuscripts are vital aspects of conducting research in East Asian Buddhist Studies, and both the fields of analysing iconography and deciphering and contextualizing manuscripts have undergone rapid changes during the last decade,… Read more
GCBS research group previews exhibition at the Royal Museum of Mariemont, March 5, 2024 (3/6/2024) - Members of our research group traveled to the Royal Museum of Mariemont, in order to preview the objects and design of an exhibition on Buddha's life which will open in the end of September 2024. GCBS is co-curating the exhibition, and… Read more
Long-term visiting scholar (April 1 – June 30, 2024): Prof. Yang Gang 杨刚 (Inst. of Dunhuang Studies, Lanzhou University) (3/5/2024) - Prof. Yang Gang 杨刚 received a joint PhD from Sichuan University and Ghent University and was a visiting scholar at the University of Erlangen–Nuremberg. He is now an associate professor at the Institute of Dunhuang Studies of Lanzhou University (兰州大学敦煌学研究所).… Read more
Reading group meeting, presentation by Wenzhuo Shi, March 1, 2024 (3/3/2024) - On March 1, 2024, the GCBS reading group gathered to discuss the primary source that our PhD student Wenzhuo Shi is currently working on. This is an inscription from a stele, which was excavated in Turfan in 1902–1903 and then… Read more
Guest lecture “The Community Museum of the Itumbaha Buddhist Monastery, Kathmandu” by Swosti Rajbhandari Kayastha, May 14, 2024 (2/29/2024) - On May 14, 2024, Dr. Swosti Rajbhandari Kayastha will deliver a guest lecture titled “The Community Museum of the Itumbaha Buddhist Monastery, Kathmandu” within the framework of the bachelor-level course “Art and Archaeology of South Asia” organized by GCBS’s Daniela… Read more
Guest lecture “The Multiple Lives of Buddhist Objects: Enriching Art Historical Methodologies” by Halle O‘Neal, May 7, 2024 (2/28/2024) - On May 7, 2024, Prof. Dr. Halle O‘Neal will deliver a guest lecture titled “The Multiple Lives of Buddhist Objects: Enriching Art Historical Methodologies” within the framework of our master-level course “Culture in Perspective: South and East Asia”, organized by… Read more
Guest lecture “Tibetan and Himalayan Art” by Swosti Rajbhandari Kayastha, March 19, 2024 (2/27/2024) - On March 19, 2024, Dr. Swosti Rajbhandari Kayastha will deliver a guest lecture titled “Tibetan and Himalayan Art” within the framework of the bachelor-level course “Art and Archaeology of South Asia” organized by GCBS’s Daniela De Simone. Dr. Swosti Rajbhandari… Read more
Our MA student Zhou Zhichen to pursue a PhD in Princeton (2/27/2024) - Zhou Zhichen, student of our program “Master of Arts in Oriental Languages and Cultures — Main Subject China”, has been admitted to the Princeton University’s PhD program. At Ghent, she was conducting research under the guidance of the GCBS’s Christoph… Read more
Meeting with Prof. Neil Schmid 史瀚文 from the Dunhuang Academy 敦煌研究院, February 23, 2024 (2/26/2024) - On Friday, February 23, 2024, the Ghent Centre for Buddhist Studies welcomed Professor Neil Schmid 史瀚文 from the Dunhuang Academy 敦煌研究院. In the beginning of the meeting with the GCBS researchers, Neil Schmid introduced the Dunhuang Academy, which is located… Read more
International conference “Diverse Lives: Narratives of Śākyamuni Buddha in Text and Image” (CfP), October 2024, Royal Museum of Mariemont (Ghent) (2/26/2024) - The Ghent Centre for Buddhist Studies, in association with the Royal Museum of Mariemont, is happy to announce the call for papers for an upcoming conference on Buddha's life narratives. Wednesday the 16th until Friday the 19th of October 2024.… Read more