Lectures – Ghent Centre for Buddhist Studies

PTBS lecture series

The Permanent Training in Buddhist Studies (PTBS) lecture series is an initiative of the Ghent Centre for Buddhist Studies (GCBS) in collaboration with the Department for Languages and Cultures at Ghent University. The PTBS consists of short term training courses and lectures on diverse aspects of Buddhology. It aims to offer an international forum for scholars and students interested and/or engaged in the field of Buddhist Studies. Please find a list of our future and recent lecture series below:

Guest lectures

Guest lecture “The Last Words of a God-King: A Corpus of Tibetan Buddhist Narrative Histories” by Dr. Reinier Langelaar, November 25, 2025 (11/13/2025) - We are excited to announce the next lecture in our ongoing “Gandhāra Corpora Project Lecture Series,” featuring Dr. Reinier Langelaar (IKGA, Austrian Academy of Sciences). The Gandhāra Corpora Project Lecture Series is organized by Prof. Charles DiSimone, leader of the… Read more

Guest lecture “Sustaining Digital Heritage Beyond Funding: Building on the DiGA Project” by Jessie Pons, November 20, 2025 (10/27/2025) - We are excited to announce the fourth lecture in our ongoing “Gandhāra Corpora Project Lecture Series,” featuring Professor Jessie Pons (Ruhr-Universität Bochum) and other esteemed guests! The Gandhāra Corpora Project Lecture Series is organized by Prof. Charles DiSimone, leader of… Read more

Guest lecture “Resituating the Yogācārabhūmi Corpus: Potential Gandhāran Links and Sūtra-Grounded Practice” by Keiki Nakayama, November 13, 2025 (10/21/2025) - We are delighted to announce that the fourth lecture in our ongoing “Gandhāra Corpora Project Lecture Series” will be delivered by Keiki Nakayama from the University of Leipzig. The lecture series is organized by Prof. Charles DiSimone, leader of the ERC-funded… Read more

Guest lecture “War Memorials and Religion in Japan: Separation of Religion and Politics and the Role of Scholars” by Akira Nishimura, October 23, 2025 (10/15/2025) - We are pleased to announce an upcoming lecture by Dr. Nishimura Akira (Associate Professor of Religious Studies, University of Tokyo), who has been a visiting scholar with us over the past two months. Dr. Nishimura’s talk will explore the complex… Read more

Guest lecture “Gāndhārī Manuscripts and Inscriptions: Maintaining and Analyzing a Comprehensive Corpus” by Stefan Baums, June 18, 2025 (6/9/2025) - We are thrilled to share that the third lecture in our ongoing “Gandhāra Corpora Project Lecture Series” will be delivered by Dr. Stefan Baums from the University of Munich! The lecture series is organized by Prof. Charles DiSimone, leader of… Read more

Guest lecture “A Corpus of Ritual Literature from Dunhuang and its Links Further West” by Lewis Doney, June 10, 2025 (5/9/2025) - We are excited to announce the second lecture in our ongoing "Gandhāra Corpora Project Lecture Series", featuring Prof. Lewis Doney from the University of Bonn! The lecture series is organized by Prof. Charles DiSimone, leader of the ERC-funded project “Corpora… Read more

Guest lecture “Visualising Rituals in Gandhara” by Ashwini Lakshminarayanan, June 05, 2025 (5/8/2025) - We are delighted to announce the launch of our new lecture series, "The Gandhāra Corpora Project Lecture Series", and share the details for the inaugural hybrid lecture below, marking the beginning of what promises to be an engaging and dynamic… Read more

Guest lecture “How to Traumatize Your Opponent: Mockery in Chinese Buddhist Scholastic Debate” by Xiaoming Hou, April 30, 2025 (4/15/2025) - Dr. Xiaoming Hou of UC Berkeley will deliver the following lecture on Wednesday, April 30 at 16:00 in the Faculteitszaal (1st floor of the Blandijn) : Title: How to Traumatize Your Opponent: Mockery in Chinese Buddhist Scholastic Debate Abstract:… Read more

Guest lecture “Japanese diplomacy in the fifteenth century: Buddhist exchange and Chinese tributary ritual” by Polina Barducci, April 29, 2025 (2/1/2025) - On April 29, 2025, Dr. Polina Barducci (Rikkyo University) will deliver a guest lecture titled “Japanese diplomacy in the fifteenth century: Buddhist exchange and Chinese tributary ritual” within the framework of the master-level course "Culture in Perspective: South and East… 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

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

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

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