Ghent Centre for Buddhist Studies has a notable presence at the XXth Congress of the International Association of Buddhist Studies (IABS) held at Leipzig University, Germany, from August 10th to 15th, 2025. Our professors, postdocs and PhD students made eight presentations at various panels:
- Andreeva, Anna (Ghent University): “Buddhist Embryological Knowledge and Women’s Reproductive Health in Medieval Japan: A study of the Daigoji and Kanazawa Bunko manuscripts of Sanshō ruijūshō 産生類聚抄 (Encyclopedia of Childbirth, ca. 1318)”
- Choi, Jin Kyoung (Ghent University); Matsuda, Kazunobu (BAdW & Bukkyo University): “New Sanskrit Manuscript of the Abhidharmakośa from Afghanistan”
- Chu, Li-Ya (Department of Languages and Cultures, Ghent University): “Taiwanese Buddhism and Sexual Ethics for Laypeople”
- DiSimone, Charles (Ghent University): “The Gandhāra Corpora Project: Reports from Year One”
- Heirman, Ann (Ghent University): “Buddhist Monastics and (Their) Dogs: Daoxuan’s Vinaya Commentaries”
- Portoghese, Massimiliano (Ghent University): “Debates and Perceptions of Śramaṇas’ Bodily Gestures in Early Medieval Chinese Society”
- Sokolova, Anna (Ghent University): “The Integration of Buddhist Practices in Tang Dynasty Mortuary Rituals”
- Stortini, Paride (Ghent University): “Observing Japanese Buddhism from the Peak of the Kailash: Pilgrimage and Mountaineering in the Photography and Travel Accounts of Hasegawa Denjirō”
In addition, GCBS’s Professor Charles DiSimone, together with Naomi Appleton, will chair a discussion on the possibility of holding regional IABS meetings — in particular, an annual European Regional IABS gathering — with the aim of fostering more regular Buddhist Studies research exchange and networking among IABS members in Europe and those able to travel there.
For details, please see the Conference Program.
