British Association for the Study of Religions
(formerly the British Association for the History of Religions)
Object: the promotion of the academic study of religions through the international collaboration of all scholars whose research has a bearing on the subject. The BASR pursues these aims in the UK through the arrangement of conferences and symposia, the publication of a Bulletin and an Annual General Meeting. Membership of the BASR is open to scholars whose work has a bearing on the academic study of religions and who are normally resident in the UK.
Apply for membership to:
The Hon. Secretary of the BASR, Dr Kim Knott, Department of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9TJAnnual subscription for the BASR and Bulletin is: £12; postgraduate students and researchers without full employment: £6. Scholars residing abroad may subscribe to the Bulletin for £10 per year.
The Buddhist Co-operative
Affiliated to a parent organisation in Malaysia, this aims to promote the growth of Buddhist Economics, ie. Right Livelihood, fair trade, etc. Publishes the Buddhist Economist Magazine. Information available for £1.50.
McDonald Zenida The Library 17 St. John`s Court St. John`s Street Hertford SG14 1RZ EnglandCenter for Buddhist Studies, Ghent University
The Ghent Centre for Buddhist Studies (GCBS) was founded in 2007 at Ghent University, within the Department of Languages and Cultures of South and East Asia as the first academic centre for Buddhist studies in Belgium. The buddhological research in Ghent is rooted in a long tradition of expertise that began in the early 20th century with the works of Prof. Dr. Louis Étienne de la Vallée-Poussin (1869-1938). Since then an increasing number of researchers have focused on a broad range of Buddhological fields. Center for Buddhist studies Website
Buddhist Forum
Editor: Dr Tadeusz Skorupski. This hard-back journal contains copies of papers presented at meetings of the Forum held at:
The School of Oriental and African Studies, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London, WC1H 0XGForum meetings are usually on Wednesday afternoons. If you wish to be put on the circulation list for receiving copies of the papers in advance, or to offer papers to be read, contact Dr Tadeusz Skorupski at the above address:
The Buddhist Forum covers a broad range of themes and some of the most recent research, on both contemporary and classical Buddhist studies, by leading scholars in Indian and Tibetan Studies from the United Kingdom, Asia and Australia
Buddhist Hospice Trust
Publishes Raft: The Journal of the Buddhist Hospice Trust twice-yearly, £4 per annum. Cheques to Buddhist Hospice Trust, to the above address.
c/o Ray Wills, 5 Grayswood Point, Norley Vale, London, SW15 4BT Tel: 0181-789-6170Buddhist Publishing Group
(Publishes pamphlets etc. of interest to Western Buddhists)
Sharpham Coach Yard, Ashprington, Totnes, Devon, TQ9 7UT Telephone: 01803-732-082 Fax: 01803-732-037 E-mail: 101364.537@compuserve.comThe Circle of Inner Asian Art (CIAA)
Publishes a newsletter, For information contact:
Mrs Lilla Russell-Smith, Dept. of Art and Archaeology, School of Oriental and African Studies, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London, WC1H 0XG E-mail: russellsmith@cix.compulink.co.ukEuropean Network for Christian Studies of Buddhism
The aim of the network is to promote mutual understanding, practical co-operation, study at academic level, interchange and friendship. Initially, the aim is to bring together Christians who are involved in this area of interest. Individual Buddhists may also join and, at a later stage, this may become a joint network, but initially it is the kind of network described in its title. The steering committee met in June 1996 and agreed to set up the association and invite membership at a subscription rate of £10 (or equivalent) per year (£5 unwaged).
We hope to produce a Newsletter once or twice a year, and this will be edited by Dr Elizabeth Harris (who is also a member of the UK Association for Buddhist Studies). Items for the Newsletter (items of news about one's work or studies; book recommendations; impending conferences or other news; short articles of general interest) should be sent to her at:
Westminster Central Hall, 1 Central Buildings, Westminster, London, SW1H 9NH.Fragile Palm Leaves project
for the Preservation of Buddhist Literature, A project supported by The Pali Text Society
- Honorary patrons:
- Chao Khun Dhammapitaka (Thailand)
- Bhikkhu Bodhi (Sri Lanka)
- Ajahn Sumedho (England)
- Advisory Board
- Dr. Richard Gombrich (Oxford)
- Dr. Heinz Braun (Gottingen)
- Dr. Charles Hallisey (Harvard)
In South-east Asia, a large range of Buddhist literature has been carefully recorded on palm-leaf manuscripts, with some of these printed in book form since the late 19th century. The ancient manuscripts are now under threat. Rapid modernisation and the spread of consumerism have brought sweeping social changes. Manuscripts - along with other sacred objects - have become commodities, up for sale as 'antiques'. Sets are broken up; single leaves are framed for wall decoration. The rich literary heritage of Buddhism is endangered.
Fragile Palm Leaves
The Fragile Pali Leaves project seeks to rescue these ancient books from the market place. The manuscripts are kept together as a single collection, to be catalogued and reproduced by scanning. The materials will then be made available internationally for research and publication.
Fragile Palm Leaves is a non-profit project based in Bangkok, Thailand. It operates under the auspices of the Pali Text Society and has the support of leading international scholars and members of the Buddhist Sangha.
The collection
Materials gathered so far include palm-leaf and paper manuscripts in Pali, Burmese, Shan, Tai Khun, Tai Lue, and other South-east Asian languages. They include canonical texts, commentaries, local legends, and historical and medical texts. These manuscripts are a precious treasury for the study of the religious and literary heritage of the Buddhism of South-east Asia and should be preserved for future generations.
The project
- - to collect endangered manuscripts
- - to catalogue and replicate the manuscript collection
- - to publish Pali texts that have not yet been published
- - to translate Buddhist texts that have not yet been translated
- - to study and describe the history of the Buddhist literature of the region
The curator:
Peter Skilling, Curator, is a Canadian scholar, resident in Thailand since 1971. He spent three years as a Buddhist monk, and at present is working on a three-volume comparative study of canonical texts in Tibetan, Sanskrit and Pali.
Funding:
Fragile Palm Leaves has no permanent funding. We depend entirely on donations from concerned individuals and institutions. Fragile Palm Leaves is a response to an emergency: the manuscripts are endangered now, as you read this. Please help to preserve the literary heritage of Buddhism by offering your support.
Direct transfers may be made to:
Pali Text Society Account number 3093 0229 (for £UK) Account number 6830 7499 (for $US) Sort code 20-65-21 Barclays Bank Plc Oxford Headington Branch 105 London Road Headington Oxford OX3 9AH U.K.Donations may also be sent to:
Pali Text Society 73 Lime Walk, Oxford, OX3 7AD U.K.When sending donations, please include information on: name, organisation, address, E-mail, telephone and numbers. Cheques should be made payable to 'Pali Text Society, Fragile Palm Leaves'. If paying by credit card, give card type, number and expiry date, and a signature.
enquires to:
Fragile Palm Leaves, The Pali Text Society, 73 Lime Walk, Headington, Oxford, OX3 7AD, U.K. Fax: +44 (0)1865 750079 E-mail: pts@palitext.demon.co.uk
Or:
Fragile Palm Leaves, 68/123 Prachanivet 4, Prachachun Road, T.Tasai, A.Muang, Nonthaburi, Tahiland 11000 Fax: (+66 2) 908 0260 (+66 2) 962 1469 E-mail: peski@mozart.inet.co.thInstitute for Advanced Studies of World religions
In 1990, this issues a microfiche edition of the Kanjur manuscript from Phug brag housed in the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in Dharamsala. The address of the IASWR is:
RD #2, Route 301, Carmel, New York 10512, U.S.A. Tel.: USA code + 914-225-1445 Fax: USA code + 914-225-1485 E-mail: IASWR@AOL.COMYou can also contact:
Allen W.Thrasher, Senior Reference Librarian, South Asia Section, Library of Congress LJ150, 101 Independence Avenue, S.E. Washington, DC 20540-4814, U.S.A. Tel.: USA code + (202) 707-3732 Fax: USA code + (202) 707-1724 E-mail: athr@loc.govThe Institute of Buddhist Studies
PO Box 443, Tring, HP23 6PX, Tel: 0171-323-6248 and 01442-890882 Fax: 0171-4363844This publishes the Buddhica Britannica series
Students and scholars (not institutions or Libraries) may deduct 25% from the prices of the above, provided payments are made in UK £ and orders are sent direct to the Institute of Buddhist Studies. Please add, for post and packaging:
£3 for individual issues, £4 for two/three issues, £6 (£8 overseas) for four or more issues.
Cheques in UK £ payable to: The Institute of Buddhist Studies
Journal of Indian Philosophy
edited by Phyllis Granoff (McMaster), Published by:
Kluwer Academic Publishing Group P.O.Box 322, 3300 AH Dordrecht, HollandSubscriptions: Dfl.258/US$146.50, plus postage: Dfl.28/US$16
Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies
Published twice yearly, it welcomes scholarly contributions on any facet of Buddhist Studies
Subscriptions: Regular members: US$40 per year, Institutional subscriptions: US$70 per year, Student members: $US20 per year. Subscription orders to:
Professor Joe B. Wilson, Treasurer IABS, Department of Philosophy and Religion, University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Wilmington NC 28403, U.S.A. E-mail: wilson@uncwil.eduFor information concerning publication of scholarly articles on Buddhism in the Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, please contact the editors of the journal:
Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, Department of Oriental Languages and Cultures, University of Lausanne, B.F.S.H., CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland E-mail: Tom.Tillemans@orient.unil.chThe Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies
The Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies (OCBS) is being founded to promote the academic study of Buddhism. The aim is to study Buddhist thought, culture, literature, history and practice in any period and any part of the world. No Buddhist tradition is excluded. The Centre will work to counter the modern tendency for religious culture to be marginalised, or to become the preserve of fundamentalists, by facilitating deeper study of Buddhist traditions at the highest academic level, as well as at levels accessible to the widest possible community. At all levels, the Centre will be committed to maintaining exemplary standards of integrity, sensitivity, accuracy and objectivity.
The Centre will be based in Oxford and will seek to operate in co-operation with the University of Oxford and, when occasion arises, with other local centres of higher education. While the Centre will exercise no representative functions either for Buddhism as a whole or for any particular Buddhist tradition, co-operation with other Buddhist organisations will be actively pursued.
Academic study at university and research level will be the Centre’s top priority. It will support and promote Buddhist studies ranging from the undergraduate level (e.g., the papers in Buddhism which form part of a BA in Theology), through graduate taught courses, to research at doctoral and post-doctoral levels, and will co-operate in particular with the Faculties of Oriental Studies and Theology. Specifically, the Centre aims:
- To invite visiting scholars to lecture at Oxford University and to teach and supervise students.
- To help the University to create teaching posts relevant to Buddhist studies, notably posts dedicated to Buddhist canonical languages and literatures.
- To promote its own research projects in any aspect of Buddhist studies, in conjunction with which it may sponsor publications or produce its own.
The Centre will also aim to give moral and material support to Buddhists studying at the University, in particular by:
- Offering free or subsidised board and lodging in a special hostel to members of the Sangha who are attached to the University
- Awarding bursaries to promising students in Buddhist studies.
- At a later stage, building up its own library and learning resources.
Promotion of the study of Buddhism in and for the wider community will also be integral to our aims. In particular, the Centre will:
- Act as a venue for visiting Buddhist leaders to lecture and hold classes for anyone interested.
- Offer short courses in Buddhist history and Buddhist thought to a wide public and develop web-based materials suitable for various educational levels.
- Hope to co-operate with the Department for Continuing Education in offering part-time and weekend courses on Buddhist topics.
- Contribute to the training of RE teachers, help to produce RE classroom materials on Buddhism, and operate a resource centre for those teaching Buddhism in British schools, colleges or adult education.
- Build up an archive on Buddhism in the UK.
- Offer a permanent base to the Oxford University Buddhist Society and offer use of its premises and facilities to other Buddhist groups.
- Generally act to promote contact and discussion between Buddhists and those who teach Buddhism in academia.
Background to the Proposal to Found OCBS
Within the last generation, Centres have been founded in Oxford for (in chronological order) Hebrew and Jewish Studies, Islamic Studies and Hindu Studies. All were founded independently of the University, but the Hebrew and Jewish Studies Centre has now become integrated into the University, the Islamic Centre is recognised by the University, and the Hindu Centre (the Oxford Centre for Vaishnava and Hindu Studies, OCVHS) has links with the University and seems headed towards more formal recognition. Most major Christian denominations have long had colleges which have in due course been fully integrated into the University.
Of the major world religions, Buddhism is thus in a uniquely poor position. Moreover, the University has so far had no established post dedicated to Buddhist studies. The main teacher in Buddhist studies, Richard Gombrich, has succeeded in persuading the Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai to found a Lectureship in Buddhist Studies (attached to Balliol College) when he retires in 2004, but we cannot know to what Faculty this will be assigned or what the Lecturer’s expertise will be in. (Gombrich’s own post is in Sanskrit and there is no guarantee that his successor in this post will be interested in Buddhism.) Moreover, Prof. Keith Ward, the main person responsible for promoting Buddhist studies within Theology, retires in 2003. Oxford’s superb library and museum resources will of course endure, but who will be using them?
An exploratory meeting for some twenty people held in Oxford on 5th January decided that the idea of a Centre for Buddhist Studies was worth pursuing. Though the OCVHS is a useful model in some ways, the OCBS should be more strictly academic in focus; this would include offering educational opportunities for the wider community. It would be appropriate to seek the co-operation or at least the blessing of such bodies as UKABS and the NBO. With the aim of establishing an educational charity, a steering committee of six members was set up: Bryan Appleyard, Jamie Cresswell, Richard Gombrich, Peter Harvey, John Peacocke and Sarah Shaw. A bank account has been opened in Oxford.
For further information please contact:
Jamie Cresswell Tel: 01628 591 242E-mail:ocbs@iopec.org
Leeds Network of Engaged Buddhism
The Network is dedicated to supporting the application of Buddhism to social and moral problems.
91 Clarendon Road, Leeds, LS2 9LY Telephone: 0113 2444289 E-Mail: INTERBEING@compuserve.comSharpham College for Buddhist Studies and Contemporary Enquiry
Sharpham House, Ashprington, Totnes, Devon, TQ9 7UT Fax: +44 (0)1803-732037 E-mail: 101364.537@comp.The College offers a broad education on traditional Buddhist values critically applied to contemporary needs.
The education programme is divided between Buddhist Studies of Theravaada, Indo-Tibetan, Zen and Chinese traditions, Buddhist history and philosophy; and Contemporary Enquiry, including Right Livelihood, ecology and the environment, Western philosophy and psychology, the new sciences, arts and culture in general.
Regular weekly classes, four weekend Seminars, one Colloquium and one guided week-long retreat are offered each term, ending with an Arts Festival where the work of students and others is exhibited and performed. The courses are taught both by members of the College and invited speakers.
The Sharpham College unites the communal, rural and meditative way of life of a Buddhist monastery with Western traditions of critical analysis, imaginative self-expression and engagement with the world. During their year's stay, residential students commit themselves to a lifestyle of voluntary simplicity grounded in ethical awareness.
Non-residential students with an established meditation practice and familiarity with Buddhist ideas are also welcome. A programme of talks and workshops are also offered for the public.
If you would like to be mentioned on this page please contact: peter.harvey@sunderland.ac.uk
If you do not have access to e-mail, write to:
Prof. PETER HARVEY School of Social and International Studies University of Sunderland Forster Building Chester Road Sunderland Tyne & Wear SR1 3SD Telephone:0191 5152174 Fax: 0191 5152105Click here to return to Association for Buddhist Studies Homepage
© UKABS 2008. UKABS.org.uk complies with W3C standards for XHTML & CSS and is compatible with modern web bowsers and assistive devices. Website design by VurspCreative Co.