Two-day International Conference on Buddhism in East Asia
Introduction: During the third century BCE, Emperor Ashoka sent missionaries to the northwest of India that is, present-day Pakistan and Afghanistan. The mission achieved great success, as the region soon became a centre of Buddhist learning with many distinguished monks and scholars. When the merchants of Central Asia came into this region for trade, they learnt about Buddhism and accepted it as their religion. With the support of these merchants, many cave monasteries were established along the trade routes across Central Asia. By the second century BCE, some Central Asian cities like Khotan, had already become important centers for Buddhism.
The Chinese people had their first contact with Buddhism through the Central Asians who were already Buddhists. When the Han Dynasty of China extended its power to Central Asia in the first century BCE, trade and cultural ties between China and Central Asia also increased. In this way, the Chinese people learnt about Buddhism by the middle of the first century CE. As interest in Buddhism grew, there was a great demand for Buddhist texts to be
translated from Sanskrit into Chinese. This led to the arrival of translators from Central Asia and India. With a growing collection of Chinese translations of Buddhist texts, Buddhism became more widely known and a Chinese monastic order was also formed.
Themes: The Department of East Asian Studies, University of Delhi proposes to hold a two-day International Conference on Buddhism in East Asia: Traditions, Changes, and Challenges. Papers are invited on the following sub-themes:
1.Spread of Buddhism in China, Korea and Japan
2. Merchants and Monks from the Silk Road and beyond
3. Origin and Growth of Buddhist Sects in East Asia
4. Transmission, Translation and Digitization of Buddhist Texts
5. Buddhist Art and Architecture in East Asia
6. Socially Engaged Buddhist Activities in East Asia and other topics of relevance under the broad theme of Buddhism in East Asia.
Fee Details: There is no Registration Fee.
Contact:
Room No. F-3, Third Floor,
Department of East Asian Studies,
Faculty of social Sciences,
North Campus, Delhi University
Email: anitasharmadu(AT)hotmail.com/anitasharmadu(AT)ymail.com
Contact Number: +91-9810078267
Source: http://events.du.ac.in/conference_eas_nov30.pdf/download
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