Participate/Meetings

Buddha-Nature Summit, Denver, CO

• Tuesday, November 20, 2018

A small gathering after the AAR Conference this year discusses issues and ideas related to buddha-nature teachings and tathāgatagarbha theory in anticipation of a formal symposium at the University of Vienna directly after IATS (International Association of Tibetan Studies) in 2019. The goal of the meeting is to incite and record interesting conversations and brainstorm areas to explore for further research.

University of Vienna Symposium

We invite you to join with other scholars to discuss buddha-nature thought and Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia at a symposium, co-hosted by the University of Vienna and Tsadra Foundation, taking place at the University of Vienna, shortly after next year’s International Association of Tibetan Studies conference. Tathāgatagarbha doctrine continues to be of interest to academics and traditional scholars and practitioners of Buddhism around the world and a recent series of books, articles, and meetings have brought new energy and interesting information to light that requires continued discussion and analysis.

• Dates: July, 16-19, 2019
• Location: The University of Vienna, Austria

Symposium Title

Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia: The Reception of an Influential Mahāyāna Doctrine in Central and East Asia

Description

The tathāgatagarbha doctrine which proposes that all sentient beings are already a “buddha within” or at least have the potential to attain Buddhahood was first largely ignored in Indian scholastic Buddhism, but increasingly attracted the attention of Mahāyāna scholars and became an important, if sometimes controversial, current of Buddhist thought all over Central and East Asia. With the Mahāyāna goal of establishing all sentient beings in Buddhahood, the possibility of enlightenment became a Buddhist axiom of central importance. Either one has to explain the causal process of its production, or accept its primordial existence, for example in terms of a buddha-nature (tathāgatagarbha). The latter also applies, of course, when buddhahood is not taken to be produced from scratch. The way the process of becoming a Buddha is addressed is an ideal touchstone for systematically comparing the philosophical hermeneutical positions of various masters in Central and East Asia. The diversity of views on buddha-nature has its roots already in early Indian Buddhism. Depending on whether one follows the original intent of the Tathāgatagarbhasūtras, or the Yogācāra interpretation of the latter, buddha-nature can refer to either an already fully developed buddha, or the naturally present potential (prakṛtisthāgotra) or natural luminosity of mind, i.e., sentient beings’ ability to become buddhas. In Madhyamaka, buddha-nature was taken either as a teaching of provisional meaning (neyārtha) or simply a synonym of emptiness (i.e., a non-affirming negation). This symposium will look at the differing forms tathāgatagarbha doctrine assumed as its primary Indian scriptural sources were translated and transmitted throughout Central and East Asia and variously interpreted by religious schools in line with their key philosophical positions. Contributions will range from the historical-philological analysis of the primary sources to issues of reconstruction and comparison in the target languages and cultures with particular attention to the role the tathāgatagarbha doctrine played in the development of Buddhist philosophical and religious views both within India and beyond.

Invited Scholars:

1. Filippo Brambilla (University of Vienna)
2. Martina Draszczyk (University of Vienna)
3. Douglas Duckworth (Temple University)
4. David Higgins (University of Vienna)
5. Shenpen Hookham (Awakened Heart Sangha)
6. Jamie Hubbard (Smith College)
7. Bo Jiang (Columbia University)
8. Christopher V. Jones (Oxford)
9. Kazuo Kano (Koyasan University, Japan)
10. Constance Kassor (Lawrence University)
11. Klaus-Dieter Mathes (University of Vienna)
12. Giacomella Orofino (University of Naples)
13. Kurtis Schaeffer (University of Virginia)
14. Michael Sheehy (University of Virginia)
15. Paul Swanson (Nanzan University)
16. Khenpo Tamphel (University of Vienna)
17. Dorji Wangchuk (Hamburg)
18. Tsering Wangchuk (University of San Francisco)
19. Michael Zimmerman (Hamburg)
20. Representative from several Buddhist schools will also be presenting

SCHEDULE

July 16 - 19, 2019 – These dates will allow for those attending the IATS meeting in Paris to have Bastille Day in Paris, and another day to travel to Vienna before the meeting starts.

July 16th, 2019 - Arrival Day
5:30 p.m. - Evening Welcome Event
Keynote Speech with Official Welcome from Klaus-Dieter Mathes

July 17th, 2019 - Presentations 9:00 am - Session 1 10:30 am - Tea Break 11:00 am - Session 2 12:30 pm - Lunch 2:30 pm - Session 3 4:00 pm - Tea Break 4:30 pm - Session 4 6:00 pm - End of Day

July 18th, 2019 - Presentations 9:00 am - Session 5 10:30 am - Tea Break 11:00 am - Session 6 12:30 pm - Lunch 2:30 pm - Session 7 4:00 pm - Tea Break 4:30 pm - Session 8 6:00 pm - End of Day

July 19th, 2019 - Presentations 9:00 am - Session 9 10:30 am - Tea Break 11:00 am – Session 10 12:30 pm - Lunch 2:30 pm - Session 11 4:00 pm - Tea Break 4:30 pm - Session 2: Closing Discussion: Reflection on State of the Field 6:00 pm - End of Day

July 20th, 2019 –Departure Day Travel