“Contemporary Society and Buddhist Modernity: Translating Modalities of Faith and in Twentieth-century Taiwanese Buddhism”
Presented by Stefania Travagnin, Visiting Assistant Professor of East Asian Religions, Department of Religious Studies, University of Missouri-Columbia.
Date: Wednesday January 14, 2008
Time: 12:00 – 1:15 PM
Place: Institute of Asian Research, C.K. Choi Building Room 120, 1855 West Mall
The world of Taiwanese Buddhism presents a multifaceted landscape, which ranges from the emergence of worldwide ‘Engaged Buddhist’ organizations to the reinvention of roles played by nuns, from the production of biographical cartoons on living leading masters to the mummification of eminent monks. This research introduces a variety of religious phenomena, questions and problematizes significance and essence of “tradition” in Chinese Buddhism, and unveils a definition of Buddhist modernity in the specific context of contemporary Taiwan. With consideration of the intertwining and interaction between religion and society, this study also aims to demonstrates how contemporary society has been engaged in the making of buddhist modernity, and at the same time examines how modern buddhism has been affecting local society.
Stefania Travagnin is a candidate for the Tung Lin Kok Yuen Canada Foundation Chair in Buddhism and Contemporary Society
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