Conference Schedule: Buddhism in Canada

“Buddhism in Canada: Global Causes, Local Conditions”

The University of British Columbia, October 15-17, 2010, funded by The Tung Lin Kok Yuen Canada Foundation, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), and the Numata Foundation.

Registration, refreshments, meals, and all conference panels will be held at the C.K. Choi Building in the Lobby and Rms. 120 and 129, located in the Northwest of UBC’s Point Gray campus. Keynote lectures will be held in the Asian Centre in the Auditorium, located in the Northwest of UBC’s Point Grey campus.

Friday, October 15, 2010

1:30pm – 2:30pm   Registration

2:30pm – 3:30pm   Canadian Buddhist Outreach: Hospitals and Prisons <abstracts>

Chair: Jessica Main (University of British Columbia)

• Anne Bruce (University of Victoria) “Buddhism in Canada’s Health Care: Broadening the Spectrum of Human Experience at End of Life.”
• Paul McIvor (University of South Africa) “Buddhism Behind Bars: the Canadian Experience.”

3:30pm – 4:00pm    Break

4:00pm – 5:30pm    Developments in Canadian Buddhism <abstracts>

Chair: Larry Devries (Langara College)

• Michihiro Ama (University of Alaska Anchorage) “The Early Development of Shin Buddhism in Canada.”
• Jackie Ho (University of Calgary) “Administrative Processes of a Modern Buddhist Organization: Changing Roles of the Sangha in True Buddha School.”
• Mavis L. Fenn (Waterloo University) “Canadian Buddhist Women: Sharing and Creating Traditions.”

5:30pm – 7:30pm   Reception Buffet

7:30pm – 9:00pm   Keynote Address: Charles S. Prebish <abstract>

• Charles S. Prebish (Utah State University) “The Swans Came to Canada Too: Looking Backward and Looking Forward.”

Saturday, October 16, 2010

8:00am – 9:00am     Breakfast

9:00am – 10:30am   Beyond the Temple: Exchange in Digital, Artistic, and Literary Worlds <abstracts>

Chair: Victor Hori (McGill University)

• Melissa Curley (University of Iowa) “Correspondence Schools: Zen Buddhist Ecologies in Contemporary Canadian Art.”
• Kimberly Beek (McMaster University) “Reading Buddhist Fiction in Canada: Preliminary Fieldwork Findings.”
• John Negru (Karma Yönten Gyatso) (Independent Scholar) “Canadian Buddhists on the Web: Push, Pull, and Practice.”

10:30am – 11:00am   Break

11:00am – 12:00pm   Going Forth To Canada: Negotiating Authenticity at Home I <abstracts>

Chair: Martin Adam (University of Victoria)

• D. Mitra Bhikkhu (Wilfrid Laurier University) “Sri Lankan Buddhists’ Transmission Strategies and the Culturally Negotiated Buddhist Tradition in Toronto.”
• Yunchang (Jack) Liu (University of the West)  “Western Challenge: The Arrival of Buddhist Forest Tradition in Canada.”

12:00pm – 1:00pm   Lunch

1:00pm – 2:00pm     Going Forth To Canada: Negotiating Authenticity at Home II <abstracts>

Chair: Jim Placzek (Langara College)

• Jingjing Zhu,  (University of the West) “Buddhist Monks, Nuns, and Ministers: Buddhist Ordination Across the Pacific.”
• Kory Goldberg (Université  du Québec à Montréal and Champlain College) “For the Benefit of Many: SN Goenka and Vipassana Meditation in Canada”

2:00pm – 2:30pm     Break

2:30pm – 3:30pm    Going Forth From Canada: Practicing Abroad <abstracts>

Chair: Barb Clayton (Mount Allison University)

• Brooke Schedneck (Arizona State University) “Separate Communities in Thailand’s International Meditation Centers.”
• François Thibeault (Université  du Québec à Montréal) “Are You Buddhist?: ‘Westerners’ in India Travelling on the Path of the Buddha.”

3:30pm – 5:00pm    Break

5:00pm – 6:15pm    Keynote Address: Raphaël Liogier <abstract>

• Raphaël Liogier (Institut d’études politiques d’Aix-en-Provence) “Buddhism and the Hypothesis on Individuo-globalism.”

6:15pm – 9:00pm    Dinner

Sunday, October 17, 2010

8:30am – 9:30am     Breakfast

9:30am – 11:00am   Tradition and Authenticity in Tibetan Buddhism <abstracts>

Chair: David Higgins (University of Lausanne)

• Angela Sumegi (Carleton University) “The Play of Meaning: Reflections on a Canadian Buddhist Death Ritual.”
• Jackie Larm (University of Edinburgh) “Making a Traditional Tibetan Buddhist Monastery on the Highway to Heaven.”
• Sarah Haynes (Western Illinois University) “Tibetan Buddhist Monastic Performance: Ritual Practice and Cultural Preservation in the Tibetan Diaspora.”

11:00am – 11:30am  Break

11:30am – 1:00pm    Establishing Buddhism in Canada <abstracts>

Chair: Paul Crowe (Simon Fraser University)

• Daniel A. Métraux (Mary Baldwin College) “The Lotus and the Maple Leaf:  The Evolution of Soka Gakkai Buddhism in Canada.”
• Manuel Litalien (McGill University) “Buddhism in Canada: The Transnational Strategy of the Dhammakaya Foundation in Comparison.”
• Alexander Soucy (St. Mary’s University) “The Charisma of a Vietnamese Diasporic Leader”

1:00pm – 2:30pm   Lunch

The Buddhism and Contemporary Society Program is a joint initiative of the Department of Asian Studies and the Institute of Asian Research, and is sponsored by The Tung Lin Kok Yuen Canada Foundation.