Peter Skilling, Fragile Palm Leaves Foundation, Thailand
| DATE: | Thursday, October 6, 2005 |
|---|---|
| TIME: | 5:00 PM |
| PLACE: | IEAS Conference Room, 2223 Fulton Street, 6th Floor |
| FORMAT: | Colloquium |
| SPONSORS: | Center for Buddhist Studies, Center for Southeast Asia Studies |
'Theravada Buddhism' has become an unquestioned category in modern religious studies, as well as one of the premier options for Buddhist practice in the globalized 'marketplace of religions.' Peter Skilling will examine the origins and significance of the term 'Theravada.' Is the modern usage historically accurate? Have there been alternate designations? Was 'Theravada' the chosen marker of identity for the Buddhist communities of Southeast Asia in the pre-colonial and pre-modern periods? Is it possible that the term flattens the landscape, and lulls us into thinking we know more than we do?
Peter Skilling is the 2005/06 Numata Visiting Professor in Buddhist Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. He is a Fellow of the Lumbini International Research Institute (Lumbini, Nepal) and a Special Lecturer at Chulalongkorn University (Bangkok, Thailand). He is founder of the Fragile Palm Leaves Foundation (Bangkok), a project dedicated to the preservation, study and publication of the Buddhist literature of Southeast Asia. He is also a founding member of the International Centre for Buddhist Studies (Bangkok).
Co-sponsored by the Center for Southeast Asia Studies.
