| DATE: | Saturday, March 18, 2006 |
|---|---|
| TIME: | 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM |
| PLACE: | Toll Room, Alumni House, UC Berkeley |
| FORMAT: | Workshop |
| SPONSOR: | Center for Buddhist Studies, Institute of East Asian Studies, Center for Chinese Studies, Townsend Center for the Humanities, Silkroad Foundation |
In the hundred years since the discovery of the hidden library at the Mogao cave complex near the oasis town of Dunhuang (Gansu Province, PRC), scholars have made significant strides towards preserving, cataloging, and interpreting the large number of manuscripts and material objects recovered from the site. In addition, they have greatly advanced our knowledge of both the layout and iconography of the caves themselves. Despite such advances, a number of questions regarding the actual practice of Buddhism at Dunhuang remain unanswered, including those related to the on-site production and circulation of Buddhist manuscripts, the development and cross-fertilization of local Buddhist traditions, as well as the function of the individual cave temples within the larger context of Buddhist ritual culture along the ancient Silk Road.
