LECTURE - Dr. Ester Bianchi: The Theravāda Model and Early Buddhist Meditation in the Republic of China
Thu, Jan 27
|Zoom
The talk will inquire into the rediscovery of early meditation techniques in modern China, in an attempt to evaluate the significance of the Theravāda model within this movement.
Time & Location
Jan 27, 2022, 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM PST
Zoom
About the Event
Modern and Contemporary Buddhist Encounters in the South China Sea Contact Zone
Institute for the Study of Humanistic Buddhism (ISHB), University of the West
Dr. Ester Bianchi, University of Perugia, Italy
The Theravāda Model and Early Buddhist Meditation in the Republic of China
The origins of Theravāda meditation’s burgeoning popularity in contemporary Chinese Buddhism may be traced to the first half of the twentieth century, when a modern understanding of Buddhism started to seep into China. The arrival of these novel ideas prompted a reevaluation of early Buddhist scriptures and practices as well as greater appreciation of Asia’s alternative Buddhist traditions. Within this general trend, proponents of South and South-East Asian Theravāda insisted that this form of Buddhism most closely mirrored the “original” teaching of the Buddha himself. These claims generated a support for the “Theravāda model” in various areas, including the fields of vinaya and of Buddhist meditation. The…