What is this “Buddhism” that we encounter, take up, and practice in our everyday lives, what does it reveal to us about Buddhism as a religious heritage in today's world; and what does it suggest about the future of religion in our world?

Thursday, February 23, 2017
5:00 PM - 6:30 PM
Humanities A65

Thursday, February 23, 2017
5:00-6:30 pm
Yehan Numata
Senior Lecturer on Buddhist Literatures, Faculty of Divinity, Harvard University

For many of us, our encounters with things Buddhist occur in the most ordinary of circumstances: in the check-out line at the grocery store, looking at article titles on any number of magazines about how to meditate or how to live more simply; in the doctor’s office where we are invited to learn how to meditate as a way of helping manage the stress of illness; in the ‘lifestyle’ sections of our daily newspapers, again about meditation.

We routinely see Buddhist images and vocabulary in advertising, in stores and restaurants, and as tattoos on bodies and as presented as Vogue’s “Christmas gift to the world.” But what is this “Buddhism” that we encounter, take up, and practice in our everyday lives, what does it reveal to us about Buddhism as a religious heritage in today’s world; and what does it suggest about the future of religion in our world?

Sponsor(s): Asia Pacific Center, Center for India and South Asia