News

This March, the Institute of Buddhist Studies hosted an international confernece titled “Buddhism without Borders: contemporary developments in Buddhism outside Asia.” The conference brought together more than two-dozen scholars to present new and innovative research, and nearly seventy participants from four continents were in attendance.

The International Ryukoku Symposium, with the theme of “Buddhist Culture and Monseki (Imperial and Aristocratic lineage) Temples in Japan” was held on Saturday, March 6, 2010 from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at The RUBEC (Ryukoku University Berkeley Center) located at the Jodo Shinto Center, 2140 Durant Avenue, Berkeley, CA.

How Much is Enough? Buddhism, Consumerism, and the Human Environment

The Institute of Buddhist Studies, a graduate Buddhist seminary for Buddhist and Ministerial Studies in […]

A new volume of essays edited by IBS Dean Richard K. Payne has recently been published by Wisdom Publications.

The Institute of Buddhist Studies is pleased to announce our 2010 Ryukoku Lecture Series. This years speaker will be Professor Dennis Hirota of the Department of Shin Buddhist Studies, Ryukoku University, speaking on the topic “Shinran’s Phenomenology of Religious Life: Toward a Rethinking of Shinjin.”

The Institute of Buddhist Studies is pleased to announce that Pacific World: Journal of the Institute of Buddhist Studies, Third Series, No. 9, has been published. This is a special issue guest edited by Leslie Kawamura and Sarah Haynes, celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the Numata Chair in Buddhist Studies at the University of Calgary.

The Institute of Buddhist Studies is pleased to announce that the Graduate Theological Union (GTU), in cooperation with the IBS, has added a Buddhist Studies track within the Cultural and Historical Studies of Religions doctoral program.

Because of the close ties between the GTU and the University of California, Berkeley, students in the doctoral program have access to classes, faculty and library resources of both institutions.

In addition, the IBS has close relations with Ryukoku University, Kyoto, and is a member of the Kyoto Graduate Union of Religious Studies (KGURS), providing opportunities for graduate study and research in Kyoto.

For information on the Cultural and Historical Studies of Religions program, visit the CHSR program website.

Consult the GTU website for admissions information.

Registration is now open for the conference “Buddhism without Borders: Contemporary Buddhism in the West,” March 18-21, 2010 at the Institute of Buddhist Studies in Berkeley, CA. Conference schedule, details, and registration are available at the conference webpage here.

The Institute of Buddhist Studies (IBS), a Graduate Seminary for Buddhist Studies, began its 2009 fall semester with an enrollment of 65 students. Of the total 26 are IBS students and 39 are students for the Graduate Theological Union (GTU), a consortium of Christian Seminaries.

The Institute of Buddhist Studies (IBS), a graduate seminary for Shin Buddhist Ministry and Buddhist Studies, celebrated its 60th anniversary on Tuesday, September 1, 2009 from 11 a.m. at the Jodo Shinshu Center (JSC). Some 80 persons were in attendance.

The ceremony included an opening service led by Bishop Koshin Ogui, Socho and President of IBS. Socho Ogui in his welcome remarks expressed his gratitude to all the BCA members who helped in the growth of IBS throughout the years and to the IBS staff for moving the IBS towards a strong Buddhist Educational Institution.

At the August 7 meeting, the Institute of Buddhist Studies’ Board of Trustees approved changing the Hongwanji Professorial Chair to the H.E. Kosho Ohtani Monshu Emeritus Professorial Chair for Shin Buddhist Studies.

The Institute of Buddhist Studies, a Seminary and Graduate School, will celebrate it’s 60th anniversary on Tuesday, September 1, 2009 at its Jodo Shinshu Center campus, 2140 Durant Avenue, Berkeley, CA from 11 a.m.

Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai has pledged $500,000 to further support the goals of the professorial chair for the Yehan Numata Professor of Buddhist Studies at the Institute of Buddhist studies.

Some 100 scholars, priests, and students attended the 14th Biennial Conference of the International Association of Shin Buddhist Studies held on June 12-14 at the Ryukoku University Omiya Campus in Kyoto, Japan. With the theme “Shin Buddhism in the World of the Twenty-First Century: Challenges and Potential,” some 52 scholars, priests, and students from Japan, the United States, China, South Korea, Taiwan, Hawaii, South America, and Europe presented papers on a wide variety of topics committed to Shin Buddhist Studies.

On the occasion of his wife Yasuko’s First Year Memorial Service, with the consent of his family, Mr. Hiroji Kariya, a member of the Mountain View Buddhist Temple, pledged $1,000,000 to establish an endowed professorial chair at the Institute of Buddhist Studies.

The Institute of Buddhist Studies is pleased to announce a new Certification Program in Buddhism and Psychotherapy for clinicians who wish to deepen and expand their practice as psychotherapists through a rigorous study of the Buddhist teachings. Dr. Judith Daijaku Kinst, IBS Adjunct Professor, states that the interface between Buddhism and psychotherapy is an increasingly important one for both the individual psychotherapist and for the practical integration of Buddhist teaching into contemporary Western society.

The Institute of Buddhist Studies and the BCA Center for Buddhist Education will co-host the Pacific Seminar the 21st Century: Shinran and His Teachings, from Friday, June 26 to Sunday, June 28, 2009 at the Jodo Shinshu Center in Berkeley.

The Buddhist Council of Northern California (BCNC) will hosts the annual Vesak Celebration on Saturday, […]

This conference seeks to explore contemporary and historical developments of Buddhist thought and practice in American Buddhisms, Buddhisms in the West, or Buddhisms outside Asia. How has the Buddhist tradition been shaped by the transnational movement of peoples, diasporas, or immigration? How has the rise of global communication, tourism, and capitalism affected the way Buddhism is understood, taught, and practiced? How do we define “modern” Buddhism? The West? Or even “Buddhism” itself in an increasingly globalized world?