Archives: IASBS

On behalf of the International Association for Shin Buddhist Studies, North American District, IBS announces […]

On behalf of the International Association for Shin Buddhist Studies, North American District, IBS announces […]

Institute of Buddhist Studies’ faculty and community have long contributed and supported the work of […]

The International Association of Shin Buddhist Studies (IASBS), the largest international organization dedicated to the scholarly study of Pure Land Buddhism, has recently become a related scholarly organization of the AAR. This means that the IASBS will be able to host meetings in conjunction with the AAR’s annual meeting, thus allowing for greater exposure of Shin and Pure Land Buddhist studies to a North American audience.

Pure Land Buddhist traditions have been some of the largest and most influential in Buddhist history, and remain so to the present day. Moreover, the very idea of a purified, perfect land of a buddha echoes throughout Buddhist text and praxis. Most often, this buddha is “Immeasurable Light” or “Immeasurable Life,” who created a pure land far to the west of our own world. But there are many others. This conference aims to examine sectarian traditions of Pure Land Buddhism as well as the “pure land” within Buddhism generally. As this conference is jointly-sponsored by associations connected to Pure Land Buddhist traditions in two countries, it is a unique chance to approach pure land expansively, in terms of its long history, global reach, and diverse regional and trans-regional expressions–whether in or across what are today known as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Canada, and so on. The hope is to increase knowledge and scholarly exchange about the multifaceted development of pure land in Buddhist cultures. Papers are welcome on any aspect of pure land, type of Pure Land Buddhism, any region or historical period, and from any methodological or disciplinary perspective.

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.