21st Century Buddha

Dr Soraj announces another lecture hosted by the Center for Ethics of Science and Technology, Chulalongkorn University at the end of January. The talks there are academically orientated, and the speakers all known experts in their field. The last talk, on the origins of Mahayana Buddhism, was excellent, and so this upcoming series is highly recommended for those who are free.

We will meet at 11:30 on the steps of the Barom bulding where the talk is to be held at 11:30, and head to a nearby cafe for something to eat. Phone Pandit  if you are late. Otherwise see you at the talk.

Buddha in the Twenty-first Century

 “An Overview of Contemporary Buddhism and its Meaning for Asia”

The first talk of a series by Craig Warren Smith, PhD at Chulalongkorn University.

Monday, January 26, 2009
Room 707, Boromratchakumari Bldg., Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University, 1 – 3 pm

15 minutes walk from Siam BTS (See maps/directions below)

Talks are free of charge and no reservation is required.

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Topic

Just 40 years after its embrace by Westerners, a secularized approach to Buddhism – stripped of its affiliations with cultures in Asia – has become a dominant factor in the intellectual life of the West. Today, Buddhist principles are integrated into international reform strategies in education, business management and health care. Buddhist principles dare to challenge modern definitions of “scientific method,” and they are even entering into the design of next-generation digital technologies. Buddhism also causes Westerners to discover practical applications of their own humanistic philosophies, which had become increasingly marginalized under the impact of scientific materialism.

Though these reforms emanate from the West, they are having a “kick-back” in Asia. Seeing their own Buddhist traditions through Western eyes, many Asians now see new ways to draw upon their own indigenous spiritual traditions to achieve long-sought domestic reforms.

Speaker

A former Harvard professor of Science and Technology Policy, Dr. Smith is now Senior Advisor to the University of Washington Human Interface Technology Laboratory. He has taught Buddhism since 1974 when he was a founding faculty member of Naropa University and has since become an advisor to leaders of “engaged Buddhism” such as His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the actor Richard Gere. He is a Senior Teacher of Shambhala Buddhism, the major international organization of Tibetan Buddhism for Westerners. Today, he lives in Asia where he teaches meditation to Asian business leaders in an annual month-long retreat at Borobodur, Indonesia and is in residence in 2009 at Center for Ethics in Science and Technology at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok.

Each lecture will be preceded by a 15 minute period of guided mindfulness meditation, conducted as participants are seated in chairs.

For more information, please call 02 218 4756 or email parkpume@gmail.com

Or click here to head to the department blog

Ok, so here is a google earth photo. Walk down Henri Durant Road for 820 meters. The entrance is after you have passed under a foot bridge. Note, there are numerous entrances to various parts of the university, but you need the right one, after the footbridge. Once through the entrance look for the tall building off towards the right.  Talk is on the 7th floor.

If entering via taxi it will have to take a roundabout route within the Chulalongkorn compound.

Here is the view as you come through the correct entrance to the university. Turn right as you enter (taxis are forced to turn left and circle round).

Boromratchakumari Building  Entrance. It is the tallest building on the campus: