Workshops | UBEF Visiting Professor – The “one-vehicle” (ekayāna) theory of the Lotus Sutra
The Department of Indian Subcontinental Studies presents
Professor Michael Zimmermann
UBEF Visiting Professor of Buddhist Studies
The “one-vehicle” (ekayāna) theory of the Lotus Sutra
Workshop 1
Friday, 23 August 2019, 10am – 4pm
Workshop 2
Friday, 30 August 2019 at 10am – 4pm
Abstract
In the workshop we will read selected passages from one of the most important Mahāyāna texts of Indian Buddhism: the Lotus Sutra. The sutra is particularly well known in East Asia and the simile of the burning house has made it into world literature. We will read the simile of the burning house and other core passages in Sanskrit and its Tibetan translation(s).
The Lotus Sutra promotes the concept of universal Buddhahood (ekayāna) and paves the way for what later becomes known as the idea that all sentient beings have buddha-nature. The influence of the Lotus Sutra on major developments in the history of Indian Buddhism is still not fully appreciated. As a piece of literature it represents many aspects of what made Mahāyāna Buddhism a powerful and popular movement throughout Asia.
About the speaker
Michael Zimmermann studied Classical Indology, Tibetology and Japanology at the University of Hamburg and earned his doctorate with a thesis on the origin of the teaching of buddha-nature in India. He spent several years at universities in Kyoto and Tokyo and later worked for the German Research Foundation in Hamburg and Kathmandu. After four years in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Stanford, in 2007 he became professor for Indian Buddhism at the Asien-Afrika-Institut of the University of Hamburg, one of Europe’s largest research institutions dealing with Asian languages and cultures.
His research focus is Indian Mahayana Buddhism in all its forms of expression, but in particular its textual history based on the canonical traditions in India, Tibet and China. Another of his interests are the developments regarding contemporary Buddhism in East and West. Zimmermann co-directs the Numata Center for Buddhist Studies at Hamburg University, an institutional hub promoting teaching, research, dialogue, academic exchange and public outreach.
For more information, contact: Dr Jim Rheingans – jim.rheingans@sydney.edu.au