Asian Perspectives on China and Tibet:

Geography, History and Buddhism

Room 205, 2nd Floor, Chamchuri 3 Building,

Chulalongkorn University

October 7-8, 2014

Asia Research Center and Faculty of Arts’ Chinese Department, Chulalongkorn University

Department of Political Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei

Association of Asia Scholars, New Delhi

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Asian Perspectives on China and Tibet: Geography, History and Buddhism

Asia Research Center and Faculty of Arts’ Chinese Department, Chulalongkorn University

Department of Political Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei

Association of Asia Scholars, New Delhi Room 205, 2nd Floor, Chamchuri 3 Building, Chulalongkorn University

October 7-8, 2014 October 7

Registration, Opening Address and Welcome Speech, and Photo Session 09:30-10:00-- Prapin Manomaivibool, Briefing

Pirom Kamol-ratanakul, Opening Address and Welcome Speech

Keynote Speech ~ Prapin Manomaivibool (Chair) 10:00-10:40-- Prapod Assavavirulhakarn, How Thai’s Perspective on China Is Enlightened by

Buddhist Scholarship

Confucian Modernity in the Perspective of Buddhism ~ Hartmut Behr (Chair),

11:00-11:40-- Nguyen Tran Tien, Facing Christianity, Integrating Confucianism and Daoism: The Buddhist Foundation of Modern Subjectivity in Vietnam

11:50-12:30-- Chih-yu Shih, The Two States of Nature in Chinese Practice of Non/Intervention:

Neo-Confucianism, Buddhism, and Modernity

Chinese Influences in the Perspective of Buddhism ~ Swaran Singh (Chair)

13:50-14:30-- Sharad K Soni, Buddhist Influence on China Studies in Mongolia: Exploring the Mongol-China-Tibet Linkages

14:40-15:20-- Reena Marwah, Buddhism in Sri Lanka and Nepal: Exploring the Influence of

Tibet/Tibetan Studies in a Comparative Perspective

China Studies in the Perspective of Buddhism ~ U Thaw Kaung (Chair) 15:40-16:30-- Josuke Ikeda, (Re)creating China: Sinology, the Kyoto School and Japanese View

of Modern World; Pratoom Angurarohita (Discussant)

16:40-17:30-- Peiying Lin, Buddhist Scholars' Views of China in Contemporary Japan: Buddhist

Influence on Japanese Sinology; and Taro Mochizuki (Discussant)

October 8

Keynote Speech ~ B R Deepak (Chair),

09:30-10:10-- Swaran Singh, Why are China Scholars in Asia not Alarmed by China Threat

Theories of West? A Buddhist Perspective?

Sino-Myanmar Relations in the Perspective of Buddhism ~ Nguyen Tran Tien (Chair)

10:30-11:10-- U Thaw Kaung, Myanmar Perspectives on China: Historical Relations and

Buddhist Contacts

11:20-11:40-- Keziah Wallis (Absentia), Religious Politics or Political Religions :

Chinese-Myanmar Buddhist Relations and the 2008 Chinese Tooth Relic in Yangon

Chinese Texts in the Perspective of the Buddhism ~ Reena Marwah (Chair)

11:50-12:30-- Chanwit Tudkeao, Buddhist Beliefs Reflected in the Tibetan Daily Prayer Book in

Comparison with the Chinese version 13:50-14:30-- B R Deepak, Translation Studies and Civilizational Dialogue between India and

China: Role of the Buddhist Scholar Monks

14:40-15:20-- Avijit Banerjee, Indian Buddhist Scholars and Ancient Chinese Documents:

Primary sources of China studies in India

A Proposal for Comparative Phenomenology ~ Josuke Ikeda (Chair) 15:40-16:50-- Hartmut Behr, Temporality, Transformativity, and Peace in Cross-cultural

Dialogue and Policy

Business Meeting and Concluding Remark ~ Chih-yu Shih (Chair)

17:00-17:30-- All Participants, Reflections and Suggestions

The recommended maximal time for each presentation is 30 minutes.

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International Conference on

Asian Perspectives on China and Tibet:

Geography, History and Buddhism

Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok,

October 7, 2014

9:30-10:00

Briefing to the President of Chulalongkorn University

By

Prapin Manomaivibool

Director of Asia Research Center

Chulalongkorn University

Opening Address and Welcoming Speech

By

Pirom Kamol-ratanakul, M.D.

President of Chulalongkorn University

Photo Session

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10:00-10:40

Keynote Speech

How Thai’s Perspective on China Is Enlightened by Buddhist Scholarship

By

Prapod Assavavirulhakarn

Dean of Faculty of Arts

Chulalongkorn University

11:00-12:30

Confucian Modernity in the Perspective of Buddhism

Facing Christianity, Integrating Confucianism and Daoism:

The Buddhist Foundation of Modern Subjectivity in Vietnam

By

Nguyen Tran Tien

Faculty of Oriental Studies,

Vietnam National University, HANOI

Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism are the three basic systems of thought which are

accepted and applied altogether creatively in process of establishing and affirming the

Vietnamese’s dignity. As the result of interaction with India and China, the Vietnamese

thoughts were established in the tendency of integration of the three religions altogether, and

among them Buddhism occupies an active and distinguish place in forming internal

(introspecting) values.

In early Christian era, ideological co-existence and integration of three religions have

appeared as Vietnam was considered as a meeting place of cultural exchange between

Vietnam - China and Vietnam - India, a place to gather and harmonize the flow of both

Indo-Chinese thoughts merging with the indigenous culture.

Among these three religions, Buddhism was introduced into Vietnam from India and

basically became the most influential religion in term of spiritual lives of the people.

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However, Confucianism and Taoism also had great impacts on social and political life

besides traditional folk beliefs. Therefore, this religious integration has become one of the

most unique trends in Vietnamese thoughts of religious tolerance and co-existing as well as

respecting all three religions.

This paper tries to focus on the following aspects of three-religious integration in

Vietnamese thought:

- Brief studies on the introduction and influence of Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism

- Historical contexts of three-religious integration

- Dominant religion in integration process: integration and acculturation.

This paper is also based on a quantitative study of three rather distinct religious traditions

(Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism) sharing the same ethnic origin (Vietnamese) in

Vietnam. It investigates the possible relations between religion and acculturation, and looks

at whether various forms of religiosity and religious belonging are plausible variables in

acculturation perspectives.

The Two States of Nature in Chinese Practice of Non/Intervention:

Neo-Confucianism, Buddhism and Modernity

By

Chih-yu Shih

Department of Political Science

National Taiwan University

China’s insistence on non-intervention in failed states so that spontaneity may take over

the course of events contradicts Beijing’s constant appeal for self-strengthening in domestic

governance. The Chinese government and people’s disregard for failing governance in other

countries is in contrast with the portrayal of good governance as a triumph of the Chinese

Communist Party. A realistic view of this kind of contradiction would accept such hypocrisy

as easily explained by national interest calculus. However, a more complex approach seems

justified as foreign policy leaders are typically believed to act with good reason, and at the

very least, argue for public support. In cases where the theory–practice contradiction affects

neither policy makers nor their constituency, a concept that is deeper than functional

hypocrisy must be the premise of this apparent desensitization. To understand the apparent

apathy toward the failed state, this study relies specifically on the Buddhist notion of

suffering as the nature of “this world” as opposed to that of “the afterworld.” China can find

means to desensitize the contradictions in their non-interventionism through the dialectical

relationship between transcendental cosmology/ontology that favors inaction and

transcendental epistemology that favors self-strengthening as required by the situation.

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13:50-15:20

Chinese Influences in the Perspective of Buddhism

Buddhist Influence on China Studies in Mongolia: Exploring the Mongol-China-Tibet

Linkages

By

Sharad K Soni

School of International Studies

Jawaharlal Nehru University

Today China Studies in Mongolia covers varied subjects that include history, language,

religion, culture, politics, international relations etc. Though international relations as part of

China Studies focusses exclusively on Mongolia-China and Mongolia-Tibet relations,

Buddhism has had tremendous influences on studying such relations in historical perspective

that also points to various transcendent messages derived from Buddhism to analyse those

relations in the contemporary context. These messages indeed enlighten the perspectives on

China studies given the fact that it was during the rule of China’s Ming dynasty that Tibetan

form of Mahayana Buddhism became so deep rooted among the Mongol people that

practically all of them began converting to this religion since 1578 when the Mongol Prince

Altan Khan met the Third Dalai Lama at Qinghai (Koko Nor). The transfer of Tibetan

Buddhism among Mongolian people illustrates the diffusion of a religion endowed with a

complex dogma and elaborate rituals through a movement of conversion under the aegis of a

political power. Tibetan Buddhism, however, was adopted as far back as in the thirteenth

century as the official religion of Yuan China by Khubilai Khan, the founder of the Mongol

Yuan dynasty. It was also the Mongol Prince Altan Khan who gave the title of Dalai Lama

for the first time to the Tibetan monk Sonam Gyatso, who came to be known as the Third in

the lineage of Dalai Lama (the first two were given this title posthumously). By the end of the

seventeenth century the Mongol people became a part of the ‘Tibetan Buddhist area’ in terms

of geography, while at the same time retaining many of their own distinctive cultural features.

At that time, Tibetan Buddhism spread even beyond the Mongol borders and left its deep

impact on the ethnic Mongols of the present Russian Federation Republics of Buryatiya,

Tuva and Kalmykia. When almost all the ‘Tibetan Buddhist area’ came under China’s Qing

Empire in the eighteenth century, the Qing emperor saw himself as a Bodhisattva-king that

was revealed in his actions in building Tibetan-style temples that symbolised the world as

seen from a Buddhist perspective. Under the overlordship of Qing Empire, the Mongols of

both the Chinese province of Inner Mongolia and the then Outer Mongolia (the current

independent Republic of Mongolia) as such did not face any threat to their religious faith

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until they came under the Soviet domination in the early twentieth century. During much of

the Soviet period Buddhism in Mongolia was badly suppressed but then it saw its revival in

the post-1991 period. Since geography, history and Buddhism as the key factors have played

a paramount role in the development of Mongolia-China-Tibet linkages; one may find that

pragmatic analysis of the Buddhist influence on China studies in Mongolia prevails over

abstract theorizing.

It is in this context that the paper seeks to cover the following five aspects

in order to analyse the core subject: 1. Overview of China Studies in Mongolia; 2.

Mongolia-China-Tibet Linkages: Role of Buddhism in Historical Perspective; 3. Beyond the

Mongolian Borders: Buddhism in Buryatia, Tuva and Kalmykia; 4. Buddhism in the

Imagination of Contemporary Mongolian Sinologists; 5. Implications for Mongolia-China

Relations. Besides, the paper also argues if Buddhism can be employed as geopolitical tool in

regional and international perspectives to meet the challenges facing Mongolia in its China

policy.

Buddhism in Sri Lanka and Nepal: Exploring the Influence of Tibet/Tibetan Studies in

a Comparative Perspective

By

Reena Marwah

Indian Council for Social Science Research

Ministry of Human Resource Development, India

While Sri Lanka is the oldest continually Buddhist country with Theravada Buddhism

being the major religion in the island since its official introduction in the 2nd century BC by

King Mahinda (the son of Mauryan Emperor Ashoka of India during the reign of King

Devanampiya- Tissa), Lumbini in Nepal is the birthplace of Lord Buddha. It is also believed

that the nun Sanghamitta, the daughter of Asoka, brought the southern branch of the original

Bodhi tree to Anuradhapura, the ancient capital of Sri Lanka. Since then Buddhists in Sri

Lanka have paid reverence to this branch of the Bodhi tree under the shade of which Lord

Buddha achieved Enlightenment. Monks from Sri Lanka have been instrumental in spreading

both Theravada and Mahayana throughout South-East Asia. Nepalese Buddhism inherited the

Mahayana Buddhist sutras which were established in India in original Sanskrit. Similarly,

stone inscript ions on Mahayana Buddhist beliefs and pract ices written in Sanskrit

have been found in Sri Lanka’s Anuradhapura. The Sanskrit sutras which survived in

both the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal as well as in Sri Lanka contributed greatly to the

modern research on Mahayana Buddhism. Thus, while both the countries have been greatly

enriched by the study of Buddhist scriptures and texts, there are important areas where the

convergence of ideals and beliefs is not visible, especially when viewed through the lens of

Tibetology.

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It is against this background that this paper is divided into three parts: the first traces the

spread of Buddhism and how the image of Tibet has evolved historically, socially and

culturally in Sri Lanka and its sphere of influence- both direct and indirect; the second section

provides a narrative of Buddhism in Nepal bringing the study of Tibet in perspective. The

intersection of Tibetology with Buddhism in a comparative perspective in these two countries

comprises the third and the last section of the paper.

15:40-17:30

China Studies in the Perspective of Buddhism

(Re)creating China:

Sinology, the Kyoto School and Japanese View of Modern World

By

Josuke Ikeda

University of Toyama

Discussant

Pratoom Angurarohita

Department of Philosophy

Chulalongkorn University

In Japanese IR and recent re-disciplinisation of IR with non/post-Western perspectives,

the ‘Kyoto School’ has been considered both a triumph and a trauma. It was the former

because of its struggle for emancipating the country from the Expansion of International

Society (in Hedley Bull and Adam Watson’s sense), while it was the latter as well because of

its intellectual complicity towards war-time regime. The paper aims at exploring such mixed

reputation from different perspective, through the development of Sinology with Buddhist

ideas.

The central contention of the paper is that the Kyoto School had had much wider vista

than having ordinary considered, and what has been focused till recently was just the very

final phase of its development. In other words, the Kyoto School, usually centred by

philosopher Nishida Kitaro was a kind of focal point, and there were earlier stages whose

diverse streams had poured into Nishida eventually. The paper’s focus is, therefore, not the

Kyoto School in Philosophy, rather the one in Sinology. Interestingly, the invention of

Sinology in Kyoto was not only the starting point of the Kyoto School, but also the

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combination process of Buddhism and Asianism. The paper will present how the

development of Kyoto Sinology had been done both as a wider project of Asia Studies there

as well as the kick-off of the Kyoto School in later meaning. Main figures will include Kano

Kyokichi, Haneda Toru, Naito Konan, Kuwabara Tokuzo and others. Exploring the

intellectual development in Buddhism and Sinology, this paper will consider how modern

Japanese had considered West, East, China, Japan, and eventually, their world.

Buddhist Scholars' Views of China in Contemporary Japan: Buddhist Influence on

Japanese Sinology

By

Peiying Lin

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Disscusant

Taro Mochizuki

ASEAN Center for Academic Initiatives

Osaka University

In this paper, I analyze the work by Japanese scholars of Chinese Buddhism from

different backgrounds according to their affiliated institutes and relevant Buddhist sects. In so

doing, I examine the different dispositions of their scholarly perspectives of China, as well as

the correlations between these perspectives and the Buddhist thought.

With an attempt to cover the field of Chinese Buddhism in aspects of intellectual and

social history of China, Japanese scholars selected in the current paper include: D.T. Suzuki

(Zen and Jōdo shinshū), Seizan Yanagida (Rinzai Zen), Zenryū Tsukamoto (Pure Land),

Mamoru Tonami (Confunian), Chie Nakane (Zen), Kosei Ishii (Kegon), and Fumihiko Sueki

(history of thought). Among a great number of distinguished scholars in Japan, these seven

representative scholars form a balanced combination of major areas of Buddhist studies.

Through a survey of their work, I develop a typology concerning their views of China. It

is divided by a twofold dimension: a) confrontational vs. harmonious, and b) nationalist vs.

culturist vs. globalist. In this theoretical model for political attitudes, Buddhist doctrines can

find their specific positions: 1.) Zen schools may be either nationalist or culturist and

confrontational. 2.) Pure Land schools generally present nationalist and confrontational

characteristics. 3.) Kegon doctrine features a globalist and harmonious view. It then testifies

to the extent to which Sinologist studies might correspond with Buddhist ideas, and answers

the following questions: Does Buddhist studies pacify the alarming attitude towards China, or

intensify it instead? How does Sinology in Japan come to terms with the fluidity and mobility

of Buddhism in history?

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International Conference on

Asian Perspectives on China and Tibet:

Geography, History and Buddhism

Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok,

October 8, 2014

09:30-10:10

Keynote Speech

Why Are China Scholars in Asia Not Alarmed by China Threat Theories of West?

A Buddhist Perspective?

By

Swaran Singh

School of International Studies

Jawaharlal Nehru University

Early 1990s had witnessed unprecedented growth rates in Chinese economy leading to

debates on the possible paradigm shift in international system; from West to East, with the

global action and power shifting from North America and Europe to the Asia-Pacific. This

‘system shaping’ potential of rising China triggered China Threat theories across the western

world and was led by scholars and officials from United State, Japan, Australia and few

European powers. No doubt, China had disputes with most of its neighbours and these China

Threat theories projected China emerging as an Asian hegemon yet it was fear of China

re-defining norms and institutions and influencing global trends that lay beneath these

formulations. As a result, while most of China’s neighbors saw in its rise some serious

challenges for their national interest yet most of these did not see it as existential threat to

their very existence. An apt example will be ASEAN which was created in 967 as part of US

containment of China yet, from 1997 East Asian financial crisis, has come to be a friend of

China’s leaders. Same has been the story of several of other neighbours.

Other than China’s economic leverages, Buddhism perhaps helps explain this

disjunction in how the West perceives China and how China’s neighbours have a different

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perception that guides their engagement with China’s leaders. China has also tried to use

Buddhism to deal with its Tibetan population as also in restraining general freedoms leading

to greater spread of Christianity with its Western linkages and other connotations. This use of

Buddhism by China especially been effective vis-à-vis its neighbours which have Buddhist

populations or leaning though this has also led to certain amount of competition e.g. India

and China have been propagating their brands of Buddhism with very specific connotations

for the Tibetan moment. But China’s special relations with countries like Thailand, Myanmar,

Sri Lanka as also its use of Buddhism in dealing with Hong Kong and Taiwan present an

interesting perspective how China has used Buddhism as a potent tool in building bridges and

in assuaging fears amongst its neighbours that Western powers would like to court for not

just ensuring that China’s rise remains peaceful but even for undermining China’s credentials

as a rising power with system shaping capabilities.

10:30-11:40

Sino-Myanmar Relations in the Perspective of Buddhism

Myanmar Perspectives on China: Historical Relations and Buddhist Contacts

By

U Thaw Kaung

Library and Information Studies

University of Yangon and University of East Yangon Of Myanmar's land borders, the longest, 1370 miles, is with China. Myanmar rulers

have perceived China as a huge neighbouring country to the northeast. The people of

Myanmar, with over 100 ethnic groups, including the Bama(Burmese) have all migrated

southwards from the high Tibetan plateau through Yunnan into present_day Myanmar. The

Myanmar regard the Chinese as kinsfolk, calling them Tayoke, or Pauk-phaw (born from the

same nest eggs). The Burmese language belongs to the Tibeto_Burman group.

There have been trade and cultural links with China from the Pyu period (from around

1st century AD). There are Chinese records of Pyu musicians at the 9

th century Chinese court,

and even Po-Chii-ii wrote a poem about them.

The Mongols in the 13th

century invaded Myanmar, ending the Bagan Dynasty, the 1st

of several Myanmar Kingdoms.

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Although there were some conflicts up to the 18th

century when three attempts by the

Manchus to take the Myanmar capital Innwa (Ava) failed, trade and cultural links and

diplomatic missions between the two countries were more common. Some Chinese missions

though purported to be from the Emperor in Beijing, were actually concorted in Yunnan with

bogus envoys and even three Chinese ladies said to be the Emperor's granddaughters, sent as

tribute brides to the Myanmar king in 1790.

On China's side, they have seen Myanmar as a tributary state, and the people as

barbarians during monarchical times.

Buddhism played an important role in contacts between the Myanmar and the

Chinese. Up to recent times the Buddha Tooth Relic, kept in Beijing, has been sent to

Myanmar in 1955, 1994, 1996 and 2011 for the people to warship. In the last 50 years or so

China had been a staunch supporter of the Myanmar military government. Close relations

continue on the "Five Principles of Co-existence," which Myanmar and China together with

Indonesia helped to formulate.

Religious Politics or Political Religions: Chinese-Myanmar Buddhist Relations and the

2008 Chinese Tooth Relic in Yangon

By

Keziah Wallis (Absentia)

Department of Anthropology & Archaeology

University of Otago

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11:50-15:20

Chinese Texts in the Perspective of the Buddhism

Buddhist Beliefs Reflected in the Tibetan Daily Prayer Book in Comparison with the

Chinese Version

By

Chanwit Tudkeao

Department of Eastern Languages

Chulalongkorn University

In various Buddhist traditions, daily prayer is considered as a significant rite, which

monks, nuns and laypeople should perform. In Theravada Buddhist temples, daily prayer is

performed twice a day; in the morning and in the evening as well as, in Chinese, Vietnamese,

Japanese and Tibetan Buddhist temples. Some texts in the Buddhist canon, some mantras and

newly composed texts are arranged in series. The ways that formality and ritual customs are

assigned vary from one Buddhist tradition to another. In Thailand, besides Theravada

traditions, there are also Mahayana traditions. In this article, two daily prayer books; Nyer

mgo'i chos sbyod bzhug so (Tibetan Daily Prayer Book) composed by Min-ling Lochen

Dharma Shri (1654-1717) and 朝暮時課誦 (Chao-mu shi ke song) composed around the

end of Ming dynasty, are compared both in textual and ritual contexts. Both of them belong

to Mahayana traditions, nevertheless, the arrangement of chanted texts and ritual customs

differ from each other at some points. Based on their comparison, the Buddhist believes and

customs, reflected in each tradition are discussed.

Translation Studies and Civilizational Dialogue between India and China: Role of the

Buddhist Scholar Monks

By

B. R. Deepak

Center of Chinese and Southeast Asian Studies

Jawaharlal Nehru University

This paper explores the role of Buddhist scholar monks in initiating, strengthening and

furthering civilizational dialogue between India and China through translation studies.

Buddhism, that acted as an umbrella for exchanges at various levels resulted in a translation

industry at unprecedented scale under the very patronage of Chinese emperors. Citing

historical records, it argues that in a span of 734 years starting from 10th year of the Yongping

Era in Han Dynasty (67 A.D.) to the 16th year of Zhenyuan Era in Tang Dynasty (800 A.D.),

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in all 185 prominent translators translated 2412 sutras that ran into 7352 fascicles. Of these

the five, namely Kumārajīva, Paramārtha, Xuan Zang, Yi Jing and Amoghavajra have been

evaluated for their works, style and contribution. It states that besides Buddhist sutras,

non-Buddhist classics such as Brahaman Sutra of Astronomy (婆罗门天文经), Astronomy of

Brahaman Rishi Garga (婆罗门竭伽仙人天文说), Astronomy of Brahaman (婆罗门天文)

etc. were rendered in Chinese. The paper concludes these very monks were responsible for

creating the core of East Asian Buddhist literature.

Indian Buddhist Scholars and Ancient Chinese Documents: Primary Sources of China

Studies in India

By

Avijit Banerjee

Department of Chinese Language & Culture

Visva-Bharati (Cheena Bhavana)

Two characteristic features of Buddhism enabled it to make a specific impact on

southeast Asia: First, the Buddhist were imbued with a strong missionary zeal, and second,

they ignored the caste system and did not emphasize the idea of ritual purity. By his teaching

as well as by the organization of his monastic order (Sangha) Gautama Buddha had given rise

to this missionary zeal, which had then been fostered by Ashoka's dispatch of Buddhist

missionaries to Western Asia, Greece, Central Asia, Sri lanka and Burma. Buddhism's

freedom from ritual restrictions and the spirit of the unity of all adherents enabled Buddhist

monks to establish contacts with people abroad, as well as to welcome them in India when

they came to visit the sacred places of Buddhism. Inspired by China’s official recognition of

Buddhism, a large number of Indian Buddhist scholars went to China from various countries

of the western region. The dominating force of this trend were the foreign nationalities living

in various Central Asian nations including Parthians, Yue-Che, Sogdians, Kucheans as well

as Khotanese etc. In the early stages of development of the Sino-Indian relationship, it is the

people of these countries who acted as a bridge and medium between the two countries, and

these Buddhist scholars played the most important role in the establishment of Buddhism in

China and the development of China Studies in India. The first Indian missionaries who went

to China in the third quarter of the first century were Dharmaratna and Kasyapa Matanga.

In various ancient Chinese documents, we find reference of India. The name India,

which was called ‘shendu’ was first recorded in ‘Shiji, Dawan biography” (世纪大宛列传).

In Chinese historical and semi-historical documents: there are places called "Shang Tianzhu",

"Zhong Tianzhu", and "Xia Tianzhu" which literally mean, "Upper India", "Middle India",

and "Lower India". These three names actually indicate just a few square kilometres in

Hangzhou City in Zhejiang Province in eastern China. How has such a mix-up come about? It

is because of a legend that was the making of an ancient Indian Buddhist monk-scholar

"Huili" (whose real identity is lost). In 326, this monk from western India came to Hangzhou.

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After seeing a hill in this area (in the vicinity of the scenic West Lake), he authoritatively

proclaimed that the hill had been flown to China from Magadha (Bihar)! The Chinese

believed him and, henceforth, called the hill "Tianzhushan"(the "Indian Hill") and

"Feilaifeng"(the "Peak that has flown here from India"). It was this legend that has

contributed to the existence of "Upper", "Middle" and "Lower" India on the Chinese map.

Thus, this article will try to explore the importance of various missions of Indian Buddhist

scholars to China and ancient Chinese documents as primary source of China Studies in

India.

15:40-16:50

A Proposal for Comparative Phenomenology

Temporality, Transformativity, and Peace in Cross-cultural Dialogue and Policy

By

Hartmut Behr

School of Geography, Politics, Sociology

Newcastle University

In the Western phenomenological discourse – i.e. in the work of prominent authors as

Georg Simmel, Alfred Schuetz, Martin Heidegger, Emmanuel Levinas, and Jacques Derrida

– the question of the self-other-relation, of identity construction, and of cultural difference

plays an important part. This question receives clear and concise answers in the notions of

temporality, transformativity, and anti-essentialist perceptions of alterity, with fundamental

consequences for our politics of peace, conflict resolution, and reconciliation embracing

differences and neutralizing essentialist politics (see Behr, Politics of Difference, 2014).

However, any phenomenological language and any anti-essentialist politics of peace and

reconciliation find their crucial test in cross-cultural dialogue: i.e., any phenomenological

language of alterity as well as any politics of peace-with-difference would be meaningless if

‘the other’ could not find and locate him/herself in corresponding notions and could not

connect to them. The phenomenological discourse would then remain self-centric, despite all

good ethical and intellectual intentions. The language of alterity needs to connect to ‘the

other’, otherwise it would be redundant.

Therefore, the (Western) phenomenological notions of temporality, transformativity,

and alterity and a thereby resulting politics of difference shall be discussed cross-culturally

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along the key questions of how they connect and resonate with respective notions in

non-Western philosophical traditions and political practices as we find them in Buddhist (also

in Hindu, Islamic, Jewish, Eastern Orthodox and local African and Latin-American) political

philosophies.

An alternative approach initiating such cross-cultural discourse would be to investigate

the reception of the Western phenomenological discourse, or respective individual authors, in

Buddhist (etc.) cultures and to explore the epistemologies of their reception.

In practical terms, this research looks for new understandings and policies for peace,

conflict resolution, and reconciliation that are able to deal with difference and diversity in a

positive way. This way understands and acts upon differences and diversity not as an obstacle

to peace and reconciliation, but as transformative powers and capacities across and traversing

fixed identities, lines, and practices. But in the first place, the way to such new

understandings and policies has to explore the resonances between cultural notions of

self-other, temporality, and transformativity.

17:00-17:30

Business Meeting and Concluding Remarks

Reflections and Suggestions

By

All Participants

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Participants

Assavavirulhakarn, Prapod was born in Thailand, graduated in B.A. with first class honor

majoring in Pali–Sanskrit and M.A. in Pali–Sanskrit both from the Faculty of Arts,

Chulalongkorn University. In 1982 he received the Ananda Mahidol Scholarship considered

to be the most prestigious one in Thailand, to further his study in France and then at the

University of California at Berkeley for his doctorate. At the Sorbonne he studied Sanskrit

under Pierre Filliozat, epigraphy with Claude Jacques and Indo-European philology with Jean

Haudry. At Berkeley P. S. Jaini and Lewis Lancaster were his principle advisors. He also

studied Sanskrit and Indian philosophy under the guidance of J. Frit Staal and Van Nooten.

His main interests are in textual studies, philology and history of Buddhism in Southeast Asia.

He is an assistant professor in the Department of Eastern Languages, and presently Dean of

the Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University.

Angurarohita, Pratoom received her M.A, and Ph.D. in Japanese Buddhism at the

University of Pennsylvania (U.S.A.). She began to teach in the Department of Philosophy,

Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University since 1971. Between 1993- 2010, she served as

Deputy Director for Administrative Affairs, Centre for Buddhist Studies, Chulalongkorn

University. She was Chair, Department of Philosophy Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn

University between 1998-2002. Presently, she is Guest Lecturer at the University. In addition,

she is Volunteer at the Foundation for the Family Welfare of War Veterans. Her publications

include Shinran’s Philosophical Arguments for the Primal Vow, Bangkok: Chulalongkorn

University Printing House, 2010 (Thai); Buddhist Institutions and Social Work, funded by

Chulalongkorn University’s Centre for Buddhist Studies, 2010 (Thai); “Nichiren and the Soka

Gakkai,” Journal of Faculty of Arts (Chulalongkorn University) (September, 1999), 22 pp.

(Thai), funded by Nanzan University in 1998. She has also translated many books and

published journal articles on religion, civilization, and philosophy.

Banerjee, Avijit is Associate Professor in Chinese & Head of the Department of Chinese

language & Culture (Cheena Bhavana) Visva-Bharati. Dr Banerjee studied for Bachelor,

Master and Ph.D. in Chinese Language and Literature from Visva-Bharati. He studied at

Beijing Language University, China from Sept.1996 to July 1997 under the India-China

Bilateral Cultural Exchange Program. He was awarded a Scholarship for attending a Short

Term Teacher’s Training Program held at Beijing Normal University, People’s Republic of

China from 9th

July to 12th August, 2007.Dr Banerjee has authored many articles and chapters

in several volumes. Dr Banerjee’s research interest includes Chinese language and

Sino-Indian cultural studies. Dr Banerjee attended many international conferences in India

and abroad.

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Behr, Hartmut is a Professor of International Politics at Newcastle University (UK). His

areas of specialization are Political Theory, Political Violence and Peace, Critical European

Studies. He is the author of Zuwanderungspolitik im Nationalstaat (1996), Entterritoriale

Politik (2004), A History of International Theory – Ontologies of the International (2010),

and Politics of Difference – Epistemologies of Peace (2014). He is currently working on a

new book project called Conditions of Critique.

Deepak, B R is presently Professor and Director of the Centre For Chinese and Southeast

Asian Studies. He was trained in Chinese history and India-China relations at Peking

University and Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing, at Jawaharlal Nehru University,

New Delhi and University of Edinburgh, UK. He was the Nehru and Asia Fellow at the

Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing. Dr. Deepak's publications include India and

China 1904-2004: A Century of Peace and Conflict (2005); India-China Relations in first half

of the Twentieth Century (2001); India-China Relations: Future Perspectives (co ed.

2012); India-China Relations: Civilizational Perspective (2012) China: Agriculture,

Countryside and Peasants (2010); Cheeni Kavita: Gayarvin Shatavdi se Chuahdvin Shatavdi

Tak (Chinese Poetry: 1100 BC to 1400 AD) (2011), a translation of 88 selected classical poems

for which he was awarded the 2011 “Special Book Prize of China”, the first Indian to receive

the highest literary award from China. Dr. Deepak has been a visiting professor at the Chinese

Academy of Social Sciences, Doon University, Dehradun India, and a teaching Fellow at the

Scottish Centre of Chinese Studies in the University of Edinburgh, UK.

Ikeda, Josuke is associate professor at the University of Toyama, Japan. His original interest

includes theories of International Relations and Global Ethics. Also it has been expanded to

cover the disciplinary development of modern Japanese IR, including the Kyoto Schools and

others, as well as inter-civilizational approach of world politics. His latest publications

include ‘The Idea of “Road” in International Relations Theory’, Perceptions: Journal of

International Affairs, 19(1), pp. 153-165; and Eikoku Gakuha no Kokusai Kankeiron (The

English School of International Relations) (co-edited with Makoto Sato and Makoto Onaka)

(Tokyo: Nihon Keizai Hyouronsha, in Japanese).

Kaung, Thaw (b. 1937) is the son of Sithu U Kaung, Director of Education. He studied and

obtained a 1st class B.A. Hons in English Literature from Yangon University in 1959. He later

studied Librarianship at University College London and was awarded a Postgraduate

Diploma in Librarianship from the University of London in 1962 and an Honorary

Fellowship by the Library Association (U.K) in 1984. The University of Western Sydney

conferred an Honorary Dr. of Letters in 1999 and the Fukuoka Asian Cultural Prizes

Committee selected him as the Academic Prize Laureate for 2005. In March 2008 he was

honoured with a Life-Time Achievement Award in Myanmar Literature by the Pakkoku U

Ohn Pe Literary Prizes Committee.

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Dr. Thaw Kaung worked in various libraries of Yangon University from 1957, and was

the Chief Librarian of the Universities Central Library from 1969 until his retirement in

December 1997. He is also a Retd. Professor in Library and Information Studies from the

University of Yangon and the University of East Yangon. From January 1998 to the present,

he has been a Member of the Myanmar Historical Commission, the Chairman of the

National Literary Awards Selection Committee and Chairman of a number of other privately

funded Literary Committees. He established the Department of Library and Information

Studies at Yangon University in 1971 and also the Myanmar Library Association in the early

1990s. He was an Executive Committee Member and Publisher of the Burma Research

Society from 1959 to 1980 when the military government dissolved it.

He has been appointed by the Indian Government Ministry of External Affairs as a

Member of the Advisory Council of Scholars to the Nalanda Mentor Group for the revival of

the Nalanda University as a Centre for Cultural Exchange between East Asia and South Asia.

Dr. Thaw Kaung received the National Literary Award for Life-Time Achievement in

Literature in 2010.

The new government of President Thein Sein awarded him the high Sithu title on 4th

January 2012 Independence Day Honours, for over (50) years of Life-Time Service to the

Nation and the People.

He is the Chairman, Advisor, Patron and/or Executive Committee Member of a number

of charitable organizations including the Myanmar Book Aid and Preservation Foundation,

the Yangon Heritage Trust, the Myanmar Literature Promotion Society, and the Mingala

Bhuha Parahita Buddhist Charitable Organization which he helped to establish over (20)

years ago, to help the disabled and disadvantaged, irrespective of their race and religion.

Li, Tao is a professor and a supervisor to doctoral candidates, as well as the Executive

Director of the Institute of South Asian Studies, Sichuan University. She has published more

than 70 papers in many countries and regions like the U.S., India, Japan, Iran, and Taiwan.

She has written, edited and translated 10-plus academic works in English and Chinese. She

also has finished dozens of consultation reports to Central United Front Work Department of

CPC Central Committee, Information Office of the State Council and CPC Sichuan

Provincial Committee etc. She held dozens of programs, such as the MOE key research

programs, KRI major programs, programs for New Century Excellent Talents in University

(NCET), and international projects. She was awarded with six prizes at provincial and

ministerial level by the Central United Front Work Department, the State Ethnic Affairs

Commission, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the provincial government. Her

monographs serving as the sub-topics of key programs of the National Social Science Fund

were appraised with excellent fruits. Prof. Li presently is the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of South

Asian Studies Quarterly, a member to the editorial board of International Politic, Vice

Chairman of Chengdu-South Asia Association for Economic Trade Cooperation, deputy

secretary general of Chinese Association for Asia-Pacific Studies, executive member of

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Chinese Association for South Asian Studies, member of China-India Friendship Association,

a leading researcher for "South Asian Ethnic and Religious Studies" of 985 Project.

Lin, Peiying is a Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow at the Louis Frieberg Centre for East Asian

Studies, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She was awarded a Ph.D. degree from the

School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London in July 2012, followed by

one-year postdoc fellowship at the Institute for Chinese Studies, Oxford University. Her

doctorate examined cross-culturally the patriarchal tradition and textual transmission in

China, Japan and Korea at the early stage of the history of Zen Buddhism. This research

relied heavily on historiography for reconstruction of the religious and intellectual history of

East Asia between the sixth and the ninth centuries. Her current project, combining political

theories and religious studies, focuses on Buddhist networks and provides a new perspective

on the authors’ cultural identities and the dynamics of Buddhist interaction in medieval East

Asia.

Mochizuki, Taro received his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Osaka University (Japan) in 1997

and Complementary License for Doctoral Study in Philosophy, Higher Institute of

Philosophy at Louvain Catholic University, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium (1989). Presently, he

is Professor of Philosophy and Higher Education and Regional Director at ASEAN Center for

Academic Initiatives at Osaka University. His expertise ranges from History of

Philosophy--early modern philosophy, and philosophy of the French enlightenment, French

spiritualism, phenomenology, metaphysics, epistemology, philosophical anthropology,

modern Japanese philosophy and social thought, theory and practice of critical thinking, and

philosophical counseling. He has published numerous articles on these subjects in

professional journals.

Marwah, Reena is presently Senior Academic Consultant, ICSSR, Ministry of Human

Resource Development, Government of India. She was an Associate Professor at Jesus and

Mary College, Delhi University, India and was awarded an M. Phil and Ph.D. in International

Business. In addition to several years of postgraduate teaching, she also lectures frequently at

institutions of higher learning in India and abroad. She has been visiting fellow of the

Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. She is Secretary General, Association of Asia

Scholars (the association of 286 alumni Asia fellows of the Asian Scholarship Foundation).

Authored/co-authored and co-edited five books, three monographs in addition to several

research articles, conference papers and has delivered over 100 lectures at different

institutions in India and abroad on issues of Indian economic issues and governance, ethnicity

and development. Her recent publications include Transforming South Asia: Imperatives for

Action, Knowledge World, 2014; India and GCC Countries Iran and Iraq: Emerging

Security Perspectives, Pentagon Press, 2013; Contemporary India: Economy and Society,

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Pinnacle, (July 2012); Emerging China: Prospects for Partnership in Asia, Routledge, 2012;

On China by India: From a civilization to a nation state, Cambria Press, 2012.

Nguyen, Tran Tien received his B.A. (Hons.) in History at the University of Delhi, India,

M.A. in Buddhist studies at the University of Delhi, India, and his Ph.D from Department of

History, Ravenshaw University, Cuttack, Odisha, India. The subject of his dissertation is

Buddhism in Orissa: A Study of Art Remains in the District of Jajpur. He is now teaching as

lecturer of Oriental Studies at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU, Hanoi.

His research focuses on history and religion of India, India-Japan relationship, India-Iran

relationship, and Buddhist studies.

Shih, Chih-yu teaches civilizational studies, international relations, and China studies at

National Taiwan University and National Sun Yatsen University (Kaohsiung) in the capacity

of National Chair as well as University Chair. He holds honorary positions at Fudan

University, Jilin University, Sun Yatsen University (Guangzhou), Tianjin Normal University,

and Central China Normal University. His research interests (accesible at

http://politics.ntu.edu.tw/RAEC) include anthropology of knowledge and intellectual history

of China studies/Chinese studies/Sinology, international relations theory, and ethnic studies.

He also serves as Editor of the journal Asian Ethnicity.

Singh, Swaran is Professor for Diplomacy and Disarmament at School of International

Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He is President of Association of Asia

Scholars, General Secretary of Indian Congress of Asian and Pacific Studies, Advisory Board

Member of Communities Without Boundaries Inc (Atlanta, Georgia) and Guest Professor at

Yunnan University of Economics and Finance (China). He has been visiting Professor at

various reputed institutions including Australian National University, Hiroshima University,

Sciences Po (Bordeaux) etc. Prof. Singh has supervised 18 Ph.Ds and 26 M.Phils and

authored three books, eight monographs and edited seven volumes and he regularly

contributes to various academic magazines and journals. Prof Singh is on Editorial Board of

several academic journals and regularly lectures at various reputed institutions at home and

abroad. He is also a regular contributor to various television programs, and newspapers

including China Daily and Global Times. His twitter handle is @SwaranSinghJNU

Skilling, Peter received his Ph.D. with Honours (2004) and his Habilitation (2008) from

l’Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes (Sorbonne, Paris). He was visiting professor at Harvard

University (2000), Oxford University (2002), the University of California at Berkeley (2005),

the University of Sydney (2009), and Soka University (2009).

At present, he is a Professor of the French School of Asian Studies (EFEO), based in

Bangkok. He is also Special Lecturer at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, and Honorary

Associate, Department of Indian Sub-Continental Studies, University of Sydney, Australia.

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Professor Peter Skilling’s main field of research is archaeology, history, and literature of

Buddhism in South and Southeast Asia. Other interests include the early history of Mahayana

Buddhism, the Pali literature of Southeast Asia, and the history of the Buddhist order of nuns.

At present he is working on a study of the Tibetan Kanjur as a repository of Indian

Buddhist literature, and on the early archaeology of Buddhism in India. His publications

include two volumes of Mahasutras: Great Discourses of the Buddha (Oxford, 1994, 1997).

A third volume, the English translations, is in progress. He is the editor of Past Lives of the

Buddha: Wat Si Chum – Art, Architecture and Inscriptions (Bangkok, 2008), and of Images

et imagination – Le bouddhisme en Asie (Paris, 2009). Twelve of his selected essays related

to South-East Asia and Thailand were published in 2009 (Buddhism and Buddhist Literature

of South-East Asia, Bangkok).

In 2009 he was awarded the Ikuo Hirayama Prize by the Académie des Inscriptions et

Belle-Lettres, Paris, for his work in general and the publication Wat Si Chum, Sukhothai. In

2012 he was appointed a fellow of the Khyentse Foundation. He is co-editor (with Jason A.

Carbine, Claudio Cicuzza, and Santi Pakdeekham) of How Theravāda is Theravāda?

Exploring Buddhist Identities (Chiang Mai, 2012) and co-editor with Justin McDaniel of

Buddhist Narrative in Asia and Beyond (2 vols., Bangkok, 2012).

SONI, Sharad K teaches at the Centre for Inner Asian Studies, School of International

Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. A recipient of ASIA Fellows Award

(2005), Dr. Soni has written extensively on his area studies covering Mongolia, Central Asia,

Inner Mongolia and Tibet Autonomous Regions of China as well as Siberian Republics of

Buryatia and Tuva. He has to his credit five books, three monographs and numerous

articles/research papers/chapters published in scholarly journals and edited volumes. He is

also Joint Secretary of New Delhi-based Association of Asia Scholars and Book Review

Editor for South Asia, Asian Ethnicity journal published from Routledge, United Kingdom.

Tudkeao, Chanwit received his B.A. with the 1st class honor degree in Pali and Sanskrit

(major subject), Japanese (minor subject), Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University,

Bangkok Thailand (1997), M.A. in Buddhist Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto Japan (2004),

and Ph.D. in Indology and Tibetology, Ludwig-Maximilian Universität München (University

of Munich), Munich Germany (2009). His publications include Three Sanskrit Fragments of

Ratnaketuparivarta, The British Library Sanskrit Fragments Vol. II, IRIAB, 2009; The

Relationship between the early Chinese translation and Central Asian versions of the

Ratnaketuparivarta, Thai International Journal of Buddhist Studies 3 , 2012; Once Upon In

Ratnasikhin Buddha's Lifetime: Legends of Ratnasikhin Buddha in India and Beyond,

BUDDHIST NARRATIVE IN ASIA AND BEYOND 2 vols., Institute of Thai Studies

Chulalongkorn University, 2013; The Confusion of Maitreya’s and Mahakaccayana’s

Iconography in Sino-Thai Culture, The Collection of Articles on “Buddhist Culture and

Contemporary Society” in The 2nd

Thai-Sino Conference on Buddhism, 2013. He has many

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works in progress, including Historical Multi-dimensions and Status of Sri Lankan Buddhism

in the History of Buddhism in Thailand; Sanskrit Fragments of Ratnaketuparivarta, Buddhist

Sanskrit Manuscripts in the Schøyen Collection, Book Cult in Mahayana Buddhism as seen in

Ratnaketuparivarta, Conference Journal of Chulalongkorn International Conference of

Oriental Studies; A comparative Study of the Pali and Sanskrit versions of the Ratnasutra,

Conference Journal of The 2012 Chulalongkorn-EFEO International Conference on Buddhist

Studies.

Wallis, Keziah is a Ph.D. candidate at University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. Her

undergraduate honours research focused on the relationship between Chinese-language

television and identity for Chinese New Zealanders. Her Ph.D. research, however, focuses

on the Anthropology of Religion in Myanmar, specifically the inter-relationship between

multiple religious practices in individuals. She is currently conducting 11 months

ethnographic fieldwork in Yangon on this topic. She has also presented research at

conferences and given guest lectures on a number of other topics including: Western

appropriation of Asian Culture, Compensated Dating in Japan, Transnational Storytelling and

East Asian TV Dramas, Southeast Asian Religious Systems, and Burmese Spirit Worship.

Thank you