BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:talks.ox.ac.uk BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Between Class and Dharma: Transnational Buddhism in Britain - Caro line Starkey (University of Leeds) DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20250616T170000 DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20250616T180000 UID:https://new.talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/bda3a44e-b74d-4693-9c80-328c7e0e5d 9f/ DESCRIPTION:In this talk\, I examine the ways that class dynamics shape tr ansnational convert Buddhism in Britain through three key examples: the tr ansformation of a Tibetan Buddhist centre in Holbeck\, Leeds from a Buddhi st centre to a wellbeing hub\; the role of secular mindfulness classes in promoting financial sustainability and accessibility\; and Buddhist retrea ts as wellness tourism. Across these cases\, I explore how accessibility\, power structures\, and lived experiences are shaped by social class in wa ys that are often unspoken but profoundly influential.\n\nFirst\, I focus on a Tibetan Buddhist centre in Leeds\, affiliated with the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT). In 2019\, the centre r elocated from an affluent city-centre office to a vast former factory in H olbeck\, one of England’s most deprived areas. This shift—from Dharma Centre to Community Wellbeing Hub—brought new outreach initiatives but a lso illuminated stark class divides. Second\, I discuss the role of secula r mindfulness programmes in British Buddhist organisations. Many British B uddhist centres\, including the one in Holbeck\, incorporate secular mindf ulness classes as a financial survival strategy\, as well as a means to re ach out to non-Buddhist populations. Yet\, this approach has drawn critici sm from some Buddhist spheres\, arguing that it dilutes dharma practice\, despite widening accessibility. Finally\, I look briefly at Buddhist retre ats in Britain\, particularly introductory retreats\, and their burgeoning relationship to wellness tourism. By weaving these examples together\, I explore the varied ways that class dynamics shape the adaptation of contem porary Buddhism in Britain. I invite discussion on how class operates acro ss different (Buddhist) contexts and how we\, as researchers and practitio ners\, might critically engage with it.\nSpeakers:\nCaroline Starkey (Univ ersity of Leeds) LOCATION:Basement Teaching Room 1 TZID:Europe/London URL:https://new.talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/bda3a44e-b74d-4693-9c80-328c7e0e5d 9f/ BEGIN:VALARM ACTION:display DESCRIPTION:Talk:Between Class and Dharma: Transnational Buddhism in Brita in - Caroline Starkey (University of Leeds) TRIGGER:-PT1H END:VALARM END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:The Śyāma Jātaka in the Dazu Rock Carvings - Li Ling (Sichuan U niversity) DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20250619T143000 DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20250619T153000 UID:https://new.talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/c9281c5d-cc64-476f-933a-e72ec2beff e0/ DESCRIPTION:Niche 17 in the central section of the North Cliff at Dafowan\ , Baodingshan\, Dazu\, is traditionally identified as the “Transformatio n Tableau of the Sūtra on the Buddha’s Great Skillful Means of Repaying Filial Kindness.” Among several filial-piety scenes\, an inscription la bels one panel “Śākyamuni\, in a former birth as Śyāma\, serving his parents\,” allowing a firm identification of the subject. Yet the typic al motif of Śyāma drawing water—familiar from the mural traditions of Xinjiang and Dunhuang—is absent\, suggesting that the Buddhist images in Sichuan do not necessarily follow the standard iconography. Careful visua l examination nevertheless shows that Dafowan does preserve a lineage of Śyāma imagery\, though in a variant form that has so far gone unnoticed. This talk offers a preliminary reading of the relevant images\, highlight s their distinctive features\, and proposes possible channels of transmiss ion\, in the hope of stimulating further discussion of the site’s unique treatment of Śyāma Jātaka materials.\nSpeakers:\nLi Ling (Sichuan Univ ersity) LOCATION:Balliol College (Gillis Lecture Theatre)\, Broad Street OX1 3BJ TZID:Europe/London URL:https://new.talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/c9281c5d-cc64-476f-933a-e72ec2beff e0/ BEGIN:VALARM ACTION:display DESCRIPTION:Talk:The Śyāma Jātaka in the Dazu Rock Carvings - Li Ling ( Sichuan University) TRIGGER:-PT1H END:VALARM END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Sarvamedha\, Pañcavārṣika\, and Nirargaḍamedha: Ritual Trans mission from India to China - Zhen Liu (Dali University and Harvard-Yenchi ng Institute) DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20250602T170000 DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20250602T183000 UID:https://new.talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/0e084d72-2105-4a39-aa12-a77bd86f57 26/ DESCRIPTION:This lecture explores the transmission and transformation of n irargaḍamedha and pañcavārṣika from India to China. Emperor Wu of th e Liang Dynasty\, inspired by the legend of Aśoka\, adopted the Buddhist- oriented nirargaḍamedha (unlimited sacrifice)—likely derived from the Brahmanical sarvamedha (all sacrifice)—emphasizing large-scale charitabl e giving. The pañcavārṣika (Five-Year Assembly)\, encountered by Faxia n during his pilgrimage\, also stemmed from Aśokan tradition but focused on almsgiving. In India\, nirargaḍamedha evolved under King Harṣa to e ngage various social groups\, merging royal authority with Buddhist charit y\, as witnessed by the pilgrim Xuanzang. Over time\, the two rituals conv erged in name and function. This study emphasizes the role of multilingual sources in understanding how religious rituals were adapted and reinterpr eted across cultural contexts.\nSpeakers:\nZhen Liu (Dali University and H arvard-Yenching Institute) LOCATION:Basement Teaching Room 1 TZID:Europe/London URL:https://new.talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/0e084d72-2105-4a39-aa12-a77bd86f57 26/ BEGIN:VALARM ACTION:display DESCRIPTION:Talk:Sarvamedha\, Pañcavārṣika\, and Nirargaḍamedha: Rit ual Transmission from India to China - Zhen Liu (Dali University and Harva rd-Yenching Institute) TRIGGER:-PT1H END:VALARM END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Sanskrit Buddhist Chant and Song: Medieval Traditions in Modern Tr ansmission - Stephen Ithel Duran (University of Oxford) DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20250519T170000 DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20250519T183000 UID:https://new.talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/eadb71a6-64ad-4703-955a-f21b4103f5 f5/ DESCRIPTION:For those who associate Buddhism with sensory denial\, the com pound “Buddhist Music” may seem like a contradiction in terms. Indeed\ , the Buddhist ideal was\, from earliest times\, one intended to be fulfil led primarily by renunciates\, who subjected themselves\, in varying degre es\, to an ascetic discipline that would seem to imply the necessity of re nouncing the appeasement of musical appetites. Be this as it may\, by the time of the establishment of an official code of conduct for monks\, or Vi naya\, the participation of the Buddhist priesthood in musical practices h ad given rise to enough conflict for it to require strict regulation. Neve rtheless\, even after the establishment of prohibitions on singing\, danci ng\, and instrumental music in the monastic context\, chanting practices w ere retained and developed by the monastic establishment\, until the time at which\, during the political\, social\, and religious upheavals of the medieval Indian period\, intricate song and dance forms were reincorporate d into formal Buddhist institutions\n\nIn this talk\, an account will be g iven for the development of Buddhist musical practices on the Indian subco ntinent from their earliest\, datable instances to the disappearance of Bu ddhist institutions from India proper\, demonstrating the persistence of d escendant traditions of Sanskrit Buddhist chant and song in contemporary J apanese\, Tibetan\, and Newari esoteric Buddhist communities. It is argued that the Buddhist musical theory and praxis of these three cultural spher es preserve features of ancient and medieval Indian Buddhist chant and son g that have otherwise\, along with historical Buddhist institutions themse lves\, disappeared from the Indian subcontinent.\nSpeakers:\nStephen Ithel Duran (University of Oxford) LOCATION:Basement Teaching Room 1 TZID:Europe/London URL:https://new.talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/eadb71a6-64ad-4703-955a-f21b4103f5 f5/ BEGIN:VALARM ACTION:display DESCRIPTION:Talk:Sanskrit Buddhist Chant and Song: Medieval Traditions in Modern Transmission - Stephen Ithel Duran (University of Oxford) TRIGGER:-PT1H END:VALARM END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Recovering Sayagyi U Ba Khin: Globalizing Vipassanā from a Post-n uclear Rangoon - Daniel M. Stuart (University of Hamburg) DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20250505T170000 DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20250505T183000 UID:https://new.talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/c44393cf-0533-4459-b3d5-a2f498c4a0 72/ DESCRIPTION:In this paper I extend previous research on the history of mid -twentieth-century Burmese vipassanā (insight) meditation through an expl oration of some of the particularities of the meditation-teaching models o f the lay meditation master and first Accountant General of Independent Bu rma\, Sayagyi U Ba Khin (1899–1971). While much scholarship has glossed over the charismatic healing modalities of U Ba Khin and his students\, I argue here that charismatic healing was at the center of U Ba Khin’s tea ching practices. What is more\, U Ba Khin’s charismatic approach to medi tation and meditation teaching was embedded in a missionary theory that sh ared thematic elements with esoteric weizzā (wisdom-power) traditions ori ented to spiritual practices that might lead to world-domination in a post colonial Burmese context. Drawing primarily on U Ba Khin’s oral Burmese Dharma talks\, I suggest that U Ba Khin’s mission to spread vipassanā i n the twentieth century can best be understood as the project of a weizzā -dho (Pāli: vijjādhara)\, a wizard wielding a particularly powerful form of vipassanā-vijjā (the wisdom-power of insight meditation). I also exp lore how the post-war context of U Ba Khin’s mission\, his concerns arou nd the fallout of the use of nuclear weapons in the Asian theatre\, and hi s attempt to scientize Buddhist theories of matter\, influenced how he und erstood the process of vipassanā meditation.\nSpeakers:\nDaniel M. Stuart (University of Hamburg) LOCATION:Basement Teaching Room 1 TZID:Europe/London URL:https://new.talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/c44393cf-0533-4459-b3d5-a2f498c4a0 72/ BEGIN:VALARM ACTION:display DESCRIPTION:Talk:Recovering Sayagyi U Ba Khin: Globalizing Vipassanā from a Post-nuclear Rangoon - Daniel M. Stuart (University of Hamburg) TRIGGER:-PT1H END:VALARM END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Great Compassion in Art: The Guanyin Mural of Tang Dynasty Dunhuan g - Irene Lok (University of Cambridge) DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20250203T170000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20250203T183000Z UID:https://new.talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/b86f6540-8abe-45f0-b006-4a1ed56331 7e/ DESCRIPTION:The Mural of Guanyin from Tang Dynasty Dunhuang is an extraord inary embodiment of spiritual devotion and artistic mastery\, seamlessly m erging Buddhist iconography with the refined aesthetics of one of China’ s most cosmopolitan eras. Guanyin\, the Bodhisattva of Infinite Compassion \, is rendered with sublime grace and ethereal presence\, reflecting both the transcendence of the divine and the depth of human empathy. The mural ’s intricate lines\, delicate shading\, and luminous palette convey a se nse of tranquillity and reverence\, hallmarks of Tang-era artistry at its zenith.\nDunhuang\, a vital oasis on the Silk Road\, was not merely a cros sroads for trade but a flourishing centre of cultural and religious exchan ge. This mural exemplifies the artistic synthesis that arose from these in teractions\, blending Chinese\, Central Asian\, and Indian influences into a harmonious whole. Every detail\, from the flowing robes to the serene e xpression of Guanyin\, evokes a spiritual serenity\, offering both a visua l feast and a meditative experience.\n\nMore than a work of Buddhist art\, the mural serves as a profound reflection of Tang Dynasty values: the ele vation of compassion\, the pursuit of enlightenment\, and the integration of diverse cultural traditions into a unified\, transcendent vision. It st ands as a testament to the enduring power of art to inspire\, elevate\, an d connect across time and place.\nSpeakers:\nIrene Lok (University of Camb ridge) LOCATION:Basement Teaching Room 1\, Pusey Lane\, Oxford\, OX1 2LE TZID:Europe/London URL:https://new.talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/b86f6540-8abe-45f0-b006-4a1ed56331 7e/ BEGIN:VALARM ACTION:display DESCRIPTION:Talk:Great Compassion in Art: The Guanyin Mural of Tang Dynast y Dunhuang - Irene Lok (University of Cambridge) TRIGGER:-PT1H END:VALARM END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:The Māṇavikā Chapter in the Uttaragrantha of the Mūlasarvāst ivāda Vinaya - Hyebin Lee (Norwegian Institute of Philology) DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20250210T170000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20250210T183000Z UID:https://new.talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/0633bb76-c83f-42d4-a93b-6f592433c0 51/ DESCRIPTION:The Vinaya (Tib. ’Dul ba\, Chi. lü 律) is a collection of teachings on the rules and regulations that form the foundation of Buddhis t monastic communities\, ensuring their unity and communal living. Among t he ancient Buddhist schools\, the Mūlasarvāstivāda\, which flourished i n many parts of India\, particularly in North India\, was one of the most influential schools of Indian Buddhism. Its Vinaya is still in use today b y Tibetan Buddhists and was also translated into Chinese by Yijing (義淨 \, 635–713 CE)\, one of the most important figures in the history of Chi nese Buddhist translation.\nDespite its significance\, the final section o f the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya\, the Uttaragrantha\, has received limite d scholarly attention\, partly due to limited access to the original Sansk rit materials as well as its availability in three different classical Bud dhist languages\, posing challenges regarding its translations and transmi ssion. However\, this section holds considerable historical significance f or understanding of the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya. \n\nAt the end of the last century\, Sanskrit manuscript fragments of the Uttaragrantha were dis covered in two Private Collections—the Schøyen Collection and the Priva te Collection\, Virginia—and this discovery initially drew academic atte ntion to the Uttaragrantha. Drawing on these materials\, I investigate the Māṇavikā Chapter of the Uttaragrantha in the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vina ya\, filling significant gaps in our knowledge of the specific content of Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya as well as its textual history\, transmission\, and multiplicity. In this talk\, I will present a summary of my research on the Māṇavikā Chapter including the background\, the Sanskrit manusc ript of the Uttaragrantha\, and key findings. \nSpeakers:\nHyebin Lee (No rwegian Institute of Philology) LOCATION:Basement Teaching Room 1. Pusey Lane\, Oxford\, OX1 2LE TZID:Europe/London URL:https://new.talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/0633bb76-c83f-42d4-a93b-6f592433c0 51/ BEGIN:VALARM ACTION:display DESCRIPTION:Talk:The Māṇavikā Chapter in the Uttaragrantha of the Mūl asarvāstivāda Vinaya - Hyebin Lee (Norwegian Institute of Philology) TRIGGER:-PT1H END:VALARM END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR