INTRODUCTION & SUMMARY

Does East Asian Buddhism offer a unique and invaluable perspective on the Buddhist tradition as a whole? Is it worthy of sustained and rigorous study on that basis?

Is the Buddhist culture, literature and history of China, Korea and Japan central to any contemporary understanding of East Asia, and indeed of the Asian culture area as a whole? Are these traditions remarkable and their adaptations to the modern world instructive?

Is it worth developing and presenting a clear, accurate and sympathetic understanding of East Asian Buddhism? And then diffusing it as widely as possible?

We say ‘Yes’. That is why the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies (OCBS) wishes to establish an endowed Lectureship in East Asian Buddhist Studies. This document outlines the context and sets out for potential supporters what we can together achieve.

Buddhist Studies is set for a major expansion in Oxford. It is vital that the East Asian dimension be well represented.