OCBS News & Events

So-Wide Space January 2012

Welcome to the January 2012 issue of So-Wide Space. In this issue we have a report from Richard Gombrich on a recent visit to OCBS by Dr Yoichi Kawada, Director of the Institute of Oriental Philosophy in Tokyo. We also bring you details of a conference to be held at the Institute of Oriental Philosophy this month in Taplow.

So-Wide Space November 2011

Welcome to the November 2011 issue of So-Wide Space. The main news in this issue is the launch of the Journal of the Oxford Centre of Buddhist Studies. We provide a background to this exciting venture plus a preview from one of the book reviews contained in the Journal.

We also provide updated news on our current Lecture Series, audio recordings on the OCBS website and the new influx of Students at the OCBS.

So-Wide Space September 2011

Welcome to the September 2011 issue of So-Wide Space. In this issue we have a report from Richard Gombrich on his activities over the summer: he attended the congress of the International Association of Buddhist Studies and taught three Pali courses.

Richard also provides us with a profile of the interesting work going on at the Dhammakaya Foundation.

So-Wide Space - July 2011

Welcome to the July 2011 issue of So-Wide Space. In this issue we have a report on a recent talk by Shinzan Roshi in Oxford. We also have more details on recent developments within the OCBS. Finally, Mark Leonard brings us some news on upcoming activities at the Oxford Mindfulness Centre.

So-Wide Space May 2011

Welcome to the May issue of So-Wide Space. In this issue Richard Gombrich informs us of a few happenings in the world of Buddhist Studies and we have some preliminary news of an exciting development in the OCBS Subscriber scheme.

Also, Suren Raghavan provides a thought-provoking article on Sri Lanka and we bring you details of several lecture series and talks happening in Oxford over the coming months.

So-Wide Space MARCH 2011

Welcome to the March issue of So-Wide Space. In this edition we have details of the visit by Venerable Dhammika to the OCBS plus Richard Gombrich gives us details on the recent lectures he has been giving.

We also have details of our upcoming Lecture Series in Trinity term and Sarah Shaw provides us with information on an informal initiative in Adult Education that she is currently carrying out.

So-Wide Space Dec 2010

November was a very busy month as the OCBS hosted the inaugural visit of the Khyentse Visitorship with a visit from Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche to the University. In this issue of the Newsletter we have an article from Geoff Bamford giving some of the background and context to this exciting visit.

So-Wide Space Oct 2010

Welcome to the October issue of So-Wide Space. In this issue we have a report on the recent visit of Arjia Rinpoche to the OCBS. Also, more news on the ongoing restructuring of OCBS and details of the new website which is now up and running!

Buddhism and Science Videos Now Available

We are delighted to announce that videos from the Buddhism and Science Colloquium held in March are now available. This seminal series of videos was recorded during a 2-day colloquium on Buddhism and Science at Oxford University. It involved leading scientists, philosophers, Buddhist scholars and Buddhist practitioners in deep debate on the perceived convergence of modern science (relativity theory, quantum mechanics, systems biology, cognitive psychology, clinical science) with some of the traditional ideas of Buddhism (anti-metaphysical stance, interdependence, emptiness, no-self). The colloquium was organised by Vesna Wallace (Numata Professor of Buddhist Studies at Oxford, and Academic Director of OCBS), Denis Noble (Emeritus Professor of Physiology) and Alan Wallace (Director of the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies). In addition to the introduction, there are 11 30-minute recordings. The debates are lively and critical. The videos are available at:

http://www.voicesfromoxford.com/B-S-Introduction.html

Mindfulness for Students

Mark Leonard

Student life can be hectic and stressful as has been documented in recent times. Colleges do make provision for nurturing health and well-being. However mindfulness has not tended to be one of the skills offered in this context.

So it made sense for So-Wide to provide an eight week mindfulness course for Wolfson College in partnership with its sister charity OMC (Oxford Mindfulness Centre). This was an experiment to see how teaching mindfulness skills could fit into student life and help issues such as student depression, anxiety etc. In turn, this can assist the student in being able to concentrate more effectively on their studies.

International Association of Buddhist Universities -Workshop in Wang Noi, Thailand

Geoff Bamford

Some 50 delegates attended. My fellow So-Wide trustee the Venerable Khammai Dhammasami was in the chair. With Philip Stanley from Naropa University, I helped to moderate.

We spoke of the need to facilitate horizontal exchanges between IABU members. The new website (www.iabu.org) makes this easy.

An IABU Support Fund has been set up. The first priority will be to launch the IABU Visiting Lecturership (VL) Scheme. VLs from a larger institutions can offer significant help to smaller ones. Indonesia has a number of such smaller institutions, which can benefit greatly from the Scheme. For instance, it will help them in gaining accreditation from their government. It was agreed that the scheme should focus initially on Indonesia.

A Discussion of The Broken Buddha

Richard Gombrich

Ven Dr Anil Sakya, aka Phra Sugandho, spent a month this term as Visiting Professor at the OCBS. Dr Anil, as he likes to be known, is a Newar who was ordained in Thailand and since then has mainly lived in Wat Bovoranives in Bangkok, where he has for many years been assistant secretary to the Supreme Patriarch of the Thai Sangha. He also holds teaching positions at 3 Bangkok universities: Mahamakut, Mahidol and Kasetsart.

Dr Anil gave two lectures on the distinctive features of Thai Buddhism in our weekly lecture series, and also spoke on the Nepali diaspora in Thailand to a group of anthropologists. All of these lectures were extremely informative and greatly appreciated.

Reflecting on my lecture: Buddhism and Stoicism: a comparison

Richard Gombrich

A few days ago I gave a lecture, which I began like this:

“Once many years ago I was having a conversation with my father, when he asked me to explain the Four Noble Truths to him. When I did so, he responded, “I see. It is like Stoicism.” Over the years I have read quite a few books and attended many lectures about Buddhism. Occasionally the Buddha’s teachings are compared to those of some western philosopher; in my experience the commonest such comparison is between the Buddha’s teaching of no soul and the philosophy of David Hume. But very rarely have I come across comparisons with Western classical philosophy….