Welcome
The UCLA Center for Buddhist Studies trains scholars and educates members of the broader community about Buddhist religion and culture in all of their diversity. Among U.S. universities, only UCLA aspires to cover all of the major traditions in this world religion.
Upcoming Events
5/24/2019 - 5/24/2019
9am-5pm
Come join our workshop as we explore topics on Korean history, culture, and society in honor Professor John B. Duncan's retirement.
5/29/2019
3-4:30pm
Two of Japan's religious World Heritage sites currently ban women's access: the island Okinoshima (designated in 2017) and the Sanjōgatake peak of Mt. Ōmine (designated in 2004). Examining recent cultural imaginings of the two sites in light of historical records and lore pertaining to women's religious exclusion, this talk lays bare a disjuncture between putative ancient origins, observable present-day practices (i.e., lived religion), and selective heritage narratives. These cases draw attention to the conflicting agendas and competing versions of history embedded within Japan's religious landscape today; they also provide an opportunity to explore how religion and other social structures such as heritage, tradition, and gender operate and interact.
Recent Events
5/11/2017 - 5/12/2017
10am-5pm
Panels:
Physical Artifacts of Religious Performance
Crossroads of Ancient and Modern--Adaptation and Subversion
Body and Speech in Ritual Performance
Keynote Lecture:
"Paradisiacal Realms in Ancient Egypt and Early China"
by Anthony Barbieri-Low, Professor of Chinese History at UC Santa Barbara
4/29/2017
10am-5pm
A one-day conference on the Indian origins of Buddhism.