Los Angeles is home to the most diverse Buddhist communities and traditions in the world, UCLA is home to one of the largest Buddhist studies programs in the country, and UCLA Library is home to the significant collection on Buddhism studies outside of Asia. This symposium seeks to provide a venue for scholars, practitioners, librarians, archivists, students, and community patrons to gather and celebrate the close collaboration between UCLA and the community. We hope to use this event to share research outcomes, information, and resources related to research and teaching on Buddhism across these communities. During the program we will introduce and highlight major archival collections held at UCLA Libraries that have resulted from these successful collaborations. These collections, which have recently been processed and made available for research, document the Buddhist communities in the greater Los Angeles area.

Thursday, May 15, 2025
9:00 AM - 4:15 PM (Pacific Time)
Presentation Room
Young Research Library

Schedule

9:00 – 9:30 am (Conference Room 1st floor Young Research Library)

Arrival, Coffee and refreshments

9:30 – 9:35 am

Opening remarks from Su Chen, Head of Richard C. Rudolph East Asian Library at UCLA

9:35 – 9:45 am

Welcoming remarks by Athena Jackson, Norman and Armena Powell University Librarian, UCLA Library

9:45 – 11:15 am: Panel #1, Ancient Buddhist Manuscripts in the UCLA Library (Conference Room 1st floor Young Research Library)

Chair: Su Chen

· Li Jining (National Library of China), “Authentication of three Dunhuang scrolls and other rare Buddhist items held at UCLA”

· Q & A session

11:15 am - 12:15 pm: A guided tour of Dunhuang scrolls, Buddhist canons and materials from Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties by an international expert (Distinctive Collections Classroom)

*Both the lecture and the rare materials viewing will be conducted in Chinese, with English interpretation provided by Yuxuan Tay, a Ph.D. student in Buddhist Studies at UCLA.

12:15 pm – 1:00 pm: Lunch for all participants and attendees

1:00 – 2:30 pm: Panel #2, Asian American Experiences Roundtable (Presentation Room 1st Floor Young Research Library)

Chair: Alex Cline, Former Interviewer, Center for Oral History Research, UCLA Library

· Tenzin Kiyosaki

· Rev. Kusala Bhikshu

· Rev. Noriaki Ito

· Debra Boudreaux

· Karen Hilsberg

· Trudy Goodman

2:30 – 4:00 pm: Panel #3, Archives of Buddhism in Los Angeles (Presentation Room 1st Floor Young Research Library)

Chair, Robert Buswell, Distinguished Research Professor

· Susan Andrews (Mount Allison University)

· Jean Paul deGuzman (UCLA)

· Jesse Drian (Library of Congress, presenting in his personal capacity)

· Q & A session

4:00 – 4:15 pm:

Closing remarks by Stephanie Balkwill, Director of the Center for Buddhist Studies at UCLA

Cost : Free and open to the public but registration required

Sponsor(s): Center for Buddhist Studies, Richard C. Rudolph East Asian Library