International conference “Diverse Lives: Narratives of Śākyamuni Buddha in Text and Image”
October 17–19, 2024
Royal Museum of Mariemont (Ghent, Belgium)
The founding figure of Buddhism, Śākyamuni Buddha, has played an enormously important role for South and East Asian – and more recently also Western – cultures and societies. However, there is no authoritative biographic account which would be accepted by the multitude of Buddhist traditions. On the contrary, the stories concerning Śākyamuni’s life are as diverse as the doctrinal and rituals systems found in the various regions and schools of Asian Buddhism. In this context of the lack of cross-regionally and inter-sectarian accepted textual and visual sources, even key events of Buddha’s life have undergone countless interpretations in textual and visual media in the course of Buddhism’s geographical spread and doctrinal diversification
Some of the influential hagiographical accounts of Buddha’s life, such as the Sanskrit Buddhacarita and the Lalitavistara and their renderings in other languages, have attracted the attention of numerous scholars, whereas many lesser-known narratives have remained understudied. The main goal of this conference is thus to gather scholars and discuss unusual variations and interpretations of Buddha’s life stories found in textual and visual materials. The narratives concerning Buddha’s life will be approached from an interdisciplinary perspective, including religious studies, philological and literary studies, archaeology, and art history, to name a few.
The international in-person conference and exhibition is hosted at the Royal Museum of Mariemont, Belgium. This event is organised, in collaboration with the Ghent Centre for Buddhist Studies of Ghent University, at the occasion of the exhibition “Sensing the Buddha” (September 21st, 2024 – April 20th, 2025).
Keynote speaker: Stephen F. Teiser, D. T. Suzuki Professor in Buddhist Studies, Princeton University
Conference registration:
Conference organisers:
Ann Heirman, Head of the Department of Languages and Cultures, Professor of Chinese Language and Culture, Director of the Ghent Centre for Buddhist Studies, Ghent University
Christoph Anderl, Professor of Chinese Language and Culture, Department of Languages and Cultures, Ghent University
Lyce Jankowski, Curator of extra-European Art, Domain & Royal Museum of Mariemont
Max Deeg, Professor in Buddhist Studies, Cardiff University
Neil Schmid, Research Professor, Dunhuang Research Academy
Conference website:
Conference programme:
Exhibition:
Sensing the Buddha
21 September 2024 to 20 April 2025
Domain & Royal Museum of Mariemont
https://musee-mariemont.be/index.php/en/exhibition-sensing-buddha
Download the conference programme
