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Symposium:
“Modern Society and Religion” Held at the Chinese Academy of Social
Sciences
From
October 13 to 14, 2009, a symposium on “Modern Society and Religion”
was sponsored by the Institute of Oriental Philosophy (IOP) and the
Institute of World Religions of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
(CASS) in Beijing, China. This was the fourth symposium cosponsored by
the IOP and the CASS. The first was titled “The Historical
Significance of the Lotus Sutra and its Role in the 21st Century”
(Tokyo, 1999), which was followed by “Mahayana Buddhism and Modern
Civilization”
(Beijing, 2001). The third focused on “Modern Civilization and Dialogue
between Religions” (Beijing, 2004). The recent symposium dealt with the
theme of “Modern Society and Religion,” and discussed the mission and
potential of religion within the contemporary society aspiring to
establish harmony and coexistence. Renowned Buddhist scholar and
professor at Peking University Lou Yulie participated in the symposium.
More than 70 researchers attended the event.
In a message from IOP founder Ikeda, he congratulated on the joint
symposium held on the highly
auspicious occasion of the sixtieth anniversary of the founding of the
People’s Republic of China. He mentioned the ideas about intensifying
exchanges between the cultures and young people of China and Japan. He
mentioned that idea of a harmonious world, the Chinese spirit of
concord and symbiosis, agrees with the Buddhist philosophy of dependent
origination and symbiosis that has permeated all of Asia, and stressed
the
significance of mutual prosperity resulting from multidimensional
exchanges in all areas, such as culture, education, scholarship,
politics and economics. He expressed his wish that the fruit of the
symposium will be intellectually creative for the human race and deepen
mutual understanding in the scholarly dimension.
At the opening ceremony held at CASS on October 13, Institute of World
Religions Director Zhuo Xinping and IOP Director Yoichi Kawada spoke.
During the symposium, Director Yang Zengwen from the Research Institute
of the Buddhism Culture of China lectured on Buddhist scholars'
contributions to the friendship between China and Japan and the role of
Buddhism in strengthening bonds between the countries. He traced back
the history of exchanges between China and Japan, and expressed his
wish to increase the research on the history of Buddhism in China and
in Japan.
The following papers were presented during the two day symposium:
・Wei Daoru (Researcher of CASS)
“Buddhism in China and Modern Society: An Introduction
Centering Around the Teachings of Taixu and Yinshun”
・He Jingsong (Researcher of CASS)
“The Merging of Neo-Daoism (Xuanxue 玄学) and Zen Buddhism
(Chanxue
禅学) and the Awareness of Calligraphy Art—Modern Meanings of Paintings
and Calligraphic Works of Zen Buddhism Thought”
・Zhang Zhigang (Researcher of CASS)
“Re-understanding of the Social Role or the Cultural Function of
Religion——Theoretical Reflections drawn from International Hot Issues
after the Cold War and Religions”
・Yoichi Kawada (Director of IOP)
“Buddhist Thoughts on Symbiosis—And its Contemporary Implications”
・Hiroshi Kanno (Senior Research Fellow of IOP)
“The Bodhisattvas of the Earth in the Lotus Sutra: Involvement
in the Human Society”
・Shuichi Yamamoto (Senior Research Fellow of IOP)
“Sustainability and Buddhism: How do we measure quality of
life and degree of happiness?”
・Ken’ichi Maegawa (Research Fellow of IOP)
“Modern Nichirenist Discourses on Life and Josei Toda’s
Buddhist Thought”
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