Events

CHAIRPERSON

Dr Emily Hertzman, Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore

PROGRAM

ABSTRACT

The book The Social Production of Buddhist Compassion in Chinese Societies investigates and establishes a theoretical framework for the study of the social production of religious compassion in the era of shale modernity among Chinese communities in Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan. It argues that the production of Buddhist compassionate fields in the twenty first century responds to the rising social inequality and social needs of modern society. Religious compassion serves as an emotive force that propels the religious self and socio-religious groups to commit to the performance of acts of philanthropy, including the delivery of welfare and care services, medical care, education, and humanitarian aid. Through a combination of documentation analysis and anthropological research, the book examines the interconnectivity of reformist Buddhist teachings of compassion, charisma, gender, and state in influencing the attitudes and actions of the sangha and of Buddhist individuals in producing Buddhist compassionate fields in a changing socio- economic landscape.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Khun Eng Kuah is Distinguished Professor of Anthropology and Chinese Diaspora Studies at the School of International Studies and the Academy of Overseas Chinese Studies, Jinan University (Guangzhou, China). She was former Professor and Head of the School of Arts and Social Sciences at Monash University Malaysia and has taught at the University of Hong Kong and Melbourne University. Among the numerous visiting positions held, she was a visiting scholar and a coordinate researcher at the Harvard-Yenching Institute, Harvard University and visiting professor at University of Paris. Her publications include 4 sole-author books, 9 edited books, 6 special journal issues and over 80 journal articles and book chapters.

Guan Thye Hue is Senior Research Fellow of the Asia Research Institute and Department of Chinese Studies, National University of Singapore, and Vice Dean of Research Committee, Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations. He is the author of A Study of the Development of Chinese Buddhism in Singapore (2010, with Nengdu, etc.), The Propagation of Taoism and Buddhism in Singapore (2013), Chinese Epigraphic Materials in Singapore: 1819-1911 (2 vols. 2017, with Kenneth Dean), The Propagation of the Multi-Humanistic Buddhism in Singapore (2021) and Chinese Epigraphic Materials in Singapore: 1912-2019 (2 vols. in preparation, with Kenneth Dean). His main articles are “The origin of Singapore Taoism” (Religious Studies, 2011), “The Evolution of the Singapore United Temple” (Chinese Southern Diaspora Studies, 2011), “The Discussion of the Epigraphic Materials of Singapore Mahayana Buddhism” (Journal of Quanzhou Normal University, 2013), “Chinese Temples and the Transnational Networks: Hokkiens Communities in Singapore” (Cultural Diversity in China, De Gruyter, 2017) and The Buddhist Philanthropist: The Life and Times of Lee Choon Seng (MDPI Religions, 2022), etc.

Jack Meng-Tat Chia is Assistant Professor of History and Religious Studies at the National University of Singapore. He specializes in Buddhism in maritime Southeast Asia and has broader research interests in migration, diasporas, transnationalism, pilgrimage, and religious diplomacy. His first book, Monks in Motion: Buddhism and Modernity Across the South China Sea (Oxford, 2020), won the 2021 EuroSEAS Humanities Book Prize. He has also published articles in journals such as Asian Ethnology, China Quarterly, Contemporary Buddhism, Critical Asian Studies, History of Religions, and Journal of Chinese Religions. He is currently working on two book projects: Beyond the Borobudur: Buddhism in Postcolonial Indonesia and Diplomatic Dharma: Buddhist Diplomacy in Modern Asia.

REGISTRATION

Registration is closed, and instructions on how to participate in this webinar has been sent out to registered attendees. Please write to aritm@nus.edu.sg if you would like to attend the webinar.