Tran Nhan Tong Institute of Hanoi National University, in coordination with the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, plans to organize the International Scientific Conference:“Engaged Buddhism and Contemporary Social Issues”.
1. General information
Historically, with the ideology of compassion and salvation, the spirit of Buddhism's engagement with the world has been early shown in Buddhism's concern and participation in solving life's problems. In Vietnam, the spirit of Harmony, entering the world, and harmonizing with the secular world to guide people's hearts and solve social and human problems has been a major stream from Buddhism in the Tran Dynasty to other periods later, contributing to creating the appearance of Vietnamese Buddhism imbued with humanity and accompanying the nation.
Entering the modern era, engaged Buddhism has truly become a trend and is increasingly universal. Reality shows that, in the world, although peace, national independence, democracy, cooperation and development are still the main trends, human society is still facing enormous challenges, with potential dangers threatening the survival of humanity. In Vietnam, the renovation process has achieved historical achievements, but many social problems have also emerged and are evolving in a complex manner. In such a context, the engaged Buddhism trend and Buddhism's participation in solving social problems both demonstrate Buddhism's proactive adaptation and sense of responsibility in a changing world, and meet the needs and demands of society.
However, the worldly tendency of Buddhism as well as Buddhism's participation in solving social problems have also caused much debate. There are big differences in perception surrounding issues such as: What is the essence of worldly Buddhism? Is worldly tendency a natural tendency, originating from the nature of Buddhism, or on the contrary, is it a distortion and damage to the true values of Buddhism? If the worldly tendency of Buddhism is legitimate, then how should Buddhism participate in solving social problems and are there any limits to this participation? Will Buddhism's participation in solving social problems lead to conflicts and disputes with other social forces and what are the consequences? How should the state, whether a religious state or a secular state, respond to the worldly tendency of Buddhism? What are the perceptions and actions in reality, in Vietnam and other countries, of Buddhism itself and society towards the trend of engaging in the world and Buddhism's participation in solving contemporary social problems? etc. Identifying and solving problems related to engaging in Buddhism in an objective and scientific manner is extremely necessary and will have a positive impact on both Buddhism and society.
Research on engaged Buddhism and contemporary social issues is one of the key research directions of the Tran Nhan Tong Institute of the Vietnam National University, Hanoi. Approaching the research on engaged Buddhism and contemporary social issues from a scientific perspective, not only to gain a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of Buddhism, especially contemporary Buddhism, but also to provide scientific arguments for policy making and behavioral adjustment, both cognitively and practically, both for Buddhism and for society, in the face of the worldly tendency of Buddhism and Buddhism's participation in solving contemporary social issues, thereby promoting the values of orthodox Buddhist ideology and culture, making Buddhism and society develop well together.
2. Purpose of the Workshop
The first, mobilizing the intelligence and enthusiasm of the scientific community to discuss and clarify the theoretical, cognitive, tendency and content aspects of engaged Buddhism as well as Buddhism's participation in solving contemporary social and human problems.Monday, promoting the quintessence and good values of Buddhism for the peaceful, stable and developing life of people and contemporary society.Tuesday, creating opportunities to promote dialogue and research cooperation between domestic and foreign scientists on Buddhism.
The conference will be an opportunity to conduct in-depth research, awareness, exchange and dialogue on the trend of Buddhism entering the world and Buddhism's participation in solving contemporary social problems, both on the ideological and cognitive levels, and on the practical levels of Vietnam, the region and the world. The conference is expected to have the participation of many famous scholars from the United States, France, Japan, Taiwan, etc., along with many domestic scientists interested in studying Buddhism, thereby contributing to promoting research and application of the ideological and cultural values of Buddhism to serve society and humanity. The conference is expected to have 100 scholars and guests attending.
3. Topics and language used in the Workshop
The main topics expected (but not limited to) of the Workshop:
- Engaged Buddhism and contemporary social issues - issues of ideology and perception.
- Engaged Buddhism and contemporary social issues in the region and the world.
- Engaged Buddhism and contemporary social issues in Vietnam.
Languages used in the Workshop: Vietnamese, English and Chinese.
4. Time and location (expected):
- Time: From December 8 to 9, 2017.
-Location: Bai Dinh Pagoda, Ninh Binh.
5. Contact information:
- Email:humanisticbuddhism01@gmail.com
- Phone: 024.37675840.
Author:ussh
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