Asian Perspectives on China and Tibet:
Geography, History and Buddhism
Room 205, 2nd Floor, Chamchuri 3 Building,
Chulalongkorn University
October 7-8, 2014
Asia Research Center and Faculty of Arts’ Chinese Department, Chulalongkorn University
Department of Political Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei
Association of Asia Scholars, New Delhi
Asian Perspectives on China and Tibet: Geography, History and Buddhism
Asia Research Center and Faculty of Arts’ Chinese Department, Chulalongkorn University
Department of Political Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei
Association of Asia Scholars, New Delhi
Room 205, 2nd Floor, Chamchuri 3 Building, Chulalongkorn University
October 7-8, 2014
October 7
Registration, Opening Address and Welcome Speech, and Photo Session
09:30-10:00-- Prapin Manomaivibool, Briefing
Pirom Kamol-ratanakul, Opening Address and Welcome Speech
Keynote Speech ~ Prapin Manomaivibool (Chair)
10:00-10:40-- Prapod Assavavirulhakarn, How Thai’s Perspective on China Is Enlightened by
Buddhist Scholarship
Confucian Modernity in the Perspective of Buddhism ~ Hartmut Behr (Chair),
11:00-11:40-- Nguyen Tran Tien, Facing Christianity, Integrating Confucianism and Daoism:
The Buddhist Foundation of Modern Subjectivity in Vietnam
11:50-12:30-- Chih-yu Shih, The Two States of Nature in Chinese Practice of Non/Intervention:
Neo-Confucianism, Buddhism, and Modernity
Chinese Influences in the Perspective of Buddhism ~ Swaran Singh (Chair)
13:50-14:30-- Sharad K Soni, Buddhist Influence on China Studies in Mongolia: Exploring the
Mongol-China-Tibet Linkages
14:40-15:20-- Reena Marwah, Buddhism in Sri Lanka and Nepal: Exploring the Influence of
Tibet/Tibetan Studies in a Comparative Perspective
China Studies in the Perspective of Buddhism ~ U Thaw Kaung (Chair)
15:40-16:30-- Josuke Ikeda, (Re)creating China: Sinology, the Kyoto School and Japanese View
of Modern World; Pratoom Angurarohita (Discussant)
16:40-17:30-- Peiying Lin, Buddhist Scholars' Views of China in Contemporary Japan: Buddhist
Influence on Japanese Sinology; and Taro Mochizuki (Discussant)
October 8
Keynote Speech ~ B R Deepak (Chair),
09:30-10:10-- Swaran Singh, Why are China Scholars in Asia not Alarmed by China Threat
Theories of West? A Buddhist Perspective?
Sino-Myanmar Relations in the Perspective of Buddhism ~ Nguyen Tran Tien (Chair)
10:30-11:10-- U Thaw Kaung, Myanmar Perspectives on China: Historical Relations and
Buddhist Contacts
11:20-11:40-- Keziah Wallis (Absentia), Religious Politics or Political Religions :
Chinese-Myanmar Buddhist Relations and the 2008 Chinese Tooth Relic in Yangon
Chinese Texts in the Perspective of the Buddhism ~ Reena Marwah (Chair)
11:50-12:30-- Chanwit Tudkeao, Buddhist Beliefs Reflected in the Tibetan Daily Prayer Book in
Comparison with the Chinese version
13:50-14:30-- B R Deepak, Translation Studies and Civilizational Dialogue between India and
China: Role of the Buddhist Scholar Monks
14:40-15:20-- Avijit Banerjee, Indian Buddhist Scholars and Ancient Chinese Documents:
Primary sources of China studies in India
A Proposal for Comparative Phenomenology ~ Josuke Ikeda (Chair)
15:40-16:50-- Hartmut Behr, Temporality, Transformativity, and Peace in Cross-cultural
Dialogue and Policy
Business Meeting and Concluding Remark ~ Chih-yu Shih (Chair)
17:00-17:30-- All Participants, Reflections and Suggestions
The recommended maximal time for each presentation is 30 minutes.
1
International Conference on
Asian Perspectives on China and Tibet:
Geography, History and Buddhism
Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok,
October 7, 2014

 9:30-10:00 

Briefing to the President of Chulalongkorn University
By
Prapin Manomaivibool
Director of Asia Research Center
Chulalongkorn University
Opening Address and Welcoming Speech
By
Pirom Kamol-ratanakul, M.D.
President of Chulalongkorn University

Photo Session
2

 10:00-10:40 

Keynote Speech
How Thai’s Perspective on China Is Enlightened by Buddhist Scholarship
By
Prapod Assavavirulhakarn
Dean of Faculty of Arts
Chulalongkorn University


 11:00-12:30 

Confucian Modernity in the Perspective of Buddhism
Facing Christianity, Integrating Confucianism and Daoism:
The Buddhist Foundation of Modern Subjectivity in Vietnam
By
Nguyen Tran Tien
Faculty of Oriental Studies,
Vietnam National University, HANOI
Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism are the three basic systems of thought which are
accepted and applied altogether creatively in process of establishing and affirming the
Vietnamese’s dignity. As the result of interaction with India and China, the Vietnamese
thoughts were established in the tendency of integration of the three religions altogether, and
among them Buddhism occupies an active and distinguish place in forming internal
(introspecting) values.
In early Christian era, ideological co-existence and integration of three religions have
appeared as Vietnam was considered as a meeting place of cultural exchange between
Vietnam - China and Vietnam - India, a place to gather and harmonize the flow of both
Indo-Chinese thoughts merging with the indigenous culture.
Among these three religions, Buddhism was introduced into Vietnam from India and
basically became the most influential religion in term of spiritual lives of the people.
3
However, Confucianism and Taoism also had great impacts on social and political life
besides traditional folk beliefs. Therefore, this religious integration has become one of the
most unique trends in Vietnamese thoughts of religious tolerance and co-existing as well as
respecting all three religions.
This paper tries to focus on the following aspects of three-religious integration in
Vietnamese thought:
Brief studies on the introduction and influence of Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism
Historical contexts of three-religious integration
Dominant religion in integration process: integration and acculturation.
This paper is also based on a quantitative study of three rather distinct religious traditions
(Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism) sharing the same ethnic origin (Vietnamese) in
Vietnam. It investigates the possible relations between religion and acculturation, and looks
at whether various forms of religiosity and religious belonging are plausible variables in
acculturation perspectives.
The Two States of Nature in Chinese Practice of Non/Intervention:
Neo-Confucianism, Buddhism and Modernity
By
Chih-yu Shih
Department of Political Science
National Taiwan University
China’s insistence on non-intervention in failed states so that spontaneity may take over
the course of events contradicts Beijing’s constant appeal for self-strengthening in domestic
governance. The Chinese government and people’s disregard for failing governance in other
countries is in contrast with the portrayal of good governance as a triumph of the Chinese
Communist Party. A realistic view of this kind of contradiction would accept such hypocrisy
as easily explained by national interest calculus. However, a more complex approach seems
justified as foreign policy leaders are typically believed to act with good reason, and at the
very least, argue for public support. In cases where the theory–practice contradiction affects
neither policy makers nor their constituency, a concept that is deeper than functional
hypocrisy must be the premise of this apparent desensitization. To understand the apparent
apathy toward the failed state, this study relies specifically on the Buddhist notion of
suffering as the nature of “this world” as opposed to that of “the afterworld.” China can find
means to desensitize the contradictions in their non-interventionism through the dialectical
relationship between transcendental cosmology/ontology that favors inaction and
transcendental epistemology that favors self-strengthening as required by the situation.

4

 13:50-15:20 

Chinese Influences in the Perspective of Buddhism
Buddhist Influence on China Studies in Mongolia: Exploring the Mongol-China-Tibet
Linkages
By
Sharad K Soni
School of International Studies
Jawaharlal Nehru University
Today China Studies in Mongolia covers varied subjects that include history, language,
religion, culture, politics, international relations etc. Though international relations as part of
China Studies focusses exclusively on Mongolia-China and Mongolia-Tibet relations,
Buddhism has had tremendous influences on studying such relations in historical perspective
that also points to various transcendent messages derived from Buddhism to analyse those
relations in the contemporary context. These messages indeed enlighten the perspectives on
China studies given the fact that it was during the rule of China’s Ming dynasty that Tibetan
form of Mahayana Buddhism became so deep rooted among the Mongol people that
practically all of them began converting to this religion since 1578 when the Mongol Prince
Altan Khan met the Third Dalai Lama at Qinghai (Koko Nor). The transfer of Tibetan
Buddhism among Mongolian people illustrates the diffusion of a religion endowed with a
complex dogma and elaborate rituals through a movement of conversion under the aegis of a
political power. Tibetan Buddhism, however, was adopted as far back as in the thirteenth
century as the official religion of Yuan China by Khubilai Khan, the founder of the Mongol
Yuan dynasty. It was also the Mongol Prince Altan Khan who gave the title of Dalai Lama
for the first time to the Tibetan monk Sonam Gyatso, who came to be known as the Third in
the lineage of Dalai Lama (the first two were given this title posthumously). By the end of the
seventeenth century the Mongol people became a part of the ‘Tibetan Buddhist area’ in terms
of geography, while at the same time retaining many of their own distinctive cultural features.
At that time, Tibetan Buddhism spread even beyond the Mongol borders and left its deep
impact on the ethnic Mongols of the present Russian Federation Republics of Buryatiya,
Tuva and Kalmykia. When almost all the ‘Tibetan Buddhist area’ came under China’s Qing
Empire in the eighteenth century, the Qing emperor saw himself as a Bodhisattva-king that
was revealed in his actions in building Tibetan-style temples that symbolised the world as
seen from a Buddhist perspective. Under the overlordship of Qing Empire, the Mongols of
both the Chinese province of Inner Mongolia and the then Outer Mongolia (the current
independent Republic of Mongolia) as such did not face any threat to their religious faith
5
until they came under the Soviet domination in the early twentieth century. During much of
the Soviet period Buddhism in Mongolia was badly suppressed but then it saw its revival in
the post-1991 period. Since geography, history and Buddhism as the key factors have played
a paramount role in the development of Mongolia-China-Tibet linkages; one may find that
pragmatic analysis of the Buddhist influence on China studies in Mongolia prevails over
abstract theorizing.
It is in this context that the paper seeks to cover the following five aspects
in order to analyse the core subject: 1. Overview of China Studies in Mongolia; 2.
Mongolia-China-Tibet Linkages: Role of Buddhism in Historical Perspective; 3. Beyond the
Mongolian Borders: Buddhism in Buryatia, Tuva and Kalmykia; 4. Buddhism in the
Imagination of Contemporary Mongolian Sinologists; 5. Implications for Mongolia-China
Relations. Besides, the paper also argues if Buddhism can be employed as geopolitical tool in
regional and international perspectives to meet the challenges facing Mongolia in its China
policy.
Buddhism in Sri Lanka and Nepal: Exploring the Influence of Tibet/Tibetan Studies in
a Comparative Perspective
By
Reena Marwah
Indian Council for Social Science Research
Ministry of Human Resource Development, India
While Sri Lanka is the oldest continually Buddhist country with Theravada Buddhism
being the major religion in the island since its official introduction in the 2nd century BC by
King Mahinda (the son of Mauryan Emperor Ashoka of India during the reign of King
Devanampiya- Tissa), Lumbini in Nepal is the birthplace of Lord Buddha. It is also believed
that the nun Sanghamitta, the daughter of Asoka, brought the southern branch of the original
Bodhi tree to Anuradhapura, the ancient capital of Sri Lanka. Since then Buddhists in Sri
Lanka have paid reverence to this branch of the Bodhi tree under the shade of which Lord
Buddha achieved Enlightenment. Monks from Sri Lanka have been instrumental in spreading
both Theravada and Mahayana throughout South-East Asia. Nepalese Buddhism inherited the
Mahayana Buddhist sutras which were established in India in original Sanskrit. Similarly,
stone inscript ions on Mahayana Buddhist beliefs and pract ices written in Sanskrit
have been found in Sri Lanka’s Anuradhapura. The Sanskrit sutras which survived in
both the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal as well as in Sri Lanka contributed greatly to the
modern research on Mahayana Buddhism. Thus, while both the countries have been greatly
enriched by the study of Buddhist scriptures and texts, there are important areas where the
convergence of ideals and beliefs is not visible, especially when viewed through the lens of
Tibetology.
6
It is against this background that this paper is divided into three parts: the first traces the
spread of Buddhism and how the image of Tibet has evolved historically, socially and
culturally in Sri Lanka and its sphere of influence- both direct and indirect; the second section
provides a narrative of Buddhism in Nepal bringing the study of Tibet in perspective. The
intersection of Tibetology with Buddhism in a comparative perspective in these two countries
comprises the third and the last section of the paper.


 15:40-17:30 

China Studies in the Perspective of Buddhism
(Re)creating China:
Sinology, the Kyoto School and Japanese View of Modern World
By
Josuke Ikeda
University of Toyama
Discussant
Pratoom Angurarohita
Department of Philosophy
Chulalongkorn University
In Japanese IR and recent re-disciplinisation of IR with non/post-Western perspectives,
the ‘Kyoto School’ has been considered both a triumph and a trauma. It was the former
because of its struggle for emancipating the country from the Expansion of International
Society (in Hedley Bull and Adam Watson’s sense), while it was the latter as well because of
its intellectual complicity towards war-time regime. The paper aims at exploring such mixed
reputation from different perspective, through the development of Sinology with Buddhist
ideas.
The central contention of the paper is that the Kyoto School had had much wider vista
than having ordinary considered, and what has been focused till recently was just the very
final phase of its development. In other words, the Kyoto School, usually centred by
philosopher Nishida Kitaro was a kind of focal point, and there were earlier stages whose
diverse streams had poured into Nishida eventually. The paper’s focus is, therefore, not the
Kyoto School in Philosophy, rather the one in Sinology. Interestingly, the invention of
Sinology in Kyoto was not only the starting point of the Kyoto School, but also the
7
combination process of Buddhism and Asianism. The paper will present how the
development of Kyoto Sinology had been done both as a wider project of Asia Studies there
as well as the kick-off of the Kyoto School in later meaning. Main figures will include Kano
Kyokichi, Haneda Toru, Naito Konan, Kuwabara Tokuzo and others. Exploring the
intellectual development in Buddhism and Sinology, this paper will consider how modern
Japanese had considered West, East, China, Japan, and eventually, their world.
Buddhist Scholars' Views of China in Contemporary Japan: Buddhist Influence on
Japanese Sinology
By
Peiying Lin
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Disscusant
Taro Mochizuki
ASEAN Center for Academic Initiatives
Osaka University
In this paper, I analyze the work by Japanese scholars of Chinese Buddhism from
different backgrounds according to their affiliated institutes and relevant Buddhist sects. In so
doing, I examine the different dispositions of their scholarly perspectives of China, as well as
the correlations between these perspectives and the Buddhist thought.
With an attempt to cover the field of Chinese Buddhism in aspects of intellectual and
social history of China, Japanese scholars selected in the current paper include: D.T. Suzuki
(Zen and Jōdo shinshū), Seizan Yanagida (Rinzai Zen), Zenryū Tsukamoto (Pure Land),
Mamoru Tonami (Confunian), Chie Nakane (Zen), Kosei Ishii (Kegon), and Fumihiko Sueki
(history of thought). Among a great number of distinguished scholars in Japan, these seven
representative scholars form a balanced combination of major areas of Buddhist studies.
Through a survey of their work, I develop a typology concerning their views of China. It
is divided by a twofold dimension: a) confrontational vs. harmonious, and b) nationalist vs.
culturist vs. globalist. In this theoretical model for political attitudes, Buddhist doctrines can
find their specific positions: 1.) Zen schools may be either nationalist or culturist and
confrontational. 2.) Pure Land schools generally present nationalist and confrontational
characteristics. 3.) Kegon doctrine features a globalist and harmonious view. It then testifies
to the extent to which Sinologist studies might correspond with Buddhist ideas, and answers
the following questions: Does Buddhist studies pacify the alarming attitude towards China, or
intensify it instead? How does Sinology in Japan come to terms with the fluidity and mobility
of Buddhism in history?

8
International Conference on
Asian Perspectives on China and Tibet:
Geography, History and Buddhism
Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok,
October 8, 2014

 09:30-10:10 

Keynote Speech
Why Are China Scholars in Asia Not Alarmed by China Threat Theories of West?
A Buddhist Perspective?
By
Swaran Singh
School of International Studies
Jawaharlal Nehru University
Early 1990s had witnessed unprecedented growth rates in Chinese economy leading to
debates on the possible paradigm shift in international system; from West to East, with the
global action and power shifting from North America and Europe to the Asia-Pacific. This
‘system shaping’ potential of rising China triggered China Threat theories across the western
world and was led by scholars and officials from United State, Japan, Australia and few
European powers. No doubt, China had disputes with most of its neighbours and these China
Threat theories projected China emerging as an Asian hegemon yet it was fear of China
re-defining norms and institutions and influencing global trends that lay beneath these
formulations. As a result, while most of China’s neighbors saw in its rise some serious
challenges for their national interest yet most of these did not see it as existential threat to
their very existence. An apt example will be ASEAN which was created in 967 as part of US
containment of China yet, from 1997 East Asian financial crisis, has come to be a friend of
China’s leaders. Same has been the story of several of other neighbours.
Other than China’s economic leverages, Buddhism perhaps helps explain this
disjunction in how the West perceives China and how China’s neighbours have a different
9
perception that guides their engagement with China’s leaders. China has also tried to use
Buddhism to deal with its Tibetan population as also in restraining general freedoms leading
to greater spread of Christianity with its Western linkages and other connotations. This use of
Buddhism by China especially been effective vis-à-vis its neighbours which have Buddhist
populations or leaning though this has also led to certain amount of competition e.g. India
and China have been propagating their brands of Buddhism with very specific connotations
for the Tibetan moment. But China’s special relations with countries like Thailand, Myanmar,
Sri Lanka as also its use of Buddhism in dealing with Hong Kong and Taiwan present an
interesting perspective how China has used Buddhism as a potent tool in building bridges and
in assuaging fears amongst its neighbours that Western powers would like to court for not
just ensuring that China’s rise remains peaceful but even for undermining China’s credentials
as a rising power with system shaping capabilities.


 10:30-11:40 

Sino-Myanmar Relations in the Perspective of Buddhism
Myanmar Perspectives on China: Historical Relations and Buddhist Contacts
By
U Thaw Kaung
Library and Information Studies
University of Yangon and University of East Yangon
Of Myanmar's land borders, the longest, 1370 miles, is with China. Myanmar rulers
have perceived China as a huge neighbouring country to the northeast. The people of
Myanmar, with over 100 ethnic groups, including the Bama(Burmese) have all migrated
southwards from the high Tibetan plateau through Yunnan into present _day Myanmar. The
Myanmar regard the Chinese as kinsfolk, calling them Tayoke, or Pauk-phaw (born from the
same nest eggs). The Burmese language belongs to the Tibeto _Burman group.
There have been trade and cultural links with China from the Pyu period (from around
1st century AD). There are Chinese records of Pyu musicians at the 9 th century Chinese court,
and even Po-Chii-ii wrote a poem about them.
The Mongols in the 13th century invaded Myanmar, ending the Bagan Dynasty, the 1 st
of several Myanmar Kingdoms.
10
Although there were some conflicts up to the 18th century when three attempts by the
Manchus to take the Myanmar capital Innwa (Ava) failed, trade and cultural links and
diplomatic missions between the two countries were more common. Some Chinese missions
though purported to be from the Emperor in Beijing, were actually concorted in Yunnan with
bogus envoys and even three Chinese ladies said to be the Emperor's granddaughters, sent as
tribute brides to the Myanmar king in 1790.
On China's side, they have seen Myanmar as a tributary state, and the people as
barbarians during monarchical times.
Buddhism played an important role in contacts between the Myanmar and the
Chinese. Up to recent times the Buddha Tooth Relic, kept in Beijing, has been sent to
Myanmar in 1955, 1994, 1996 and 2011 for the people to warship. In the last 50 years or so
China had been a staunch supporter of the Myanmar military government. Close relations
continue on the "Five Principles of Co-existence," which Myanmar and China together with
Indonesia helped to formulate.
Religious Politics or Political Religions: Chinese-Myanmar Buddhist Relations and the
2008 Chinese Tooth Relic in Yangon
By
Keziah Wallis (Absentia)
Department of Anthropology & Archaeology
University of Otago

11

 11:50-15:20 

Chinese Texts in the Perspective of the Buddhism
Buddhist Beliefs Reflected in the Tibetan Daily Prayer Book in Comparison with the
Chinese Version
By
Chanwit Tudkeao
Department of Eastern Languages
Chulalongkorn University
In various Buddhist traditions, daily prayer is considered as a significant rite, which
monks, nuns and laypeople should perform. In Theravada Buddhist temples, daily prayer is
performed twice a day; in the morning and in the evening as well as, in Chinese, Vietnamese,
Japanese and Tibetan Buddhist temples. Some texts in the Buddhist canon, some mantras and
newly composed texts are arranged in series. The ways that formality and ritual customs are
assigned vary from one Buddhist tradition to another. In Thailand, besides Theravada
traditions, there are also Mahayana traditions. In this article, two daily prayer books; Nyer
mgo'i chos sbyod bzhug so (Tibetan Daily Prayer Book) composed by Min-ling Lochen
Dharma Shri (1654-1717) and 朝暮時課誦 (Chao-mu shi ke song) composed around the
end of Ming dynasty, are compared both in textual and ritual contexts. Both of them belong
to Mahayana traditions, nevertheless, the arrangement of chanted texts and ritual customs
differ from each other at some points. Based on their comparison, the Buddhist believes and
customs, reflected in each tradition are discussed.
Translation Studies and Civilizational Dialogue between India and China: Role of the
Buddhist Scholar Monks
By
B. R. Deepak
Center of Chinese and Southeast Asian Studies
Jawaharlal Nehru University
This paper explores the role of Buddhist scholar monks in initiating, strengthening and
furthering civilizational dialogue between India and China through translation studies.
Buddhism, that acted as an umbrella for exchanges at various levels resulted in a translation
industry at unprecedented scale under the very patronage of Chinese emperors. Citing
historical records, it argues that in a span of 734 years starting from 10th year of the Yongping
Era in Han Dynasty (67 A.D.) to the 16th year of Zhenyuan Era in Tang Dynasty (800 A.D.),
12
in all 185 prominent translators translated 2412 sutras that ran into 7352 fascicles. Of these
the five, namely Kumārajīva, Paramārtha, Xuan Zang, Yi Jing and Amoghavajra have been
evaluated for their works, style and contribution. It states that besides Buddhist sutras,
non-Buddhist classics such as Brahaman Sutra of Astronomy (婆罗门天文经), Astronomy of
Brahaman Rishi Garga (婆罗门竭伽仙人天文说), Astronomy of Brahaman (婆罗门天文)
etc. were rendered in Chinese. The paper concludes these very monks were responsible for
creating the core of East Asian Buddhist literature.
Indian Buddhist Scholars and Ancient Chinese Documents: Primary Sources of China
Studies in India
By
Avijit Banerjee
Department of Chinese Language & Culture
Visva-Bharati (Cheena Bhavana)
Two characteristic features of Buddhism enabled it to make a specific impact on
southeast Asia: First, the Buddhist were imbued with a strong missionary zeal, and second,
they ignored the caste system and did not emphasize the idea of ritual purity. By his teaching
as well as by the organization of his monastic order (Sangha) Gautama Buddha had given rise
to this missionary zeal, which had then been fostered by Ashoka's dispatch of Buddhist
missionaries to Western Asia, Greece, Central Asia, Sri lanka and Burma. Buddhism's
freedom from ritual restrictions and the spirit of the unity of all adherents enabled Buddhist
monks to establish contacts with people abroad, as well as to welcome them in India when
they came to visit the sacred places of Buddhism. Inspired by China’s official recognition of
Buddhism, a large number of Indian Buddhist scholars went to China from various countries
of the western region. The dominating force of this trend were the foreign nationalities living
in various Central Asian nations including Parthians, Yue-Che, Sogdians, Kucheans as well
as Khotanese etc. In the early stages of development of the Sino-Indian relationship, it is the
people of these countries who acted as a bridge and medium between the two countries, and
these Buddhist scholars played the most important role in the establishment of Buddhism in
China and the development of China Studies in India. The first Indian missionaries who went
to China in the third quarter of the first century were Dharmaratna and Kasyapa Matanga.
In various ancient Chinese documents, we find reference of India. The name India,
which was called ‘shendu’ was first recorded in ‘Shiji, Dawan biography” (世纪大宛列传).
In Chinese historical and semi-historical documents: there are places called "Shang Tianzhu",
"Zhong Tianzhu", and "Xia Tianzhu" which literally mean, "Upper India", "Middle India",
and "Lower India". These three names actually indicate just a few square kilometres in
Hangzhou City in Zhejiang Province in eastern China. How has such a mix-up come about? It
is because of a legend that was the making of an ancient Indian Buddhist monk-scholar
"Huili" (whose real identity is lost). In 326, this monk from western India came to Hangzhou.
13
After seeing a hill in this area (in the vicinity of the scenic West Lake), he authoritatively
proclaimed that the hill had been flown to China from Magadha (Bihar)! The Chinese
believed him and, henceforth, called the hill "Tianzhushan"(the "Indian Hill") and
"Feilaifeng"(the "Peak that has flown here from India"). It was this legend that has
contributed to the existence of "Upper", "Middle" and "Lower" India on the Chinese map.
Thus, this article will try to explore the importance of various missions of Indian Buddhist
scholars to China and ancient Chinese documents as primary source of China Studies in
India.


 15:40-16:50 

A Proposal for Comparative Phenomenology
Temporality, Transformativity, and Peace in Cross-cultural Dialogue and Policy
By
Hartmut Behr
School of Geography, Politics, Sociology
Newcastle University
In the Western phenomenological discourse – i.e. in the work of prominent authors as
Georg Simmel, Alfred Schuetz, Martin Heidegger, Emmanuel Levinas, and Jacques Derrida
– the question of the self-other-relation, of identity construction, and of cultural difference
plays an important part. This question receives clear and concise answers in the notions of
temporality, transformativity, and anti-essentialist perceptions of alterity, with fundamental
consequences for our politics of peace, conflict resolution, and reconciliation embracing
differences and neutralizing essentialist politics (see Behr, Politics of Difference, 2014).
However, any phenomenological language and any anti-essentialist politics of peace and
reconciliation find their crucial test in cross-cultural dialogue: i.e., any phenomenological
language of alterity as well as any politics of peace-with-difference would be meaningless if
‘the other’ could not find and locate him/herself in corresponding notions and could not
connect to them. The phenomenological discourse would then remain self-centric, despite all
good ethical and intellectual intentions. The language of alterity needs to connect to ‘the
other’, otherwise it would be redundant.
Therefore, the (Western) phenomenological notions of temporality, transformativity,
and alterity and a thereby resulting politics of difference shall be discussed cross-culturally
14
along the key questions of how they connect and resonate with respective notions in
non-Western philosophical traditions and political practices as we find them in Buddhist (also
in Hindu, Islamic, Jewish, Eastern Orthodox and local African and Latin-American) political
philosophies.
An alternative approach initiating such cross-cultural discourse would be to investigate
the reception of the Western phenomenological discourse, or respective individual authors, in
Buddhist (etc.) cultures and to explore the epistemologies of their reception.
In practical terms, this research looks for new understandings and policies for peace,
conflict resolution, and reconciliation that are able to deal with difference and diversity in a
positive way. This way understands and acts upon differences and diversity not as an obstacle
to peace and reconciliation, but as transformative powers and capacities across and traversing
fixed identities, lines, and practices. But in the first place, the way to such new
understandings and policies has to explore the resonances between cultural notions of
self-other, temporality, and transformativity.


 17:00-17:30 

Business Meeting and Concluding Remarks
Reflections and Suggestions
By
All Participants

15
Participants
Assavavirulhakarn, Prapod was born in Thailand, graduated in B.A. with first class honor
majoring in Pali–Sanskrit and M.A. in Pali–Sanskrit both from the Faculty of Arts,
Chulalongkorn University. In 1982 he received the Ananda Mahidol Scholarship considered
to be the most prestigious one in Thailand, to further his study in France and then at the
University of California at Berkeley for his doctorate. At the Sorbonne he studied Sanskrit
under Pierre Filliozat, epigraphy with Claude Jacques and Indo-European philology with Jean
Haudry. At Berkeley P. S. Jaini and Lewis Lancaster were his principle advisors. He also
studied Sanskrit and Indian philosophy under the guidance of J. Frit Staal and Van Nooten.
His main interests are in textual studies, philology and history of Buddhism in Southeast Asia.
He is an assistant professor in the Department of Eastern Languages, and presently Dean of
the Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University.
Angurarohita, Pratoom received her M.A, and Ph.D. in Japanese Buddhism at the
University of Pennsylvania (U.S.A.). She began to teach in the Department of Philosophy,
Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University since 1971. Between 1993- 2010, she served as
Deputy Director for Administrative Affairs, Centre for Buddhist Studies, Chulalongkorn
University. She was Chair, Department of Philosophy Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn
University between 1998-2002. Presently, she is Guest Lecturer at the University. In addition,
she is Volunteer at the Foundation for the Family Welfare of War Veterans. Her publications
include Shinran’s Philosophical Arguments for the Primal Vow, Bangkok: Chulalongkorn
University Printing House, 2010 (Thai); Buddhist Institutions and Social Work, funded by
Chulalongkorn University’s Centre for Buddhist Studies, 2010 (Thai); “Nichiren and the Soka
Gakkai,” Journal of Faculty of Arts (Chulalongkorn University) (September, 1999), 22 pp.
(Thai), funded by Nanzan University in 1998. She has also translated many books and
published journal articles on religion, civilization, and philosophy.
Banerjee, Avijit is Associate Professor in Chinese & Head of the Department of Chinese
language & Culture (Cheena Bhavana) Visva-Bharati. Dr Banerjee studied for Bachelor,
Master and Ph.D. in Chinese Language and Literature from Visva-Bharati. He studied at
Beijing Language University, China from Sept.1996 to July 1997 under the India-China
Bilateral Cultural Exchange Program. He was awarded a Scholarship for attending a Short
Term Teacher’s Training Program held at Beijing Normal University, People’s Republic of
China from 9th July to 12th August, 2007.Dr Banerjee has authored many articles and chapters
in several volumes. Dr Banerjee’s research interest includes Chinese language and
Sino-Indian cultural studies. Dr Banerjee attended many international conferences in India
and abroad.
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Behr, Hartmut is a Professor of International Politics at Newcastle University (UK). His
areas of specialization are Political Theory, Political Violence and Peace, Critical European
Studies. He is the author of Zuwanderungspolitik im Nationalstaat (1996), Entterritoriale
Politik (2004), A History of International Theory – Ontologies of the International (2010),
and Politics of Difference – Epistemologies of Peace (2014). He is currently working on a
new book project called Conditions of Critique.
Deepak, B R is presently Professor and Director of the Centre For Chinese and Southeast
Asian Studies. He was trained in Chinese history and India-China relations at Peking
University and Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing, at Jawaharlal Nehru University,
New Delhi and University of Edinburgh, UK. He was the Nehru and Asia Fellow at the
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing. Dr. Deepak's publications include India and
China 1904-2004: A Century of Peace and Conflict (2005); India-China Relations in first half
of the Twentieth Century (2001); India-China Relations: Future Perspectives (co ed.
2012); India-China Relations: Civilizational Perspective (2012) China: Agriculture,
Countryside and Peasants (2010); Cheeni Kavita: Gayarvin Shatavdi se Chuahdvin Shatavdi
Tak (Chinese Poetry: 1100 BC to 1400 AD) (2011), a translation of 88 selected classical poems
for which he was awarded the 2011 “Special Book Prize of China”, the first Indian to receive
the highest literary award from China. Dr. Deepak has been a visiting professor at the Chinese
Academy of Social Sciences, Doon University, Dehradun India, and a teaching Fellow at the
Scottish Centre of Chinese Studies in the University of Edinburgh, UK.
Ikeda, Josuke is associate professor at the University of Toyama, Japan. His original interest
includes theories of International Relations and Global Ethics. Also it has been expanded to
cover the disciplinary development of modern Japanese IR, including the Kyoto Schools and
others, as well as inter-civilizational approach of world politics. His latest publications
include ‘The Idea of “Road” in International Relations Theory’, Perceptions: Journal of
International Affairs, 19(1), pp. 153-165; and Eikoku Gakuha no Kokusai Kankeiron (The
English School of International Relations) (co-edited with Makoto Sato and Makoto Onaka)
(Tokyo: Nihon Keizai Hyouronsha, in Japanese).
Kaung, Thaw (b. 1937) is the son of Sithu U Kaung, Director of Education. He studied and
obtained a 1st class B.A. Hons in English Literature from Yangon University in 1959. He later
studied Librarianship at University College London and was awarded a Postgraduate
Diploma in Librarianship from the University of London in 1962 and an Honorary
Fellowship by the Library Association (U.K) in 1984. The University of Western Sydney
conferred an Honorary Dr. of Letters in 1999 and the Fukuoka Asian Cultural Prizes
Committee selected him as the Academic Prize Laureate for 2005. In March 2008 he was
honoured with a Life-Time Achievement Award in Myanmar Literature by the Pakkoku U
Ohn Pe Literary Prizes Committee.
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Dr. Thaw Kaung worked in various libraries of Yangon University from 1957, and was
the Chief Librarian of the Universities Central Library from 1969 until his retirement in
December 1997. He is also a Retd. Professor in Library and Information Studies from the
University of Yangon and the University of East Yangon. From January 1998 to the present,
he has been a Member of the Myanmar Historical Commission, the Chairman of the
National Literary Awards Selection Committee and Chairman of a number of other privately
funded Literary Committees. He established the Department of Library and Information
Studies at Yangon University in 1971 and also the Myanmar Library Association in the early
1990s. He was an Executive Committee Member and Publisher of the Burma Research
Society from 1959 to 1980 when the military government dissolved it.
He has been appointed by the Indian Government Ministry of External Affairs as a
Member of the Advisory Council of Scholars to the Nalanda Mentor Group for the revival of
the Nalanda University as a Centre for Cultural Exchange between East Asia and South Asia.
Dr. Thaw Kaung received the National Literary Award for Life-Time Achievement in
Literature in 2010.
The new government of President Thein Sein awarded him the high Sithu title on 4th
January 2012 Independence Day Honours, for over (50) years of Life-Time Service to the
Nation and the People.
He is the Chairman, Advisor, Patron and/or Executive Committee Member of a number
of charitable organizations including the Myanmar Book Aid and Preservation Foundation,
the Yangon Heritage Trust, the Myanmar Literature Promotion Society, and the Mingala
Bhuha Parahita Buddhist Charitable Organization which he helped to establish over (20)
years ago, to help the disabled and disadvantaged, irrespective of their race and religion.
Li, Tao is a professor and a supervisor to doctoral candidates, as well as the Executive
Director of the Institute of South Asian Studies, Sichuan University. She has published more
than 70 papers in many countries and regions like the U.S., India, Japan, Iran, and Taiwan.
She has written, edited and translated 10-plus academic works in English and Chinese. She
also has finished dozens of consultation reports to Central United Front Work Department of
CPC Central Committee, Information Office of the State Council and CPC Sichuan
Provincial Committee etc. She held dozens of programs, such as the MOE key research
programs, KRI major programs, programs for New Century Excellent Talents in University
(NCET), and international projects. She was awarded with six prizes at provincial and
ministerial level by the Central United Front Work Department, the State Ethnic Affairs
Commission, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the provincial government. Her
monographs serving as the sub-topics of key programs of the National Social Science Fund
were appraised with excellent fruits. Prof. Li presently is the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of South
Asian Studies Quarterly, a member to the editorial board of International Politic, Vice
Chairman of Chengdu-South Asia Association for Economic Trade Cooperation, deputy
secretary general of Chinese Association for Asia-Pacific Studies, executive member of
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Chinese Association for South Asian Studies, member of China-India Friendship Association,
a leading researcher for "South Asian Ethnic and Religious Studies" of 985 Project.
Lin, Peiying is a Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow at the Louis Frieberg Centre for East Asian
Studies, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She was awarded a Ph.D. degree from the
School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London in July 2012, followed by
one-year postdoc fellowship at the Institute for Chinese Studies, Oxford University. Her
doctorate examined cross-culturally the patriarchal tradition and textual transmission in
China, Japan and Korea at the early stage of the history of Zen Buddhism. This research
relied heavily on historiography for reconstruction of the religious and intellectual history of
East Asia between the sixth and the ninth centuries. Her current project, combining political
theories and religious studies, focuses on Buddhist networks and provides a new perspective
on the authors’ cultural identities and the dynamics of Buddhist interaction in medieval East
Asia.
Mochizuki, Taro received his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Osaka University (Japan) in 1997
and Complementary License for Doctoral Study in Philosophy, Higher Institute of
Philosophy at Louvain Catholic University, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium (1989). Presently, he
is Professor of Philosophy and Higher Education and Regional Director at ASEAN Center for
Academic Initiatives at Osaka University. His expertise ranges from History of
Philosophy--early modern philosophy, and philosophy of the French enlightenment, French
spiritualism, phenomenology, metaphysics, epistemology, philosophical anthropology,
modern Japanese philosophy and social thought, theory and practice of critical thinking, and
philosophical counseling. He has published numerous articles on these subjects in
professional journals.
Marwah, Reena is presently Senior Academic Consultant, ICSSR, Ministry of Human
Resource Development, Government of India. She was an Associate Professor at Jesus and
Mary College, Delhi University, India and was awarded an M. Phil and Ph.D. in International
Business. In addition to several years of postgraduate teaching, she also lectures frequently at
institutions of higher learning in India and abroad. She has been visiting fellow of the
Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. She is Secretary General, Association of Asia
Scholars (the association of 286 alumni Asia fellows of the Asian Scholarship Foundation).
Authored/co-authored and co-edited five books, three monographs in addition to several
research articles, conference papers and has delivered over 100 lectures at different
institutions in India and abroad on issues of Indian economic issues and governance, ethnicity
and development. Her recent publications include Transforming South Asia: Imperatives for
Action, Knowledge World, 2014; India and GCC Countries Iran and Iraq: Emerging
Security Perspectives, Pentagon Press, 2013; Contemporary India: Economy and Society,
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Pinnacle, (July 2012); Emerging China: Prospects for Partnership in Asia, Routledge, 2012;
On China by India: From a civilization to a nation state, Cambria Press, 2012.
Nguyen, Tran Tien received his B.A. (Hons.) in History at the University of Delhi, India,
M.A. in Buddhist studies at the University of Delhi, India, and his Ph.D from Department of
History, Ravenshaw University, Cuttack, Odisha, India. The subject of his dissertation is
Buddhism in Orissa: A Study of Art Remains in the District of Jajpur. He is now teaching as
lecturer of Oriental Studies at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU, Hanoi.
His research focuses on history and religion of India, India-Japan relationship, India-Iran
relationship, and Buddhist studies.
Shih, Chih-yu teaches civilizational studies, international relations, and China studies at
National Taiwan University and National Sun Yatsen University (Kaohsiung) in the capacity
of National Chair as well as University Chair. He holds honorary positions at Fudan
University, Jilin University, Sun Yatsen University (Guangzhou), Tianjin Normal University,
and Central China Normal University. His research interests (accesible at
http://politics.ntu.edu.tw/RAEC) include anthropology of knowledge and intellectual history
of China studies/Chinese studies/Sinology, international relations theory, and ethnic studies.
He also serves as Editor of the journal Asian Ethnicity.
Singh, Swaran is Professor for Diplomacy and Disarmament at School of International
Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He is President of Association of Asia
Scholars, General Secretary of Indian Congress of Asian and Pacific Studies, Advisory Board
Member of Communities Without Boundaries Inc (Atlanta, Georgia) and Guest Professor at
Yunnan University of Economics and Finance (China). He has been visiting Professor at
various reputed institutions including Australian National University, Hiroshima University,
Sciences Po (Bordeaux) etc. Prof. Singh has supervised 18 Ph.Ds and 26 M.Phils and
authored three books, eight monographs and edited seven volumes and he regularly
contributes to various academic magazines and journals. Prof Singh is on Editorial Board of
several academic journals and regularly lectures at various reputed institutions at home and
abroad. He is also a regular contributor to various television programs, and newspapers
including China Daily and Global Times. His twitter handle is @SwaranSinghJNU
Skilling, Peter received his Ph.D. with Honours (2004) and his Habilitation (2008) from
l’Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes (Sorbonne, Paris). He was visiting professor at Harvard
University (2000), Oxford University (2002), the University of California at Berkeley (2005),
the University of Sydney (2009), and Soka University (2009).
At present, he is a Professor of the French School of Asian Studies (EFEO), based in
Bangkok. He is also Special Lecturer at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, and Honorary
Associate, Department of Indian Sub-Continental Studies, University of Sydney, Australia.
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Professor Peter Skilling’s main field of research is archaeology, history, and literature of
Buddhism in South and Southeast Asia. Other interests include the early history of Mahayana
Buddhism, the Pali literature of Southeast Asia, and the history of the Buddhist order of nuns.
At present he is working on a study of the Tibetan Kanjur as a repository of Indian
Buddhist literature, and on the early archaeology of Buddhism in India. His publications
include two volumes of Mahasutras: Great Discourses of the Buddha (Oxford, 1994, 1997).
A third volume, the English translations, is in progress. He is the editor of Past Lives of the
Buddha: Wat Si Chum – Art, Architecture and Inscriptions (Bangkok, 2008), and of Images
et imagination – Le bouddhisme en Asie (Paris, 2009). Twelve of his selected essays related
to South-East Asia and Thailand were published in 2009 (Buddhism and Buddhist Literature
of South-East Asia, Bangkok).
In 2009 he was awarded the Ikuo Hirayama Prize by the Académie des Inscriptions et
Belle-Lettres, Paris, for his work in general and the publication Wat Si Chum, Sukhothai. In
2012 he was appointed a fellow of the Khyentse Foundation. He is co-editor (with Jason A.
Carbine, Claudio Cicuzza, and Santi Pakdeekham) of How Theravāda is Theravāda?
Exploring Buddhist Identities (Chiang Mai, 2012) and co-editor with Justin McDaniel of
Buddhist Narrative in Asia and Beyond (2 vols., Bangkok, 2012).
SONI, Sharad K teaches at the Centre for Inner Asian Studies, School of International
Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. A recipient of ASIA Fellows Award
(2005), Dr. Soni has written extensively on his area studies covering Mongolia, Central Asia,
Inner Mongolia and Tibet Autonomous Regions of China as well as Siberian Republics of
Buryatia and Tuva. He has to his credit five books, three monographs and numerous
articles/research papers/chapters published in scholarly journals and edited volumes. He is
also Joint Secretary of New Delhi-based Association of Asia Scholars and Book Review
Editor for South Asia, Asian Ethnicity journal published from Routledge, United Kingdom.
Tudkeao, Chanwit received his B.A. with the 1st class honor degree in Pali and Sanskrit
(major subject), Japanese (minor subject), Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University,
Bangkok Thailand (1997), M.A. in Buddhist Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto Japan (2004),
and Ph.D. in Indology and Tibetology, Ludwig-Maximilian Universität München (University
of Munich), Munich Germany (2009). His publications include Three Sanskrit Fragments of
Ratnaketuparivarta, The British Library Sanskrit Fragments Vol. II, IRIAB, 2009;
The
Relationship between the early Chinese translation and Central Asian versions of the
Ratnaketuparivarta, Thai International Journal of Buddhist Studies 3 , 2012; Once Upon In
Ratnasikhin Buddha's Lifetime: Legends of Ratnasikhin Buddha in India and Beyond,
BUDDHIST NARRATIVE IN ASIA AND BEYOND 2 vols., Institute of Thai Studies
Chulalongkorn University, 2013; The Confusion of Maitreya’s and Mahakaccayana’s
Iconography in Sino-Thai Culture, The Collection of Articles on “Buddhist Culture and
Contemporary Society” in The 2nd Thai-Sino Conference on Buddhism, 2013. He has many
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works in progress, including Historical Multi-dimensions and Status of Sri Lankan Buddhism
in the History of Buddhism in Thailand; Sanskrit Fragments of Ratnaketuparivarta, Buddhist
Sanskrit Manuscripts in the Schøyen Collection, Book Cult in Mahayana Buddhism as seen in
Ratnaketuparivarta, Conference Journal of Chulalongkorn International Conference of
Oriental Studies; A comparative Study of the Pali and Sanskrit versions of the Ratnasutra,
Conference Journal of The 2012 Chulalongkorn-EFEO International Conference on Buddhist
Studies.
Wallis, Keziah is a Ph.D. candidate at University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. Her
undergraduate honours research focused on the relationship between Chinese-language
television and identity for Chinese New Zealanders. Her Ph.D. research, however, focuses
on the Anthropology of Religion in Myanmar, specifically the inter-relationship between
multiple religious practices in individuals. She is currently conducting 11 months
ethnographic fieldwork in Yangon on this topic. She has also presented research at
conferences and given guest lectures on a number of other topics including: Western
appropriation of Asian Culture, Compensated Dating in Japan, Transnational Storytelling and
East Asian TV Dramas, Southeast Asian Religious Systems, and Burmese Spirit Worship.
 Thank you 
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