Society for Buddhist Studies - Symposium

Professor Douglas Ober, Visiting Assistant Professor, Fort Lewis College & Honorary Research Associate, University of British Columbia

The Promises and Perils of a Navayana: Case Studies from early 20^th century India

Drawing from Ober’s forthcoming book, Dust on the Throne: The Search for Buddhism in Modern India (Stanford University Press & Navayana, 2023), this talk explores the histories of various anti-caste Buddhist movements across colonial India that preceded Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s Navayana of the 1950s. The talk will highlight commonalities and differences among these movements and consider the evidence for their possible influence on Ambedkar and other major Buddhist leaders of the mid-20^th century.

Padma D. Maitland, Assistant Professor, Architectural History and Theory, California Polytechnic State University

The Art of Wandering: Radical Accounts of a Hindi Buddhist Public

This talk explores the travel accounts of Rahul Sankrityayan and Baba Nagarjun as a way to chart the development of a Buddhist Hindi Public in India during the first part of the 20^th century. In addition to presenting a new, socially embedded take on Buddhism, their unique approach to Buddhism for Hindi audiences also expanded the Hindi literary canon, introducing new works that present Buddhism as a cultural force which could be revived through a return to the practice of wandering. 

Professor Anand Venkatkrishnan, Assistant Professor, University of Chicago Divinity School

Memories of a Marxist Monk: Anand Kausalyayan's Jo Na Bhool Saka 

In the essays in Unforgettable (Jo Na Bhool Saka), Bhadant Anand Kausalyayan reflected on the social responsibility of renunciants, on the myths of capitalist society, and on the Jataka tales as “people’s literature.” He did so not as polemic but as memoir. This talk will explore the everyday dimensions of Buddhist socialism through these vignettes.