When the Himalaya Meets with Alps: International Forum on Buddhist Art & Buddhism’s Transmission to Europe

When the Himalaya Meets with Alps:
International Forum on Buddhist Art & Buddhism’s Transmission to Europe 佛教藝術暨佛教在歐洲的傳播國際高峰論壇

 

Schedule Abstracts

作為世界三大宗教，佛教在其漫長的傳播過程中，一方面不斷地將其固有的印度藝術傳播 至南亞之外的廣闊區域，同時也在當地與本土的文化與藝術傳統相結合，不斷地推陳出新，創造了眾多的令人炫目的藝術傳統。佛教深廣的傳播歷史也是人類藝術發 展進程中不可分割的極為重要的一部分。

As one of the world’s three major religions, during the long process of its transmission, Buddhism continuously disseminated Indian art across vast regions outside of South Asia. At the same time, Buddhism fused with local native cultural and artistic traditions, unceasingly creating new from the old and bringing about the development of numerous new dazzling artistic traditions. The history of the far-reaching transmission of Buddhism is an extremely important, inseparable part of the overall process of development of the arts of mankind.

在工業化文明之前，佛教的傳播侷限於亞洲；伴隨工業化而來的殖民主義狂流意外地在歐 洲催生了研究印度與佛教的熱潮。隨著佛學的勃興，各種佛教傳統也陸續傳入歐洲。在過去的二、三百年內，佛教文明與歐洲文明已經在不同層面──宗教、哲學、 語言、文學等──發生了碰撞，迸發出了光彩奪目的學術與文化的金石火花。然而，在其最為璀璨的核心──藝術──之上，佛教文明與歐洲文明卻尚未產生本當同 等精彩與富有張力的對話與交流。

During the pre-industrial age, the transmission of Buddhism was confined to Asia. Following industrialization, the rapid spread of colonialism across the world stimulated an upsurge of academic interest in India and Indian Buddhism. Along with the vigorous development of Buddhist Studies, all traditions of Buddhism one after another reached Europe. In the past two to three hundred years, Buddhist and European civilizations have clashed at different points of contact, such as religion, philosophy, language, literature, etc., producing a surge of outstanding academic and cultural output. However, Buddhist and European civilizations have not yet fostered equally lively and rich dialogue and exchange pertaining to the sphere of art.

為了彌補這一缺憾，廣東天柱慈善基金會與歐盟歐中友好協會, 聯袂美、亞數所大學與研究機構（包括中國大陸的中山大學哲學系、武漢大學健康禪研究中心、香港中文大學禪與人類文明研究中心、 與加拿大英屬哥倫比亞大學佛學論壇 ）共同發起 本次國際高峰論壇，聚焦兩大主題：佛教在歐洲的傳播與研究，以及佛教藝術。兩大主題各自獨立，又可產生某種交叉與融合。佛教藝術雖然以印度的固有文明為主 體，但它很早就已經同與歐洲同根同源的亞利安文明相結合；在其傳播至中亞之後而興起的犍陀羅佛教藝術，其中更深刻地滲透進了古希臘藝術的基因。歐洲學者最 早醉心於佛學，佛教藝術所散發出的那種與歐洲藝術傳統若即若離、似非反是的況味應有著千絲萬縷的關聯 。因此，將佛教在歐洲的傳播與佛教的藝術傳統結合起來進行研究，可期相得益彰之效。本論壇歡迎對兩大主題各子題的研究，諸如：

To remedy this situation,  the Tianzhu Association of Philanthropy and the Association Amitié Euro-Chinoise (AAEC), in collaboration with several universities in Asia and North America, including the Department of Philosophy at Sun Yat-sen University in mainland China, Research Institute for Health Chan at University of Wuhan, Research Center for Chan Buddhism and the Human Civilization at Chinese University of Hong Kong, and the UBC Buddhist Studies Forum in Canada, have convened this summit forum of Buddhist Studies, by focusing on the following two primary subjects: Buddhism’s transmission and study in Europe, and Buddhist art. These two subjects are independent from each another, but at the same time are able to facilitate a certain level of overlapping and integration. Although Buddhist art is primarily centered around the native civilization of India, early on it had already become integrated with Aryan civilization which shares a common origin with the European civilization. The spread of Buddhism to Central Asia was followed by the rise of Gāndhāran Buddhist art, which was also significantly influenced by ancient Greek art. European scholars were the first to have become deeply engrossed in Buddhist studies, which in certain ways might have been closely linked to the peculiar characteristics of the Buddhist artistic tradition and its complex relations with its European counterpart. Therefore, it can be expected that the study of Buddhism’s transmission to Europe and the study of Buddhist art may be conducted jointly, complementing each other. The present Forum welcomes research presentations related to the two primary subjects and their sub-topics, such as:

  1. 佛教在歐洲的傳播與研究 Buddhism’s transmission to and study in Europe:
    1.  佛教在歐洲傳播的歷史 The history of Buddhism’s transmission to Europe;
    2.  佛教與歐洲哲學家 Buddhism and European philosophers;
    3. 佛教與東方主義的興起 Buddhism and the rise of orientalism;
    4. 歐洲人對印度與佛教的想像與誤解 European notions and misconceptions regarding India and Buddhism;
    5. 歐洲學術傳統與印度學－佛教學的興起與演變 European academic tradition and Indology: the rise and evolution of Buddhist Studies;
    6. 佛教與歐洲心理學 Buddhism and European psychology;
    7. 佛教與歐洲新銳文學與藝術流派的興起與發展 Buddhism and new European schools of literature and art;
    8. 佛教與歐洲理性主義 Buddhism and European rationalism;
    9. 佛教與歐洲固有宗教(天主教、基督教等)的交流與衝突 Buddhism and European religions (such as Catholicism and Christianity): interactions and contradictions;
    10. 佛教與歐洲教育 Buddhism and European education;
    11.  十七世紀以來歐洲傳教士對漢傳佛教的傳譯 European missionaries’ translations of Chinese Buddhist literature from the 17th century on.
  1. 佛教藝術 Buddhist art
    1. 佛教藝術傳統在南亞、中亞、與東亞的演變 The evolution of Buddhist artistic traditions in South Asia, Central Asia and East Asia;
    2. 佛教的藝術精神 The spirit of Buddhist art;
      • 佛教繪畫藝術 Buddhist painting;
      • 佛教音樂與舞蹈 Buddhist music and dance;
      • 佛教戲曲 Buddhist traditional drama;
      • 佛教雕塑藝術 Buddhist sculpture;
      • 佛教洞窟藝術 Buddhist cave art;
      • 佛教建築藝術(特別是：佛塔與廟宇) Buddhist architecture (particularly pagodas and temples) ;
      • 佛教工藝傳統與科技的發展 The development of Buddhist traditional arts and crafts;
      • 佛教藝術在佛教跨地域與跨文化傳播歷程中的作用 The role of Buddhist art in the process of Buddhism’s cross-regional and cross-cultural transmission;

同時，本論壇更鼓勵對兩大主題的會通研究，比如 At the same time, the present forum especially welcomes comprehensive studies relating to both principal subjects, such as:

  1. 佛教藝術中的歐洲藝術的元素Elements of European art in Buddhist art;
  2. 歐洲文明對佛教藝術的影響The influence of European culture on Buddhist art;
  3. 佛教藝術對歐洲藝術的影響The influence of Buddhist art on European art;
  4. 藝術對融會歐洲文明與佛教文明的作用The role of art in integration of European and Buddhist civilizations;
  5. 基督教與佛教通過藝術的對話Dialogue through art between Christianity and Buddhism;
  6. 歐洲與佛教藝術傳統的相互借鑑與促進等Mutual learning and beneficial interactions between European and Buddhist artistic traditions, etc.

論壇計劃於2016年8月27－28日於西班牙馬德里召開(我們期待您8月26日到 達，28日晚或29日離開)。誠請閣下撥冗參會，並發表論文。會議工作語言位英語與漢語，論文可以中文或漢文撰寫並發表。論文限於未發表者，並請參照以上 所建議論題撰寫。懇請惠賜大作全璧；如囿於時日而未竟全功者，務請提供詳細之發言提綱（3,000-4,000字; 附PPT投影；除主題發言者外，發言時間限制在15分鐘）為盼，以期年內擴展成文，廣布四方，嘉惠中外士林。

The forum is now being scheduled between August 27–28, 2016 in Madrid, Spain. We cordially invite your participation with an unpublished paper on a relevant topic pertinent to those as suggested above. A paper can be written either in English or Chinese, the two working languages for this Forum. A full-blown article will be greatly desired. In case this is impossible due to time constrains, a detailed summary (of 3,000-4,000 words) supplemented by a PPT file will do, in the hope that in the coming months the summary can be developed into a publishable paper to the benefit of the whole academic society, both inside and outside China. Except for the keynote speeches, each presentation shall be limited to 15 minutes.