Dear list members, Our next seminar will be held at 5:30-7:00pm on Tuesday October 29 in room N208 of the John Woolley Building, University of Sydney (walk down the flight of stairs directly inside the main entrance of the John Woolley Building). We hope you can attend. Kind regards, AABS Executive The empowerment of the laity in Tang China From the early Tang period, lay Buddhists began to compile collections of Diamond Sutra tales. Unlike the apologetic concerns of earlier tales, these narratives reflect a period in which Buddhism had permeated medieval Chinese society, and portray lay devotees of the Diamond Sutra as empowered practitioners who experienced the efficacy of the sutra and gained access to wonders and powers traditionally associated with the monastic. This lay confidence is discernible from the writings of the tale compilers, who assumed responsibility for propagating Buddhism and articulated their understanding of the religion as they created the lore of the sutra. Dr Chiew Hui Ho Dr Chiew Hui Ho is a Lecturer of East Asia Buddhism at the University of Sydney. He received his PhD in Religious Studies from Stanford University. Previously, he earned a BA (Honors) and an MA in Philosophy from the National University of Singapore, and an MA in Buddhist Studies (Distinction) from the University of Hong. A former Chiang Ching-Kuo Doctoral Fellow, Chiew Hui was also a recipient of the China Times Young Scholar Award. He has spent four years studying and teaching in Japan, and did research at the University of Tokyo as a Japan Foundation Fellow.