Dear list members, During the next few weeks there will be two seminars concerning Buddhist Studies at the University of Melbourne. On November 26, Toby Mendelson will present his research findings at his PhD completion seminar. On December 13, Iain Sinclair will present a paper on the usage of Sanskrit in Ming China at the Chinese Studies Research Day. Please see below for details. We hope you can attend. Kind regards, AABS Executive Nāgārjuna’s Philosophy of Emptiness and Political Philosophy: Liberty in Action (Toby Mendelson) When: 5:15pm, November 26. Where: Brown Theatre, Electrical and Electronic Engineering 106, University of Melbourne, Parkville Campus. Although the metaphysical, soteriological, semantic and logical implications of Nāgārjuna’s philosophy of emptiness have been widely studied (and practiced) for nearly two millennia, the moral and political implications have generally been left implicit. This presentation is a study of the political implications of Nāgārjuna’s claim that persons and things are empty of svabhāva (substantial self-existence). My central argument is that it provides us with an original way of conceiving political freedom and constraint, which renders alternative accounts either incomplete or erroneous. Toby Mendelson is/was a PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne, School of Historical and Philosophical Studies. Ming China as a Sanskritic Polity: The Newar-designed iconographic compendium and its imperial patronage (Iain Sinclair) When: 9:30 to 10:00am, December 13. Where: Yasuko Hiraoka Room, Level 1, Sidney Myer Asia Centre, University of Melbourne. Several illustrated books of tantric deities and spells were produced in China in the fifteenth century. These compendia are distinguished by their use of Sanskrit, which was especially obscure in the Chinese-speaking world during this period. Remarkably, the compendia contain not only reproductions of common sacred texts, but also original Sanskrit composition. In this presentation I point out that these compendia are numerous enough to constitute a genre, and examine the causes of their production. I identify their producers of these compendia as Newar, i.e., Nepalese, artisans, who traditionally follow Sanskritic Buddhism. The task of these specialists was to help imbue the Ming imperium with the universalism of the Sanskritic tradition. Iain Sinclair is a PhD candidate at Monash University, School of Philosophical, Historical and International Studies. For information on the full program of Chinese Studies Research Day and to RSVP for catering purposes, please click here.