Dear list members, The AABS would like to draw your attention to the following two events. Kind regards AABS Executive Buddhism and inter-disciplinary intersections: a one-day workshop  When: 10am-4pm, 29 April Where: Sally Walker Building, GCC (4th floor), Geelong Waterfront Campus, Deakin University RSVP: Adi-admin@deakin.edu.au This one-day workshop aims to foster dialogue across the disciplines of anthropology, history, philosophy and sociology, among others, on the topic of Buddhism and contemporary societies. With the growing resurgence of religion – evidenced through Pentecostalism in most of the developing world, Islam in the Middle East, and mindfulness in the West – this workshop takes up the question of how to understand these resurgences through a detailed focus on the practices of Buddhism in contemporary societies. Adopting an inter-disciplinary approach, the workshop seeks to foster conversations not only on more traditional forms of Buddhism (Theravada, Mahayana, Vajrayana) but also on “modern Buddhism” and how and why this has become established in particular places. Presenters: Professor John Powers, Australian National University, Professor Geoffrey Samuel, University of Sydney, Professor Per Sorenson (via Skype), Leipzig University, Dr. Yangmotso, Nationalities University, Beijing, Dr. David Templeman, Monash University, Dr. Leesa Davis, Deakin University, Dr. Anna Halafoff, Deakin University, and Dr. Gillian G. Tan, Deakin University. There is no cost for registration. HDR students are more than welcome to attend. For further information, contact Gillian Tan. Seminar on Chinese Archaeology: Famen Monastery, the Sogdians and a ruin on the northern route of the Silk Road When: 2-4pm, 4 May Where: Law School Annex, Seminar Room 446, University of Sydney RSVP: via the seminar webpage 2.00pm Introduction Dr Peter Jia, ARC Senior Research Fellow, University of Sydney 2.10pm  The Mysterious Famen Temple Professor Jiang Jie, Director, Faman Temple Museum The Famen temple lies 20 kilometres west of Xi'an, in Shaanxi province. It is an important Buddhist centre known particularly for its magnificent pagoda. In 1987 a chance find by archaeologists revealed thousands of artifacts there, dating from the Tang Dynasty in the 8th to 9th centuries CE. Among these are important Buddhist relics, including what is believed to be the finger bone of Buddha Sakyamuni. 2.40pm Sogdians from Samarkand to Chang'an Professor Yang Kaijun In the first centuries CE the Sogdians, from their homelands around Samarkand, actively and energetically travelled as merchants along the Silk Roads into China. They established colonies along the routes, one of the largest of which was in Chang'an (Xian). From Sogdian tombs found in Chang'an, and in the Chang'an Sogdian Zoroastrianism Temple residential areas, it is becoming clear that during the Han and Tang Dynasties Chang'an had a number of Sogdian settlements. The Sogdian merchants integrated into local political and social life, gradually absorbing the lifestyle and culture of the peoples of the Central Plains. 3.10pm The Pearl on the Silk Road: Great Xia Kingdom. The Capital City of Tongwan (428 CE) Professor Xing Fulai Tongwancheng is a large fortified city located in Jingbian County, Sha’anxi Province, near the border between Sha’anxi and Inner Mongolia. It was the capital of the otherwise nomadic Xiongnu, the southern Huns. 3.40pm Discussion and conclusion Dr Peter Jia