Table of Contents
- JOB> Tenure Track Assistant Professor in Chinese Religions, St. Joseph's University
- LECTURE> Mantras for the Masses: The Saidaiji Order and the Spread of Kōmyō Shingon Practices in Medieval Japan, by David Quinter, Kyoto
- JOB> Non-Tenure Faculty Position, the Centre of Buddhist Studies, University of Hong Kong
JOB> Tenure Track Assistant Professor in Chinese Religions, St. Joseph's University
by Charles Muller
Position Summary:
The Department of Theology and Religious Studies at Saint Joseph's University invites applications for a tenure-track appointment for an assistant professor in History of Religions or Religious Studies with a specialization in Chinese Religions. A clear research agenda; the ability to teach an introductory course on Comparative Religion as well as thematic courses such as the comparative study of ritual, ethics, or symbol and myth, etc.; and proficiency in Mandarin and Classical Chinese are required. The departmental teaching load is 3/3. For further information about the Department, please visit the website at https://sites.sju.edu/theologyandreligiousstudies/. Other inquiries can be directed to Dr. Jim Caccamo, Department Chair, at jcaccamo@sju.edu
For further details, please see: https://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=55835
LECTURE> Mantras for the Masses: The Saidaiji Order and the Spread of Kōmyō Shingon Practices in Medieval Japan, by David Quinter, Kyoto
by Silvio Vita
École Francaise d’Extrême-Orient EFEO
Scuola Italiana di Studi sull'Asia Orientale ISEAS
KYOTO LECTURES 2017
Friday, October 20th,
18:00h
co-hosted by Institute for Research in
Humanities, Kyoto University
Please note that this lecture will be held at
the Kyoto centre of the École Française d’Extrême-Orient
Mantras for the Masses: The Saidaiji Order and the Spread of Kōmyō Shingon Practices in Medieval Japan
Speaker: David Quinter
This talk explores the popularization of Mantra of Light (kōmyō
shingon) practices in medieval Japan, focusing on the activities of Eison
(1201-90) and his Saidaiji order of Shingon Ritsu monks and nuns. Such Chinese
scriptures as the Mantra of Light of the Great Consecration of
Vairocana Buddha of the Unfailing Rope Snare, attributed to
Amoghavajra (705-74) and brought to Japan by Kūkai (774-835),
taught that reciting the mantra and sprinkling sand empowered by it on corpses
or graves could erase transgressions and ensure rebirth in a pure land. We thus
find references to uses of the mantra at funerary rites in Japan from the
late ninth century. Subsequently, teachings on the sand received a strong boost
from lectures and commentaries by the Kegon-Shingon monk Myōe (1173-1232),
which various scholars have emphasized in assessing the mantra’s
popularization. This talk argues, however, that focus on the sand and such
commentarial literature casts into shadow another key to the mantra’s spread:
the annual Mantra of Light assemblies implemented by Eison at Saidaiji in 1264
and carried out there to the present. In particular, based on both premodern
sources and ethnographic observations, the talk investigates the order’s use of
rosters of contributors to the assemblies for fundraising, recitation, and
iconographic adornment and the wideranging network of exchange they attest.
David Quinter is Associate Professor
of East Asian Religions at the University of Alberta. He earned his Ph.D. in
Religious Studies from Stanford University in 2006 and is currently a Foreign
Research Scholar at the University of Tokyo Historiographical Institute. His
research interests center on medieval Nara Buddhism, devotional cults, and the
interplay of textual, visual, and material culture in East Asian religions. He
is the author of From Outcasts to Emperors: Shingon Ritsu and the
Mañjuśrī Cult in Medieval Japan (Brill, 2015) and is now working on a
monograph on Eison and his involvement in diverse devotional cults. Recent
articles include “Materializing and Performing Prajñā: Jōkei’s
Mañjuśrī Faith and the Kasagidera Restoration” (Japanese Journal of
Religious Studies 43, no. 1, 2016) and “Localizing Strategies: Eison
and the Shōtoku Taishi Cult” (Monumenta Nipponica 69, no. 2,
2014).
For detailed directions:
École Francaise d’Extrême-Orient (EFEO)
Italian School of East Asian Studies (ISEAS)
EFEO
Phone: 075-701-0882
Fax: 075-701-0883
e-mail: efeo.kyoto@gmail.com
ISEAS
Phone: 075-751-8132
Fax: 075-751-8221
e-mail: iseas@iseas-kyoto.org
JOB> Non-Tenure Faculty Position, the Centre of Buddhist Studies, University of Hong Kong
by Charles Muller
Applications are invited for appointment as Non-Tenure Track Professor/Associate Professor/Assistant Professor in the Centre of Buddhist studies, to commence on September 1, 2018 or as soon as possible thereafter, on a two-year fixed-term basis, with the possibility of renewal.
The Centre promotes innovative thinking and new horizons for Buddhist studies and research. Information about the Centre can be obtained at http://www.buddhism.hku.hk.
Applicants must possess a Ph.D. degree in Buddhist studies with at least three years of teaching and supervision experience in a recognized tertiary institution. They should be able to demonstrate international peer recognition and world leadership in their area of expertise, and direct research and teaching activities. They should also have an established record of research and publications and experience in supervising research students. The area of specialization for this appointment is Mahãyãna Buddhism. The appointee is expected to make a substantial contribution to the Centre’s strategic development and in fostering academic collaborations locally, regionally and internationally, and lead the development of interdisciplinary and collaborative research initiatives.
For further details, see https://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=55838
