Video Resources
Mangalam Research Center has been host to various seminars, symposiums, panel discussions and talks throughout our history and will continue to provide opportunities for conversation about Buddhist Studies to fulfill the vision of research, translation and transmission of Dharma to the West.
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Religion & the Imagination Public Panel Discussion
Panelists: Jeffrey Kripal, Laurie Patton, and Elliot Wolfson. Public event that was part of the 2022 NEH Summer Institute for Higher Education Faculty, "The Imagination and Imaginal Worlds in the Mirror of Buddhism."
Translating the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa Sūtra
Mangalam Research Center Academic Director, Karin Meyers interviews Paul Harrison on the text, translation and place of the work in Mahāyāna Buddhist thought, April 21, 2022
Kūkai: Japanese Buddhism's first Vajrayāna visionary
Mangalam Research Center Academic Director, Karin Meyers interviews David Gardiner. Exploring the writings of the 9th century monk Kūkai, we will examine some of the riches of Mahāyāna imagination in its early Japanese Vajrayāna manifestation. March 31, 2022
Hungry Ghosts and the Karma of Meanness
Mangalam Research Center’s Academic Director, Karin Meyers, interviews Andy Rotman about his recent book, Hungry Ghosts (Wisdom Publications, 2021). The book shows how an understanding of the meanness (mātsarya) that afflicts hungry ghosts illuminates the human condition, offering insight and inspiring compassion for readers in ancient times and today.
What the Buddha Never Taught: Discussing A Rock Opera
Can the creation of a broadway-style Buddhist musical comedy be justified in Buddhist terms? This presentation explores the challenges and dilemmas of adapting Buddhism for the stage — as encountered by the speaker in writing and producing his new play, What the Buddha Never Taught: A Rock Opera. The challenges encompass ethical concerns regarding cultural appropriation as well as practical issues arising from different stages of project development, including the writing of Buddhist pop songs. The project will be discussed from a perspective based in Buddhist ethics, reflecting on questions of motivation and consequence.
Sūtra Time with Natalie Gummer
Why do stories of past lives and visions of the future play such a central role in many Mahāyāna sūtras? In this presentation, I explore how attending to the narrative and performative orchestration of time in the sūtras can enhance our understanding of their promises to transform the present lives of their listeners, readers, and reciters. This exploration also offers fresh perspectives on the ways in which contemporary approaches to narrating the past and the future may offer comparable, if also quite different, resources for altering the present.
Other Lives: Mind and World in Indian Buddhist Philosophy
A conversation with Sonam Kachru, October 28, 2021
Computing the Dharma: New Tools to Explore Buddhist Sanskrit Literature
This talk discusses an exciting new contribution to the fields of Buddhist Studies and Digital Humanities, namely, the Visual Dictionary and Thesaurus of Buddhist Sanskrit, part of the ongoing Buddhist Translators Workbench at Mangalam Research Center. Ligeia Lugli, Director of the Buddhist Translators Workbench offers a brief history of the project and its vision.
Mattia Salvini, Sound and Meaning: Chanting in the Study of Buddhist Sanskrit
There is a Sanskrit saying to the effect that repeatedly chanting the treatises is even more important than understanding them. While that may be an exaggeration, it makes an important point: it would be wrong to neglect either the sound of the texts one studies, or the importance of repeating them orally. In this talk, I will discuss how chanting may help in learning Sanskrit and, especially, how it may facilitate the understanding of Buddhist philosophical texts.