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Global Conference on Buddhism, 2002
Malaysia, 7-8 December 2002
Karma
Kagyu Dharma Society, Kuala Lumpur (KKDS KL) is proud to be
invited and involved with the Global Conference on Buddhism
2002. This major Buddhist event will be held in Malaysia at
the Grand Blue Wave Hotel, Shah Alam, Selangor Malaysia. This
is the second time it has been held in Malaysia, he first
time being in 1975.
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Under the guidance of His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, Thaye
Dorje, together with the blessings from lineage gurus, KKDS, KL is
shouldering three tasks in the preparation work to help ensure the
conference's success. We will be involved with transportation, with
the conference reception, and with the 'tour the city' arrangement
for delegates and attendees on the last day of the event.
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This is a grand international event, hosted by WFB Kuala Lumpur region with the great support from Malaysia government especially Malaysia Prime Minister Datuk Sri Dr. Mahatir Mohamad and Malaysia Tourism Ministry. This event had managed to gather the response from many foreign countries, such as America, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim, Canada, Russian and many other places. Many local Buddhist society or individual also responded with great support in term of sponsorship or voluntary works.
This 2 day event starts on 9th December 2002, but our work will already begin on 7th December. Since many delegates and observers will be arriving at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, KKDS KL will be there to receive and ensure all the |
participants
that arrive will be greeted with Malaysia hospitality. The objective
of this conference is to bring together leading Dharma practitioners,
Buddhist scholars and thinkers to discuss the major issues and challenges
facing the Buddhist community and the world in the 21st century.
Over the two days event, this conference will be filled with wonderful
speakers and meaningful topics. Below is the list of speakers and
topics.
1. Keynote speech – What is a richer life?
By Ven. Dr.
K. Sri Dhammananda Nayaka Maha Thera. Ven. Dr. K.
Sri Dhammananda is the Chief Abbot of Buddhist Maha Vihara in Kuala
Lumpur and the spiritual Advisor to various Buddhist organizations
in Malaysia and Singapore. He was ordained at the age of 12, and
studies at the Vidyalankara Pirivena (1938 – 1945) where he
received a diploma in Linguistics (Sanskrit and Pali) and Buddhist
Philosophy. He also has a M.A. in Indian Philosophy from Benares
Hindu University (1949). In 1952 he came to Malaysia as a Buddhist
missioner. An Eloquent
speaker and prolific author, Ven. Dhammananda has written over 50
books on various aspect of Buddhism. His best selling ‘What
Buddhists Believe’ has been translated into seven languages
and gone through more than 10 revised editions. In recognition of
his contribution to Buddhism, he was conferred honorary doctorates
by Dharma Realm University, USA (1979), Nalanda University, India
(1979), Benares Hindu University (1980), Buddhist and Pali University
of Sri Lanka (1991), and Mahaculalongkorn University, Bangkok (2001).
2. Keynote speech – How to develop wisdom and compassion in
daily living.
By Ven. Ching
Yao. Ven. Ching Yao
was born in Kaoshiung, Taiwan in 1953. He became a monk in April
1971 and was under the tutelage of Dharma Master Yin Shoon for three
years. He was the founder and former President of the Chinese Young
Buddhist Association (CYBA) of Taiwan and founder of the Guan Yin
Line Counseling Center in Taipei. Currently he
is the Abbot of the Pu Xian Temple, Taipei and Vice President of
the World Fellowship of Buddhist Youth. Ven. Ching Yao is also the
honorary lecturer at the Taipei Rehabilitation Center, and he gives
regular Dharma Lectures to inmates of various rehabilitation centers
and prisons in Taiwan. He travels regularly to many parts of the
world to spread the compassionate teachings of the Buddha. Ven.
Ching Yao has received many awards from the Government in Taipei
in recognition of his community service to the people of Taiwan.
3. Topics 1 – Open Heart, Clear Mind.
A.
Opening the Eye of Wisdom. By Ven. Dr.
Bhikkhu Bodhi. Dr. Bhikkhu
has a B.A. in philosophy from Brooklyn College (1966) and a Ph.D.
in philosophy from Claremont Graduate School (1972). In 1972 he
went to Sri Langka to be ordained under Venerable B. Ananda Maitreya
Mahathera. He has been editor of the Buddhist Publications Society
in Kandy, and is now its president. On May 15, 2000 Bhikkhu Bhodi
delivered the Keynote Address at the first official celebration
of Wesak at the United Nations. Bhikkhu Bhodi has authored and translated
numerous books on Theravada Buddhism, including ‘The Connected
Discourses of the Buddha: A New Translation of Samyutta Nikaya’
(Wisdom, 2000) and ‘The Discourse on the All-Embracing Net
of Views: The Brahmajala Sutta and its Commentaries’ (BPS,
1978, 1992).
B. The path with a Heart.
By Dr. Nicholas
Ribush. Dr. Nicholas
Ribush received his medical degree from Melbourne University, Australia,
in 1964 and first encountered Buddhism at Kopan Monastary, Nepal,
in 1972. Since then he has been a student of (the late) Lama Yeshe
and Lama Zopa and a full time worker of the Foundation for the Preservation
of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT). He was a monk in the Tibetan tradition
from 1974 – 1986. He established FPMT archiving and publishing
activities at Kopan in 1973, and with Lama Yeshe founded Wisdom
Publications in 1975. Between 1981 and 1986 he was Wisdom’s
director, editorial director and director of development. He is
now with Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive and has been a member of the
FPMT Board of Directors since 1983.
4. Topics 2 – Science and Moral conscience
A.
Genetic Engineering, Human Cloning and Karma. By Ven. Dr.
Mettanando Bhikkhu Ven. Dr. Mettanando
Bhikkhu is a member of the Ethics Committee, Faculty of Medicine,
Chulalongkorn University, and teaches Buddhist philosophy at Assumption
University and Mahachulalongkorn Monastic University, Bangkok. He
was the Initiator and Project Manager of the computerization of
the Buddhist Pali Canon and production of Pali CD-ROM for the Dhammakaya
Foundation between 1982 – 1994. A popular speaker on Bangkok
TV, he has written over 100 short TV programs for the promotion
of the social ethics. Mettanando Bhikkhu has number of acamedic
qualifications: B.Sc. and M.D. from Chulalongkorn University, B.A.
and M.A. from Oxford University, Ph.D. from Harvard University,
and Ph.D. from Hamburg University, Germany. He was ordained as a
monk on April 8, 1982 at Wat Paknam Bhasechoroen, Bangkok.
B. Bio-Ethics and Buddhism.
By Dr. David
Rovert Loy Dr. David Rovert
Loy is a Zen sensei based in Kamakura, Japan. He received his BA
in Western Philosophy from Carleton College (1969), M.A. in Asian
Philosophy from National University of Singapore (1985). While completing
his doctoral thesis on the Zen master Dogen, David taught Philosophy
at NUS. Currently David is Professor in the Faculty of International
Studies at Bunkyo University, Japan. His work is primarily in comparative
philosophy and religion, particularly comparing Buddhism with modern
Western thought. Some of his writings include ‘Non-Duality:
A Study in Comparative Philosophy’ (1989), ‘Lack and
Transcendence: The Problem of Death’, ‘Life in Psychotherapy’,
‘Existentialism and Buddhism’ (1996), and ‘A Buddhist
History of the West’ (SUNY, 2001).
5. Topics 3 – Modern Lifestyle and The Family
A.
Preserving family values through Dharma. By Judith Simmer Brown Judith Simmer
Brown is Professor and Chair of Religious Studies Department, Naropa
University, Colorado, USA. She holds a B.A. from Cornell College,
Iowa (1968), MA from Florida State University (1970), and Ph.D.
from Walden University, USA (1978). She has also completed Ph.D.
studies at Columbia University and University of British Columbia.
A student of (the late) Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche since 1974, Judith’s
special passion has long been Trungpa’s teachings on the “feminine
principle” which led her to research and write her latest
book ‘Dakini’s Warm Breath: The Feminine Principle in
Tibetan Buddhism’ (Shambhala 2001). Over the year she has
spoken on Buddhism at the conferences in North America, and published
over 20 papers on Buddhism for academic journals, encyclopedias,
and books.
B. Bringing Dharma to the Young.
By Dr. Elizabeth
English Dr. Elizabeth
English came into contact with Buddhism during a meditation class
conducted by the Western Buddhist Order (WBO) during her first year
in Bristol University in 1983. She received her B.A. in History
(first class) from Bristol University (1985), M.Phil. From Oxford
University in Classical Indian Religions (1994), and Ph.D. from
Oxford University (2000) where she wrote on Vajrayogini, a female
figure of the highest Buddhist Tantras. Her doctoral thesis will
soon be published by Wisdom Publications, USA, as ‘The Indian
Cult of Vajrayogini’ (2002). She has taught world religions
for the Open University and now is teaching Religions Studies at
the University College of St. Martin’s in Carlisle. She currently
teaches meditation in Bristol and conduct retreats for the WBO.
6. Topics 4 – Dharma Therapy Through Meditation
A.
Living Meaningfully, Dying Joyfully. By Ven. Ajahn
Brahmavamso Ven. Ajahn Brahmavamso
regarded himself a Buddhist at the age of 17 but his interest in
Buddhism and mediation flourished while studying Theoretical Physics
at Cambridge University, UK. After completing his degree and teaching
for a year, he traveled to Thailand to become a monk. He was ordained
in Bangkok at the age of 23 by Abbot of Wat Saket. He subsequently
spent nine years studying and training in the forest meditation
tradition of the late Venerable Ajahn Chah. In 1983 he was asked
to assist in the establishment of a forest monastery near Perth,
Western Australia. Ajahn Brahmavamso is currently the Abbot of Bhodhinyana
Monastary in Serpentine and the Spiritual Director of the Buddhist
Society of Western Australia.
B. Dharma as a Therapy for Modern
Living.
By Dr. Victor
Wee. Dr. Victor Wee
Eng Lye is the president of the Buddhist Gem Fellowship. A well-known
dharma speaker, Victor is the author of the ‘Buddhism for
you’ correspondence course that has been translated into several
languages. He received numerous awards for his dharma activities,
including the prestigious Bodhi Award by the Young Buddhist Foundation
in Malaysia in 1993. A talented songwriter and musician, Victor
has recorded four albums of Buddhists hymns in English with the
Wayfarers, a choir group he leads. Victor holds a B.Econ. from University
of Malaya, M.A. from Brown University, USA and a Ph.D. in Economics
from Bristol University, UK. He is currently the Director of Macro
Economic Planning at the Prime Minister’s Department in Kuala
Lumpur.
7. Forum – Role of the Sangha in the New Millenium.
A.
The Monastic Perspective. By Aggacitta
Bhikkhu Aggacitta Bhikkhu’s
interest in Buddhism began after reading K. Sri Dhammananda’s
‘What Buddhist Believe’. He entered University Sains
Malaya in 1975 but in his third year decided to become a monk. On
Wesak Day in 1978 he was ordained by Phra Khru Dhammabanchavud at
the Malaysian Buddhist Meditation Center in Penang. He then went
to Myanmar to study at the Mahasi Center, and on December 22, 1979,
received higher ordination from (the late) Mahasi Sayadaw. His teachers
include various accomplished master: U Pandita, U Javanna, U Dhammananda,
U Tissara and Pa Auk Sayadaw. Five years after returning to Malaysia
in 1995, he established Sasanarakkha Buddhist Santuary as a training
centre for monks on a 10 acre undulating hilly land on the outskirts
of Taiping, Perak, Malaysia.
B. The Western Buddhist Perspective.
By Sumi Loundon Sumi Loundon
was raised as a Buddhist in the United States. As a fine arts major,
she did a series of watercolors about being an American and practicing
Buddhism, living up to her name’s Japanese meaning of “beautiful
painting”. She received a B.A. in Fine Arts (1997) from Williams
College and in 1998 moved to Cambridge to study at Harvard University
where she graduated with a M.A. in Sanskrit and Buddhism in 2001.
Sumi is the author and editor of ‘Blue Jean Buddha: Voices
of Young Buddhists’ (Wisdom, 2001) and contributor to ‘Spirituality
Under Twenty-five’ (Skylight Paths, 2001) and ‘Tricycle:
The Buddhist Review’. Sumi also appeared on National Public
Radio’s Talk of the Nation and All Things considered in 1999.
C. The Lay Perspective.
By Vijaya Samarawickrama Vijaya Samarawickrama
is a popular Dharma Speaker and gives an average of 85 talks per
year on Buddhism at temples and in schools, colleges and universities
throughout Malaysia. He received his training as a teacher at the
Malayan Teachers College in Kirby, UK, and later graduated with
a B.A. in English from University of Malaya, and M.A. in Dharma,
and Theatre from the University of Hawaii. Vijaya retired as a senior
lecturer from the institute (now University) of Technology MARA
in 1990 after 20 years of teachings in school and also at University
Sains Malaysia and University of Malaya. Vijay is also actively
involved in inter-faith activities through the Malaysia consultative
Council on Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism (MCCBCHS).
Karma
Kagyu Dharma Society, Kuala Lumpur sincerely wishes that the conference
will bring great benefit to living beings. We hope that the conference
will contribute to the flowering of the Dharma in Malaysia and beyond,
and provide much 'food for thought' for those attending and those
who follow the proceedings.
Official
Conference Website and Webcast
There
is a delayed webcast of proceedings on the official conference website,
being broadcast on the 8th and 9th of December.
For
more information on the conference, and the webcast, please visit
the official conference website
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