Buddhist studies, also known as Buddhology, is the academic study of Buddhism. The term ''Buddhology'' was coined in the early 20th century by the Unitarian minister

Joseph Estlin Carpenter Joseph Estlin Carpenter (5 October 1844 – 2 June 1927) was an English Unitarian minister, the principal of Manchester College, Oxford.''The First Three Gospels: Their Origins and Relations'' (London: Sunday School Association, 1890) *''The Bi ...

to mean the "study of Buddhahood, the nature of the Buddha, and doctrines of a Buddha", but the terms Buddhology and Buddhist studies are generally synonymous in the contemporary context. According to William M. Johnston, in some specific contexts, Buddhology may be viewed as a subset of Buddhist studies, with a focus on Buddhist hermeneutics, exegesis, ontology and Buddha's attributes. Scholars of Buddhist studies focus on the history, culture, archaeology, arts, philology, anthropology, sociology, theology,

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

, practices, interreligious comparative studies and other subjects related to Buddhism. In contrast to the study of Judaism or Christianity, the field of Buddhist studies has been dominated by "outsiders" to Buddhist cultures and traditions, hence it is not a direct subfield of Indology or

Asian studies Asian studies is the term used usually in North America and Australia for what in Europe is known as Oriental studies. The field is concerned with the Asian people, their cultures, languages, history and politics. Within the Asian sphere, Asian ...

. However,

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese and Korean universities have also made major contributions, as have Asian immigrants to Western countries, and Western converts to Buddhism.

University programs and institutes

Asia

In Asia, University of Tokyo and

Rissho University , one of the oldest universities in Japan, was founded in 1580, when a seminary was established as a learning center for young monks of the Nichiren shu. The university's name came from the Rissho Ankoku Ron, a thesis written by Nichiren, a prom ...

have long been a major centers for Buddhist research, and Nalanda University launched a master program at 2016.

Japan

Most major universities in Japan have departments of

eastern philosophy Eastern philosophy or Asian philosophy includes the various philosophies that originated in East and South Asia, including Chinese philosophy, Japanese philosophy, Korean philosophy, and Vietnamese philosophy; which are dominant in East Asia, ...

, including buddhist studies or Indian philosophy. University of Tokyo
Dpt. of Indian Philosophy and Buddhist Studies
and

Kyoto University , mottoeng = Freedom of academic culture , established = , type = National university, Public (National) , endowment = ¥ 316 billion (2.4 1000000000 (number), billion USD) , faculty = 3,480 (Teaching Staff) , administrative_staff ...

Dpt. of Buddhist Studies
are public universities which hava specialized buddhist studies departments. Toyo University (non-sect, but associated with the Honganji) a private university founded by Inoue Enryo, is also renowned for its Buddhist studies. Buddhist studies is also studied in universities run by various religious denominations. * Intersect: Taisho (Tendai, Singon-Chizan, Jōdo, Shingon-Buzan, Jishū) * Esoteric sects: Koyasan (Shingon), Shuchiin (Singon-Chizan, Shingon-Buzan, Shingi-Shingon) * Lotus Sutra sects: Rissho (Nichiren), Minobsan (Nichiren) *

Pure Land A pure land is the celestial realm of a buddha or bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism. The term "pure land" is particular to East Asian Buddhism () and related traditions; in Sanskrit the equivalent concept is called a buddha-field (Sanskrit ). Th ...

sects: Bukkyo (Jōdo), Ryukoku (Honganji), Musashino (Honganji), Otani (Ōtani), Doho (Ōtani) * Zen sects: Komazawa (Sōtō), Hanazono (Rinzai)

America

The first graduate program in Buddhist studies in North America started in 1961 at the University of Wisconsin–Madision. According to Prebish, Buddhist studies in the United States prior to 1975 was dominated by the University of Wisconsin, Harvard University and the University of Chicago. Prebish cites two surveys by Hart in which the following university programs were found to have produced the most scholars with U.S. university posts: Chicago, Wisconsin, Harvard, Columbia, Yale, Virginia, Stanford, Berkeley, Princeton, Temple, Northwestern, Michigan, Washington, and Tokyo. Other regionally-accredited U.S. institutions with programs in Buddhism include the University of the West, Institute of Buddhist Studies,

Naropa University Naropa University is a private university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1974 by Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chögyam Trungpa, it is named for the 11th-century Indian Buddhist sage Naropa, an abbot of Nalanda. The university describes itself as B ...

Dharma Realm Buddhist University Dharma Realm Buddhist University (DRBU) is an American private nonprofit university located in Ukiah, California, just over 100 miles north of San Francisco, in Mendocino County. It was established in 1976 by Venerable Master Hsuan Hua. It is sit ...

and the California Institute of Integral Studies (a number of dharma centers offer semi-academic, unaccredited study).

Europe

Prominent European programs include Oxford University and Cambridge University, School of Oriental and African Studies, Humboldt University of Berlin, University of Hamburg, University of Munich, University of Heidelberg, University of Bonn, University of Vienna, Ghent University, and the Sorbonne.

Scholars and scholar-practitioners

Charles Prebish, a scholar-practitioner and Chair of Religious Studies at Utah State University, states that the Buddhist studies and academics in North American universities include those who are practicing Buddhists, the latter he terms as “scholar-practitioners.”.

Professional associations

International Association of Buddhist Studies

Publications

Journal of Indian Philosophy The ''Journal of Indian Philosophy'' (print: , online: ) is an academic journal on modern and premodern Indian philosophy published by Springer. The editor in chief is Diwakar Acharya. See also * List of philosophy journals This is a list of ...

'' :*
Journal of the Pali Text Society
' :*
Philosophy East and West
' :*
Buddhist-Christian Studies
' Major university presses that have published in the field include those of Oxford, Columbia, Cambridge, Indiana, Princeton, SUNY, and the Universities of California, Chicago, Hawaii, and Virginia. Non-university presses include E.J. Brill, Equinox, Palgrave, Routledge, Silkworm Books, and Motilal Banarsidass. A number of scholars have published through "dharma presses" such as BPS Pariyatti, Parallax Press, Shambhala, Snow Lion, and Wisdom Publications.

References

Sources

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