Faculty Research

As the current holder of the Noboru and Yaeko Hanyu Buddhist Chaplaincy Professorial Chair at the Institute of Buddhist Studies (IBS), Dr. Nancy Lin is carrying forward an important legacy of compassion and service. The Hanyu Chair was established in […]

We’re pleased to announce that two members of our community, Professor Emeritus Dr. Richard Payne and M.Div candidate Letesa Isler have articles published in the recent issue of The Berkeley Journal of Religion and Theology. Dr. Payne’s piece is adapted […]

I remember the first time I spoke at length with Dr. Paula Arai—it was at the retirement dinner for Dr. Richard Payne. By chance, she sat at my table, and after introductions and toasts, she began excitedly sharing a new […]

From March 27- March 29, 2024, chaplains and scholars from around the world gathered at IBS for Foundations of Buddhist Chaplaincy: A Japan-US Dialogue. The event was a moving and thought provoking three day discussion of chaplaincy, spiritual care, the […]

We are excited to announce that Dr. Paula Arai will be offering a class on women in Zen next fall on Tuesdays from 2:10pm-5pm, beginning the first week of September and running through December 15, 2024. The full title is […]

On October 6, 2023, Buddhist scholars and students from around the country gathered at the Institute of Buddhist studies to celebrate the “Oxford Handbook of Buddhist Practice,” edited by Paula Arai and Kevin Trainor. Each panelist presented a paper on […]

The Institute of Buddhist Studies is pleased to announce that Dr. Natalie Quli has been appointed to Core Faculty as an Associate Professor of Theravāda Studies. Before this, she served as a Research Fellow for many years. Dr. Quli received […]

On May 24, 2023, Dr. Scott Mitchell, Chenxing Han, and Rev. Harry Bridge met online to discuss the release of his newest book, The Making of American Buddhism in a book launch entitled “Race, Place, and Religious Labor.” Below is a […]

Our 2023 Ryukoku Lecture is now available for viewing (in Japanese), featuring Profressor Nakanishi Naoki. His talk is on women’s propagation of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism in modern Japan. A translation of the lecture is available below.   近代⽇本の真宗⼥性教化の展開  Development of […]

The Institute of Buddhist Studies is pleased to announce that Dr. Scott Mitchell, Tamai Chair of Shin Buddhist Studies and Dean of Faculty and Students, will be replacing Dr. Richard K. Payne as the Chair of the Pure Land Buddhist […]

  Last Friday, Dr. Paula Arai joined Dr. Nancy Lin, Vanessa Sasson and Mutsumi Wondra for a compelling talk on gratitude, healing rituals, and the role of women in Buddhism throughout history. The talk was followed by a rousing discussion […]

The Institute of Buddhist Studies (IBS) is pleased to announce that acclaimed scholar and author Dr. Paula Arai will be joining the faculty in January 2023 as the first Eshinni and Kakushinni Professor of Women and Buddhist Studies. Dr. Arai […]

This spring, the Institute of Buddhist Studies will be offering a staple of our Buddhist Studies curriculum, taught by Dean Scott Mitchell: “Buddhism and the West.” It is scheduled to be offered in person, at our campus, Thursdays 2:10pm-5pm. This […]

The Public Theologies of Technology and Presence (PTTP) is a three-year program, launched in 2018 and funded by the Luce Foundation. This program gathered and funded a cohort of leading scholars of religion, theologians, and journalists for their work addressing […]

The Pacific World: Journal of the Institute of Buddhist Studies has published the second volume of its fourth series, and it is now available to view online.  This volume contains book reviews by Richard Payne, Gereon Kopf, Matt Orsborn, Ray Buckner, […]

This fall, IBS is excited to offer Buddhist Japanese I, the first of a four-course sequence. Students will begin with basic Japanese grammar and build up their skills and knowledge of kanbun (Chinese characters) to eventually tackle more complex Buddhist […]

This fall, the Institute of Buddhist Studies is pleased to have Dr. Nancy Lin join us as full-time faculty member in support of the Buddhist chaplaincy program. Dr. Lin joins us after four years at Vanderbilt University, where she taught […]

The Pacific World, the peer-reviewed journal of the Institute of Buddhist Studies, has published a special section on Buddhist Apologetics, featuring essays by Charles B. Jones, Thomas Calobrisi, Kwi Jeong Lee, and Wei Wu. The articles in this issue “examine ways in […]

Current IBS adjunct faculty member and recent IBS grad Thomas Calobrisi has co-edited this autumn’s Journal of Dharma Studies. The journal’s theme is histories of science in Buddhism, and looks at how various Buddhist cultures produced knowledge. What goes into editing […]

On Thursday, January 28th, IBS Alum Chenxing Han was joined by Dean Scott Mitchell and Rev. Harry Bridges to celebrate the launch of her debut book Be the Refuge: Raising the Voices of Asian-American Buddhists. 175 participants also joined the […]