News

The Institute of Buddhist Studies is pleased to announce that the Graduate Theological Union (GTU), in cooperation with the IBS, has added a Buddhist Studies track within the Cultural and Historical Studies of Religions doctoral program.

Because of the close ties between the GTU and the University of California, Berkeley, students in the doctoral program have access to classes, faculty and library resources of both institutions.

In addition, the IBS has close relations with Ryukoku University, Kyoto, and is a member of the Kyoto Graduate Union of Religious Studies (KGURS), providing opportunities for graduate study and research in Kyoto.

For information on the Cultural and Historical Studies of Religions program, visit the CHSR program website.

Consult the GTU website for admissions information.

Registration is now open for the conference “Buddhism without Borders: Contemporary Buddhism in the West,” March 18-21, 2010 at the Institute of Buddhist Studies in Berkeley, CA. Conference schedule, details, and registration are available at the conference webpage here.

The Institute of Buddhist Studies (IBS), a Graduate Seminary for Buddhist Studies, began its 2009 fall semester with an enrollment of 65 students. Of the total 26 are IBS students and 39 are students for the Graduate Theological Union (GTU), a consortium of Christian Seminaries.

The Institute of Buddhist Studies (IBS), a graduate seminary for Shin Buddhist Ministry and Buddhist Studies, celebrated its 60th anniversary on Tuesday, September 1, 2009 from 11 a.m. at the Jodo Shinshu Center (JSC). Some 80 persons were in attendance.

The ceremony included an opening service led by Bishop Koshin Ogui, Socho and President of IBS. Socho Ogui in his welcome remarks expressed his gratitude to all the BCA members who helped in the growth of IBS throughout the years and to the IBS staff for moving the IBS towards a strong Buddhist Educational Institution.

At the August 7 meeting, the Institute of Buddhist Studies’ Board of Trustees approved changing the Hongwanji Professorial Chair to the H.E. Kosho Ohtani Monshu Emeritus Professorial Chair for Shin Buddhist Studies.

The Institute of Buddhist Studies, a Seminary and Graduate School, will celebrate it’s 60th anniversary on Tuesday, September 1, 2009 at its Jodo Shinshu Center campus, 2140 Durant Avenue, Berkeley, CA from 11 a.m.

Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai has pledged $500,000 to further support the goals of the professorial chair for the Yehan Numata Professor of Buddhist Studies at the Institute of Buddhist studies.

Some 100 scholars, priests, and students attended the 14th Biennial Conference of the International Association of Shin Buddhist Studies held on June 12-14 at the Ryukoku University Omiya Campus in Kyoto, Japan. With the theme “Shin Buddhism in the World of the Twenty-First Century: Challenges and Potential,” some 52 scholars, priests, and students from Japan, the United States, China, South Korea, Taiwan, Hawaii, South America, and Europe presented papers on a wide variety of topics committed to Shin Buddhist Studies.

On the occasion of his wife Yasuko’s First Year Memorial Service, with the consent of his family, Mr. Hiroji Kariya, a member of the Mountain View Buddhist Temple, pledged $1,000,000 to establish an endowed professorial chair at the Institute of Buddhist Studies.

The Institute of Buddhist Studies is pleased to announce a new Certification Program in Buddhism and Psychotherapy for clinicians who wish to deepen and expand their practice as psychotherapists through a rigorous study of the Buddhist teachings. Dr. Judith Daijaku Kinst, IBS Adjunct Professor, states that the interface between Buddhism and psychotherapy is an increasingly important one for both the individual psychotherapist and for the practical integration of Buddhist teaching into contemporary Western society.

The Institute of Buddhist Studies and the BCA Center for Buddhist Education will co-host the Pacific Seminar the 21st Century: Shinran and His Teachings, from Friday, June 26 to Sunday, June 28, 2009 at the Jodo Shinshu Center in Berkeley.

The Buddhist Council of Northern California (BCNC) will hosts the annual Vesak Celebration on Saturday, […]

This conference seeks to explore contemporary and historical developments of Buddhist thought and practice in American Buddhisms, Buddhisms in the West, or Buddhisms outside Asia. How has the Buddhist tradition been shaped by the transnational movement of peoples, diasporas, or immigration? How has the rise of global communication, tourism, and capitalism affected the way Buddhism is understood, taught, and practiced? How do we define “modern” Buddhism? The West? Or even “Buddhism” itself in an increasingly globalized world?

The Institute of Buddhist Studies, Graduate Seminary for Shin Buddhist Ministry and Buddhist Research, and the Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research both at Berkeley, announced the publication of the second of three volumes titled, “Path of No Path—Contemporary Studies in Pure Land Buddhism.”

The Institute of Buddhist Studies, a graduate school for Buddhist Studies and Ministerial Studies in Berkeley, began its 2008 spring semester with an enrollment of 48 students. Of the total 25 are IBS students. In the fall semester there were a total of 60 students taking courses.

Hiroji Kariya, a long time resident of Mountain View, California, was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the Institute of Buddhist Studies, at the Buddhist Churches of America National Council Banquet, Saturday, February 28, 2009 at Irvine, CA. He was also awarded a BCA Lifetime Service Award.

The Institute of Buddhist Studies (IBS), a graduate Seminary for Shin Buddhist Ministry and Buddhist Research located in Berkeley, was recently invited to become an affiliate of the prestigious consortiums of religious schools in Kyoto, Japan. The consortium is called the Kyoto Graduate Union of Religious Studies (K-GURS).

Dr. Eisho Nasu, the Hongwanji Chair Professor of Shin Buddhist Studies at the Institute of Buddhist Studies, Berkeley, for the past twelve years, was recently offered by Ryukoku University, Kyoto to the position of full-professor of Shinshu Studies in the university’s Department of Letters. He will begin his teaching assignment on April 1, 2009. Dr. Richard Payne, IBS Dean, made the announcement at the IBS Trustee Meeting on Friday, January 23, 2009.

The new year is here, and a new semester is almost upon us! The Institute […]

This past August, the Institute of Buddhist Studies and the Tri-State Denver Buddhist Temple hosted […]