News

How can we engage in Buddhist pastoral care while addressing the pressing issues of our times? Join us Thursday, April 28, from 4-5pm Pacific Time for a panel with Rev. Blayne Higa, Rev. Jo Laurence, and Rev. Trent Thornley as […]

IBS is pleased to offer a Virtual Open House on January 26, 2022. Come learn about our stackable curriculum, degree and certificate programs, financial aid and more! IBS alumni Rev. Blayne Higa and dharma teacher and chaplain Dawn Neal will […]

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 COVID-19 pandemic has brought the fragility of the human body to the forefront of our minds and imaginations. What tools does Buddhism offer us in confronting health and illness? This spring semester, we are excited that Dr. Courtney Bruntz […]

Ōjōyōshū- A Collection on the Essentials Concerning Birth and Shinran Shōnins 「往生要集』と親鸞聖人」  Professor Bunei Takada, Ryukoku University, Faculty of Letters: Shin Buddhist Studies Ōjōyōshū – A Collection on the Essentials Concerning Birth is the important scripture in Shin Buddhist studies. […]

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, […]

The Institute of Buddhist Studies is pleased to announce that Rev. Dr. Takashi Miyaji has been appointed to the H.E. Kosho Ohtani Professor of Shin Buddhist Studies professorial chair. Rev. Dr. Miyaji has been a core faculty member of IBS […]

The Institute of Buddhist Studies will hold its Annual Memorial Service via Zoom on Thursday, November 11, 2021, at 7:00 pm (Pacific time). This will be an opportunity for us to remember all of the many people who have allowed […]

IBS is pleased to offer this year’s first Virtual Open House. Come learn about our stackable curriculum, degree and certificate programs, financial aid and more! Sōtō Zen Buddhist Studies Certificate Program Director Rev. Dr. Daijaku Kinst, chaplaincy program coordinator Chenxing […]

The Institute of Buddhist Studies is excited to announce our new chaplaincy program coordinator, Chenxing Han. Han is a graduate of IBS’ Buddhist chaplaincy program, and is well-known for her recent book Be the Refuge: Raising the Voices of Asian […]

The Graduate Theological Union (GTU) and Institute of Buddhist Studies (IBS) are pleased to announce the deepening connection between their scholarly communities as IBS becomes the GTU consortium’s ninth member school, following thirty-six years of collaboration as a GTU affiliate. […]

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 […]

Buddhism is both deeply personal and profoundly social. In the neutral tones of academic language, we might say that secular Buddhism, and secularized forms of Buddhist practice such as mindfulness, are simply adaptations to a new society. This picture is […]

Authority and Normativity in and Between Buddhist Traditions 9 AM – 12:30 PM PT Registration info here The question “what is Buddhism?” is deceptively uncomplicated. Scratching beneath the surface of this question presents a host of issues surrounding who has […]

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 […]

We are delighted to announce the Graduate Student Symposium at the Institute of Buddhist Studies for the fall of 2021. The Symposium will be held virtually on October 22nd, 2021. The theme of the 2021 Symposium is “Authority and Normativity […]

Former Bishop Rev. Dr. Seigen Haruo Yamaoka had never planned on his amazing path — which has now nearly spanned 60 years — with the Buddhist Churches of America. He wanted to become a journalist, a newspaper reporter.  But he […]

On Friday, May 21, faculty, students, trustees, and friends of the Institute of Buddhist Studies gathered online to celebrate the graduating class of 2021, along with the class of 2020, who was not able to celebrate last year due to […]