Events for philosophers and scholars in 2023

Here is some information on events coming up this year at Adhisthana. There will be a Philosophy Symposium, 14–17 April, on the theme of ‘The Wisdom of the Earth: Philosophy and the Climate Crisis’, exploring philosophical views around Gaia, interconnectedness and apocalypse, in relation to the Dharma. And there will be a Scholars’ Retreat, 4–11 August, on the theme of ‘Getting Closer to Vimalakīrti’, going into themes from the Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa Sūtra, of which an English translation has now been published from complete Sanskrit text rediscovered in the Potala Palace.

Transcendental talks now online

The editors of WBR plus Ketumati all gave talks at a recent Philosophy Symposium at Adhiṣṭhāna retreat centre in the UK, on the theme of 'In Search of the "Transcendental"', exploring different ways towards the experience of the 'Transcendental', or towards the meaning of 'transcendence'. Recordings of the talks are now available on Free Buddhist Audio at https://www.freebuddhistaudio.com/series/details?num=X231, and Ketumati's talk is also available on YouTube at https://youtu.be/Kc42pNnkol4.

Volume 8 at last

We're pleased to announce the launch of Western Buddhist Review Volume 8 – with the publication of three new articles and four reviews. There's an exploration of how intimate relationships could be a Buddhist practice by Sīlavādin; a highly original use of methods of Biblical exegesis, to weigh up rival interpretations of paṭicca-samuppāda, by Mitrānanda; and there is an article by Dhīvan on how Sangharakshita's presentation of the five niyamas might be seen as an expression of Buddhist modernism.

There are also reviews of Johan Elverskog's The Buddha's Footprint: An Environmental History of Asia; of Robert Ellis' pioneering book, The Thought of Sangharakshita: A Critical Assessment; and of Alice Collett's new book I Hear Her Words: An Introduction to Women in Buddhism.

We hope to publish further articles in Volume 8, also on the theme of 'Buddhist Modernism', along with more articles and reviews. Please consider making a submission if you have an idea.