SWIF - Call for Papers Service - edited by Lorenzo Cuna

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Topic:
JBE CONFERENCE ON SOCIALLY ENGAGED BUDDHISM
Date and Place: April 7-14, 2000
Deadline: December 31, 1999.
Send to: jbe-conf-inquiries@jbe.la.psu.edu
Papers will be published electronically in advance of the conference. They should be around 5,000 words in length and must be received no later than December 31, 1999. Acceptance of papers is contingent on a successful peer review by JBE editorial board members. Please contact the editors (jbe-conf-inquiries@jbe.la.psu.edu) if you are thinking of submitting a paper.
More Details:
Honorary Chairman and Convener: Christopher Queen (Harvard University) JBE online conferences seek to explore themes of contemporary concern to scholars and practitioners of Buddhism. The emergence of "Socially Engaged Buddhism" has been a significant feature in the evolution of Buddhism over the past century, and particularly in the last twenty years. Characterized by a reorientation of Buddhist soteriology and ethics to identify and address sources of human suffering outside of the cravings and ignorance of the sufferersuch as social, political, and economic injustice, warfare, and violence, and environmental degradationEngaged Buddhism has been manifested in a wide range of popular movements, development projects, and service organizations in Asia and the West. As a cultural impulse that transcends and unites many vehicles and lineages of Buddhism, including the Theravada, Pure Land, Zen, Vajrayana, and Nichiren traditions, Engaged Buddhism has been formulated and practiced by ordained and lay adherents and sympathizers, often in cooperation with members of other faiths. Organizations such as the Sarvodaya Shramadana in Sri Lanka and the Buddhist Peace Fellowship in Berkeley have promoted a new form of Buddhist activism that seeks to transform the self and the world through mindful awareness and compassionate service. The walking-bodhisattva- as-activist is venerated alongside the sitting-Buddha-as- awakener as traditional disciplines and virtues of Buddhist practice are directed to the challenges of the modern world. The proceedings of the first conference on the topic of human rights (http://jbe.la.psu.edu/online.html) have recently been published as a book (http://jbe.la.psu.edu/criticalstudies.html). It is envisaged that the proceedings of the forthcoming conference on socially engaged Buddhism will also appear in print in due course as well as being permanently archived online. Topics for Papers Papers are invited on a wide range of topics such as the peace movement, nonviolent resistance/action, social justice, politics, discrimination against minorities, animal rights, women's rights, ecology, third-world exploitation, right livelihood, and the role of business and economics. Studies of specific Buddhist leaders, activists, groups, or movements are welcome. Papers dealing with the history and development of engaged Buddhism in Asia and the West, and the question of whether social engagement is a modern innovation or inherent in the tradition, are also encouraged. Topics noted above are simply suggestive, and as such, the list is not meant to be exhaustive. Participation in the Conference The conference will be public, and anyone is welcome to "attend" free of charge. To attend the conference you simply subscribe to the discussion list JBE-CONF (see instructions at the JBE On-line Conferences link on the JBE web site: http://jbe.la.psu.edu/online.html). Comments can be made, and questions put to the authors of the papers by email. The discussion will, however, be moderated. Subscribers to the list will be kept up to date with details of arrangements for the conference. All inquiries about the conference and papers should be sent to: jbe-conf-inquiries@jbe.la.psu.edu