The Oriental Club of Philadelphia
Regional Symposium
Penn State University’s Abington College
Abington, PA
April 13, 2014
SCHEDULE
9:00–9:30
Registration & Coffee
9:30-10:15
Welcome by Dr. Norah Shultz,
(Associate Dean, Penn State Abington)
Keynote address by Dr. Nathan Sivin,
(Professor Emeritus, University of Pennsylvania)
10:15-10:45 Coffee break
10:45-12:00 Panel A
12:00-1:30
Lunch break
1:30-2:45
Panel B
2:45-3:15
Coffee break
3:15-4:30
Panel C
4:30-5:00
Business meeting & presidential election
(members new and old are welcome)
PANEL A
Frank Hoffman, West Chester University
Questions of Knowledge and Justification in the Angulimalasutta
Kamma ripens at different times. Buddha takes the view that it is fortunate for Angulimala to be
beaten now so he does not have to suffer in niraya for thousands of years. Knowledge that this is
so in Buddhism depends on personal experience of abhijñā (special knowledge, psychic powers)
achievable in meditation. The Buddha’s view raises the question, “can there be a good
justification for those without realization to believe that skilled meditators indeed have
realization”?
Stephen Lang, Penn Museum
The Guangshengsi murals at the Penn Museum
The Penn Museum is undertaking a conservation survey of two large murals originally from
Guangsheng Monastery in Shanxi Province. Current efforts involve a complete digital
documentation of the pieces along with a conservation assessment that will lead to a larger
restoration project over the next two years. This presentation will cover how the paintings came
into the museum and the ongoing debate about location, iconography, and dating of the murals.
Patricia Kolbe, Temple University
The Anomaly of Buddhist Vegetarianism in China
Though even today in most parts of the world Buddhist monastics are not vegetarian, and though
the most influential monastic codes do not require abstention from meat (provided it is “pure”
under the three criteria), by the fifth and sixth centuries in China the pressure to adopt a
vegetarian diet was on the rise, and after the sixth century vegetarianism was in general
rigorously practiced by monks and nuns. This presentation will take a brief look at some of the
unique influences that may have contributed to this anomaly among Buddhist communities in
Asia.
Mark McNicholas, Pennsylvania State University, Altoona College
Commoners Advising the Throne in Mid-Qing China
I am a historian of China interested in encounters between commoners and the state in the Qing
period (1644-1911). My current research involves archival cases of provincial scholars
submitting policy advice to the throne in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. These
cases open windows on political culture at a turning point in the dynasty’s fortunes. The policy
recommendations reflect contemporary affairs and popular opinion at the lower reaches of
educated society. Official responses (punishments and rewards) indicate ambiguous and shifting
rules of engagement, mirroring ambivalence over the larger tradition of “opening wide the paths
of speech” (guangkai yanlu).
Charlotte Moore, West Chester University
The Role of the Body-Mind in Kūkai’s Esoteric Buddhist Philosophy
The intention of this paper is to examine the role of the body in Kūkai’s esoteric Buddhist
philosophy with the hope that it will offer another, non-dual, perspective on the mind/body
problem. I argue, more specifically, that in Kūkai’s philosophy, the body-mind is the site, or
“locus” for enlightenment. I provide evidence for this claim by examining four aspects of
Japanese Buddhist philosophy, namely, the “three mysteries,” “body mandala,” the “subtle
body,” and the role of “bliss,” or sexual energy in tantric meditation. The primary focus of the
present inquiry is Kūkai’s fascicle entitled Attaining Enlightenment in This Very Existence.
Binh P. Le, Penn State University, Abington College
NGOs and Vietnamese Academic Libraries
Between 2002 and 2007, the Atlantic Philanthropies Foundation, the principal financial
benefactor, in collaboration with the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and the East
Meets West Foundation, established four academic libraries in Vietnam. By any measure, these
are still the most aesthetically designed, technologically advanced, and multifunctional academic
libraries not just in Vietnam but throughout Southeast Asia. This presentation examines the
foundations’ ultimate goals in establishing these modern Vietnamese academic libraries and the
contributions of the two extraordinary individuals: Charles “Chuck” Feeny and Le-Ly Hayskip,
who established these foundations.
PANEL B
Xiuqin Zhou, Penn Museum
Dating of the Emperor Tang Taizong’s Six Stone Horse Reliefs
It is a received view that the famous Emperor Tang Taizong’s six stone horse reliefs, erected at
his mausoleum in Shaanxi, China, were carved during the second half of the Zhenguan reign
between 636 to 649 CE. Recently, this dating has been challenged by Chinese scholars, claiming
that the horse reliefs were completed by Taizong’s son, Emperor Gaozong. This talk examines
the validity of the received view by exploring associated Tang texts, the hidden motive behind
carving the stone horses, recent archaeological findings, and contemporary stone sculpture
erected at the mausoleum site.
Adam Valerio, Temple University
Buddhist Psychology: to Whom Does it Belong?
“Buddhist psychology” is a slippery category. As a mutually constructed article of Buddhist,
psychotherapeutic, and scholastic culture, it is fair to ask, “Who gets to define this term?” Its
semantic character shifts in accordance with its ownership—from Buddhist scholar to Western
psychologist to lay Buddhist to practitioner of Buddhist-inspired therapies such as Naikan and
Morita to contributor within the Japanese Buddhism Psychological Association—and thus new
psychologies and also new Buddhisms emerge. This talk will raise several crucial questions in
regard to this phenomenon, linking it to a project aimed at using the category of Buddhist
psychology as a lens for deepening our understanding of the relationship between psychology
and Buddhism, historically, philosophically, as fields of study, and as social forces.
Madeleine Wilcox, University of Pennsylvania
Shanghai’s Lane-House Musical Comedy Grows Up: Left-Wing Urban Films in the Civil War
Period
My dissertation, 'The Lane-house and the Role of Domestic Space in Shanghai’s Cinema,' uses
the hybrid space of the longtang fangzi, or lane-house, to uncover the ways in which
representation of domestic space in Shanghai’s left-wing film movement links revolutionary
politics and cinematic aesthetics. In my presentation I’ll compare scenes from 1937 Street Angels
and the 1948 Myriad of Lights to demonstrate a tonal shift in what I am calling the “lane-house
sensibility” as it moves from youthful musical comedy of the 1930s to the family dramas of the
late 1940s.
Dennis Stromback, Temple University
Understanding the Meaning of Violence through an Asian Theological Perspective
The dominant epistemological orientation on the structure of violence is grounded in dualistic
postures that champions noetic reflection--this mode of inquiry where the mind is reflecting on
the reflections of the world. While this view may seem innocuous, what is foreclosed, as a result,
is how the origins of violence may be found in the topological space of religious experiences’a
space where the absolute is realized to contain its own negation. I will cite Nishida Kitaro's
religious worldview as a mode of inquiry that can illuminates how dualistic positions that
privilege noetic reflection teeters on becoming problematic in regards to the subject of violence
because noetic reflection fails to unmask the deepest aspects of one's identity that may be
responsible for one's participation in violence.
Jeffrey Rice, The University of Delaware and The College of New Jersey
Re-creating Tang History in Eleventh-Century China
In eleventh-century China, the Song emperor commissioned a revision of the official history of
the Tang, which had been compiled one hundred years earlier. At the same time, the combination
of woodblock printing technology and a growing cash economy created an unprecedented boom
in book production and consumption, in which privately compiled books on history were very
popular. These competing versions of Tang history can shine a light on the motivations and
methods for revising Tang history, which furthers our understanding of both Tang history itself,
and of the historiographical practices of the Song authors who shaped that history.
Andrew Gardner, Temple University
The Philosophical Implications of Chih-i’s Threefold Truth
Chih-i, the founder of the T’ien-t’ai school of Buddhism, taught the doctrine of the “Threefold”
Truth. The teaching refers to the concepts of Emptiness, conventional existence, and the Middle
Way. Chih-i’s teaching is traditionally regarded as an extension of the Mādhyamika theory of the
Two Truths. This talk will examine the contribution that Chih-i makes to the Mādhyamika Two
Truth theory and discuss the philosophical implications of formulating the Truth of the Middle
Way.
PANEL C
Marcus Bingenheimer, Temple University
Names and Dates in Classical Chinese Digital Corpora
The talk will introduce the Digital Archive of Temple Gazetteers and show how dates, person
and place names are tagged. This tagging allows for a 'distant' reading of the gazetteers revealing
facts about the corpus that were previously unknown. We will also show how an onomastic
inquiry can guide research by leading to new research questions. Research into dates on the level
of corpus too will be shown to provide fruitful new perspectives into the history of sacred sites.
Kathlene Baldanza, Pennsylvania State University, University Park
Mongol Tactics in Vietnam
The three Mongol campaigns in Vietnam at the end of the thirteenth century are surprisingly
neglected in scholarly research. In his 1333 book, Annam Chi Luoc (“Brief History of Annam”),
the author, Le Tac recounts his own tragic encounter with Mongol troops and subsequent exile in
China. Annam Chi Luoc shows Asia in the midst of a military transition, as soldiers continued to
use war elephants while adopting deadlier gunpowder weapons. Using Annam Chi Luoc as a
source enriches our understanding of Mongol tactics and the toll their campaigns took within
Vietnam.
Zehao Zhou, York College of Pennsylvania
Using Prison Art as an Academic Resource to Teach Multidisciplinary and Critical Thinking
Skills and Support Curricular and Co-curricular Activities
This presentation will discuss multiple ways to use the Golden Venture refugee art created by
108 Chinese immigration detainees in the York County Prison between 1993 and 1997 to teach
critical thinking skills in multiple disciplines in a college setting. The presenter assisted the
refugees in the creation of the art works and was interviewed in 2013 by StoryCorps about his
volunteer experience with the detainees.
Bert Beynen, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, Temple University
The Symbolism of the Panther in the Literature of the Middle East
This paper analyses the panther in the Dionysus worship, Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh, and Shota
Rustaveli’s The Man in the Panther Skin (MPS): it indicates uncontrolled emotion. This explains
why Rostam puts on a panther skin in battle: in battle emotion need not be controlled. In
Dionysian rites the participants dress like animals since in the rites emotions are not controlled.
Avtandil, the hero of MPS, too, is like a panther in battle. Tariel, the second hero of MPS, wears
his panther skin when he cannot control his emotions.
Masako Nakagawa, Villanova University
Somei Uzawa (1872-1955) and Showa Japan
Somei Uzawa(1872-1955), born in Nagae was lawyer, politician and Judicial doctor. He led the
defense team at the time of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East. He was born in
Nagae, Chiba and graduated from Tokyo Imperial University. Uzawa was elected member of
Lower House in 1908 and served six terms. In 1928 he was elected member of House of Lords.
In 1934 he was appointed the first principal of Meiji Middle in 1912 School and the President of
Meiji University in 1934. He was also the first president of Meiji University Oratory Club. His
statues stand on Meiji University campus and at Meiji Middle School. At Tokyo Trial Uzawa, He
wrote books and articles on judicial prudence. Uzawa, chief of the defense section, gave the
closing statement. Uzawa’s life is closely integrated in Showa Japan.
Kin Cheung, Temple University
Emei Shan Tourism Company Ltd.: Sacred Buddhist Mountain listing in China’s Shenzhen Stock
Market
Since Mount Emei launched a publicly traded stock in 1997, other Chinese Buddhist sites in
China have made plans for their own Initial Public Offerings. Despite increasing scholarship on
Buddhist economics regarding tourism, commercialization, and consumerism, there is little
consideration towards Buddhist involvement in raising and growing capital through the
contemporary epitome of capitalism: the stock market. What exactly are the financial and
religious implications of buying, trading, or owning shares of a Buddhist mountain stock?
Looking at this unique development in fundraising will contribute to the overall conversation on
religious tourism, temple economics, and contemporary Chinese Buddhist engagement with
capitalism.