An academic conference titled “Buddhism and Research: A Case Study of Nan Tien Institute in Australia and UTAR in Malaysia”, and Humanistic Buddhism Series Book Donation Ceremony, were held in UTAR Kampar Campus on 27 June 2023. The event was organised by UTAR Centre for Chinese Studies and Nan Tien Institute (NTI) of Australia, in collaboration with Fo Guang Shan Malaysia, Kinta Buddhist Society, and I Culture Berhad.

In his remarks, UTAR Centre for Chinese Studies Chairperson Assoc Prof Dr Wong Wun Bin, who is also the Head of UTAR Humanistic Buddhism Studies Unit, said, “UTAR Centre for Chinese Studies aims to bring together various Buddhist organisations, because we wish to enable mutual interactions and visitations among them. We found that there are increasing social issues, yet, many people lack mental sustenance to tackle them. This makes religious belief an essential trend for humans in the future. By organising more community-driven events, we hope to make Buddhism a widely-recognised religion and guide the society towards a better future.”

Representing UTAR President Ir Prof Dato’ Dr Ewe Hong Tat, Faculty of Science (FSc) Dean Assoc Prof Dr Lim Tuck Meng said, “As a worldwide religion, Buddhism has a vast collection of doctrines, rich philosophical systems, and systematic ethical norms. It has made many contributions to the history of civilisation and development of human society. With the continuous innovation and rapid development of biotechnology, artificial intelligence (AI), and other modern technological research, we must not ignore the importance of humanities research and religious research. This is because it will not only be a significant ideological force to promote the development of our human world, but also acts as a pillar of world harmony. Therefore, I am looking forward to more academic collaborations between UTAR and NTI.”

Representing Fo Guang Shan Malaysia, Fo Guang Shan Ipoh Superintendent Venerable Hui Shing donated Chinese literary and Buddhist classics — “365 Days for Travelers” to UTAR. “This book is unique as it is rich in Chinese cultural elements, which we hope to pass on to different groups,” commented Venerable Hui Shing.

During the book giving ceremony, UTAR Centre for Chinese Studies, UTAR Humanistic Buddhism Studies Unit, Fo Guang Shan Institute of Humanistic Buddhism, and Fo Guang Shan Malaysia, donated an assortment of Humanistic Buddhism books to various organisations, including UTAR Library, Kinta Buddhist Society, Kuan Im Theon Temple, Persatuan Buddhist Hilir Perak, and I Culture Berhad.

The first speaker of the academic conference was NTI Humanistic Buddhism Centre Director Venerable Dr Juewei. She explained the state of Buddhism Studies research in Australia, saying, “Since 2001, most of the research funds were allocated by the Australian Research Council to the field of science and technology. Very little is done to support research of Buddhism Studies in Australia. Many Buddhism Studies courses are merged with Asian and language studies; hence, it is fortunate that NTI remains the only higher education institution to offer Buddhism Studies programmes in Australia.”

Venerable Dr Juewei shared that research on Buddhism Studies started as a community-driven project at NTI Humanistic Buddhism Centre. It led to the official introduction of NTI postgraduate study of Humanistic Buddhism. Nonetheless, she explained that the lack of English research materials has made the development of Humanistic Buddhism a difficult task. To tackle the issue, NTI decided to build a bibliography of Humanistic Buddhism by spearheading research and translating Chinese research materials to English language. “The translation is made possible by crowdsourcing bilingual volunteers around the world via Internet. It goes through the process of ‘Ultimate Glossing’, in which the translators would attempt to translate the original intention conveyed by the authors, because the linguistic structures of Chinese and English languages are very much different. By doing so, nobody translates alone and the final products will be good,” explained Venerable Dr Juewei about the translation process.

Moreover, Venerable Dr Juewei also showed that some readers of the NTI journal — “Studies on Humanistic Buddhism” are from countries without Fo Guang Shan temples, such as Serbia, Spain and even Czech Republic.  “Through digital media, we get to know their interests in Humanistic Buddhism Studies. In the future, perhaps we could help them with the studies research,” she said.

The second speaker of the academic conference was Dr Wong Wun Bin. In his sharing, he enlightened the participants on the state of Buddhism Studies in Malaysia, saying, “Buddhist studies in Malaysia is no exception as it lacks funding and support from the government.” He mentioned that one of the possible developments of Buddhism is academic development; however, academic study of Buddhism is rare in Malaysia as it requires academic training via higher education institution. In hope to vitalise Buddhism Studies in Malaysia, Dr Wong shared that UTAR has collaborated with Malaysian Buddhist Institute in talent training. He said, “We hope that more students could do research in Buddhism Studies and, at the same time, provide them with a professional path in the future.”

Dr Wong also shared some works by the Centre for Chinese Studies. One of them were the compilation of a list of more than 400 influential Chinese in Malaysia, in the last 300 years. Among the individuals, ten of them are related to Buddhism. Dr Wong stated that the first and second generations of immigrants in Malaysia played a crucial role in the development of Buddhism Studies, because some of them introduced Buddhist philosophies to the cultural and religious circles of Malaysia. In addition, Dr Wong shared some past events organised in collaboration with various Buddhist organisations, such as Kinta Buddhist Society, Fo Guang University, and Buddha’s Light International Association (BLIA).

During the Q&A session, Dr Wong explained the significance of academic study in Buddhism Studies. He stated that the studies and experiences recorded by the past Buddhist practitioners would not only assist the future’s Buddhist practitioners in pursuing knowledge and enlightenment, but also pass down their wisdom and belief to the future generations. “Take for example, the words and deeds of Venerable Master Hsing Yun are not forgotten, because they live on in his works,” Dr Wong enthused.

Also present at the event were Fo Guang Shan Oceania Chief Abbess Venerable Manko, Fo Guang Shan Ipoh Chairman Tan Guat Nga, Persatuan Buddhist Hilir Perak Chairman Albert Chuah Chong Hong, Kuan Im Theon Temple Representative Thun Wai Mun, Kinta Buddhist Society General Affair Lam Siew Peng, I Culture Berhad Manager Chan Hui Cheng, UTAR Faculty of Business and Finance Deputy Dean for Academic Development and Undergraduate Programmes Dr Peter Tan Sin Howe, UTAR Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS) Head of Department of Chinese Studies (Kampar Campus) Dr Toh Teong Chuan, UTAR Library Head Hew Yoke Far, UTAR staff and students; and delegates of Fo Guang Shan Ipoh, Persatuan Buddhist Hilir Perak, Kuan Im Theon Temple, Kinta Buddhist Society, and UTAR.