Abstract:There are many facets of Buddhism. One among them is the Theravadatradition. Even in Theravada there are diverse traditions and practicesthanks to the different cultures like those of Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia. In this talk Professor Charles Willemenexamines whether the Sri Lankan Theravada Buddhism is really the Traditional Sangha.

About the Speaker:Charles Willemen holds his M. A. in Classics (Latin and Greek), and Ph. D.(1971) in Oriental Studies from Ghent University, Belgium. He has been aUniversity Professor at Ghent University since 1980. Currently he is Rector, International Buddhist College, Songkhla, Thailand. He is alsoMember, Belgian Royal Academy of Sciences (Overseas Sciences). Hisexpertise is on Sarvastivada Buddhism (of Gandhara-Kashmir c. 1st Century BC-5th Century AD) and Chinese Buddhism. He had been Advising Professor atShanghai East China Normal University, Visiting Professor at BeijingLanguage and Culture University, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. He has published extensively about Buddhismin South and East Asia and on Chinese Art. His works include The Chinese Udanavarga - a Collection of Important Odes of the Law: Fa Chi Yao SungChing (Peeters, 1978), The Chinese Hevajratantra: The Scriptural Text ofthe Ritual of the Great King of the Teaching, the Adamantine One with Great Compassion and Knowledge of the Void (Peeters, 1983), Sarvastivada:Buddhist Scholasticism (Brill, 1997), The Chinese Hevajratantra(Delhi:Motilal Banarsidass, 2004), Defining the Image: Measurements in Image-Making (Sri Satguru, 2006), The Essence of Scholasticism:Abhidharmahrdaya (2006),The Treatise on the Elucidation of the Knowable:The Cycle of the Formation of the Schismatic Doctrines (Numata, 2006), TheScriptural Text: Verses of the Doctrine, with Parables (Numata, 2006), TheChinese Buddhacarita (2009), and India on the Silk Route (Buddhist WorldPress, 2010). A Collection of Important Odes of the Law (Berkeley:Institute of Buddhist Studies and BDK America, 2013).