Dhammic Ties Across the Straits: Buddhism in Indonesia and Malaysia

Date : Sunday, 14 Jun 2015 
Time : 10:00AM – 12:00PM
Venue : Buddha Dhamma Mandala Society
Speaker : Jack Chia (Cornell University) & Yulianti (Gadjah Mada University/Leiden University)

Synopsis
Singapore, a country with a Chinese (and Buddhist) majority, is surrounded by Muslim countries. Unknown to many Singaporean Buddhists, Buddhism takes up about 2 million of Indonesia’s population and is the second largest religion in Malaysia after Islam. In fact, the Buddhist communities in our two neighboring countries are vibrant and rooted in the Dhamma. This talk aims to provide a better understanding of Buddhism in Indonesia and Malaysia. It seeks to answer the following questions: Who are the Buddhists in Indonesia and Malaysia? What are their religious practices? What are the recent developments in our neighboring Buddhist communities? And finally,how can a better understanding of Buddhism in Indonesia and Malaysia benefit Buddhists in Singapore? Drawing on their research and expertise, Jack and Yuli will discuss the history and current state of Buddhism in Indonesia and Malaysia.

About the Speakers
Jack Meng-Tat Chia is a PhD candidate in Southeast Asian history at Cornell University. Born and raised in Singapore, he received his BA (Hons) and MA in history from the National University of Singapore, and his second MA in Regional Studies-East Asia from Harvard University, where he was a Harvard-Yenching Scholar. His research interests include Buddhism, Chinese popular religion, and overseas Chinese history. His articles have appeared in peer-reviewed journals such as China Quarterly, Journal of Chinese Religions, and SOJOURN. He is currently conducting research for his dissertation titled: “Diasporic Dharma: Buddhism and Modernity across the South China Sea.” Jack is a recent recipient of the prestigious Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation/ACLS Dissertation Fellowship in Buddhist Studies.

Yulianti is a PhD candidate based at the Gadjah MadaUniversity in Yogyakarta in the project “The Making of Religious Tradition in Indonesia: History and Heritage in Global Perspective (1600-1940),” jointly organized by Leiden University and Gadjah Mada University. She studied for her BA in Buddhist Studies at the International Theravada Buddhist Missionary University, Myanmar.Subsequently, she earned her MAs in Religion and Culture from Gadjah Mada University and Religious Studies fromFlorida International University. Her doctoral dissertation is titled “Producing Buddhism in Modern Indonesia (ca. 1930s-1950s): South and Southeast Asian Networks and Local Agencies.” Yuli is currently an Asian Graduate Student Fellow at the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore.

All Are Welcome !