Buddhist College Singapore 新加坡佛学院

English Talk by Dr. Thomas Borchert

On 19 April (Wednesday) afternoon 2:00pm, Dr. Thomas Borchert was invited by Buddhist College of Singapore (BCS) to give an English talk on “Chinese Buddhists or Buddhists in China: The Case of the Theravada Buddhists of Yunnan Province”. Lecturers and students from BCS attended the talk.

Dr. Thomas Borchert is an assistant professor of religious studies at the University of Vermont, specializing in Theravada Buddhism. He has conducted research on Buddhist Education in Xishuangbanna and religion and politics in Thailand. Currently, Dr. Borchert is a visiting research fellow at the Nalanda-Sriwijaya Centre at ISEAS.

During the talk, Dr. Borchert looked into the practice of Theravada Buddhism in Yunnan Province and whether the people are understood as “Buddhists in China” or “Chinese Buddhists”. There were points made on national, ethnic and religious identity. The topic was interesting and questions were raised towards the end of the talk.