Institute of Buddhist Studies

10/15/2026

Next week, our Black-Asian Dialogue in Buddhist America series continues: Research Fellow Dr. Rima Vesely-Flad sits down with scholar and Soto Zen priest Duncan Ryuken Williams — author of American Sutra and The Other Side of Zen — for a conversation on solidarity, erasure, and shared ethical practice across Buddhist traditions.

This series asks hard, necessary questions about who gets credited for building American Buddhism, and what real solidarity looks like across communities.

Details and registration: www.shin-ibs.edu/event/badba2/

“How Do We Meet Each Other? Black-Asian Dialogue in Buddhist America” This conversation series brings Black and Asian-American Buddhist scholars and practitioners together for honest dialogue about what it means to practice Buddhism in America today. These conversation partners aim […]

10/13/2026

for future students: Spring 2027 applications to IBS are due November 1. If you’ve been thinking about a degree or certificate in Buddhist chaplaincy, ministry, or scholarship, now’s the time to get your materials together.
Our admissions team is happy to answer questions anytime: https://www.shin-ibs.edu/admissions/
(Instagram: swap the link for "check the link in our bio")

10/08/2026

Every book published, every scholarship awarded, every lecture hosted at IBS traces back to someone who decided to give — often in small, recurring amounts that add up over a year.

If you’ve ever set up a monthly gift to IBS, thank you. It’s quiet, steady support like yours that keeps this whole shelf of scholarship growing.

Consider setting up a recurring gift of your own: www.shin-ibs.edu/donate/

10/01/2026

Missed last week's book launch of Dr. Paula Arai's Of Mud and Lotuses: Dreaming the Lives of Buddhist Women? The event is now live on our YouTube channel! https://youtu.be/ZlIKWjtl5Ek

Dr. Arai holds the Eshinni and Kakushinni Professorial Chair in Women and Buddhist Studies at IBS — a chair that exists because donors believed women’s voices belong at the center of Buddhist scholarship.

Prof. Paula Arai discusses her new book, Of Mud & Lotuses: Dreaming...

09/29/2026

Tomorrow we kick off our new speaker series in a conversation with our very own Dean, the Rev. Dr. Takashi Miyaji.
https://www.shin-ibs.edu/event/badba1/
The series, "How do we meet each other? Black-Asian dialogue in Buddhist America”, will take up questions about ancestral practice and culture, appropriation and erasure, and what it means to evolve the Buddhist tradition to meet this political moment.

“How Do We Meet Each Other? Black-Asian Dialogue in Buddhist America” This conversation series brings Black and Asian-American Buddhist scholars and practitioners together for honest dialogue about what it means to practice Buddhism in America today. These conversation partners aim […]

09/24/2026

: what a week! Thank you to everyone who joined last night's book launch discussion with Dr. Paula Arai, and to Rev. Dr. Unapane Pemananda Thero for Tuesday's lecture.

And thank you, always, to the donors who sustain IBS's programs and make scholarship like this possible. To support the Institute, visit us at: www.shin-ibs.edu/donate/

09/16/2026

Join us next Wednesday September 23 for the official launch of Dr. Arai's newest book, Of Mud and Lotuses! Register here: https://www.shin-ibs.edu/event/book-launch-of-mud-and-lotuses/

Read an excerpt from the book on Tricycle Magazine's website — a moving reflection on grief, drawn from her years of research into the lives of Buddhist women: tricycle.org/article/paula-arai-grief

Or check out this interview on the Pathways of Practice podcast: youtu.be/6YU83ecAPfk

09/15/2026

Reminder! Join us next Tuesday evening at the Jodo Shinshu Center in Berkeley for a conversation with Rev. Dr. Unapane Pemananda Thero, a Sri Lankan Buddhist monk and scholar, on Bhikkhunī Identity in Contemporary Sri Lanka.

https://www.shin-ibs.edu/event/ibs-theravada-speaker-series-bhikkhuni-identity-in-contemporary-sri-lanka/

09/11/2026

“How do we meet each other? Black-Asian dialogue in Buddhist America” launches September 30, with new conversations each month through spring 2027.

Dr. Rima Vesely-Flad, Founding Director of the Initiative for Black Buddhist Studies and Research Fellow at the Institute of Buddhist Studies (IBS), is launching a new public conversation series exploring what it means to practice Buddhism in America today. How do we meet each other? Black-Asian dialogue in Buddhist America brings Black and Asian-American Buddhist scholars and practitioners together for honest, monthly conversations, live over Zoom.

Check out our website to learn more about this important series: https://www.shin-ibs.edu/new-conversation-series-brings-black-and-asian-american-buddhist-leaders-together-for-public-dialogue/

And follow Dr. Vesely-Flad's work here: https://blackbuddhiststudies.org

09/09/2026

, from Dr. Paula Arai's new book Of Mud and Lotuses: Dreaming the Lives of Buddhist Women:

"To hear Buddhist women's voices reverberating through our history and our hearts is liberating."

Dr. Arai holds the Eshinni and Kakushinni Professorial Chair in Women and Buddhist Studies at IBS — join us for her book launch discussion on Zoom, Wednesday, September 23.

https://www.shin-ibs.edu/event/book-launch-of-mud-and-lotuses/