Earlier this year, Associate Professor of Asian Studies Abhishek Amar was awarded a three-month invitational fellowship by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).
As a JSPS fellow, Amar is currently in Japan where he is focusing on his ongoing research. He recently presented two lectures related to his work, with additional presentations planned.
“Interactions with Built Environments of Bodhgaya” was presented at the University of Tokyo during the inaugural symposium of the JSPS-funded Vihara Project, which aims to study the connections between Buddhist institutions and secularity in early medieval South Asia. His lecture focused on rituals and political patronage at Bodhgaya, a UNESCO world heritage site in Eastern India.
Amar also presented a public lecture on “'International Buddhist Monasteries and Modern Worship at Bodhgaya” at the University of Tokyo’s Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia. In this talk, he examined the role of international Buddhist monasteries in facilitating modern worship and transforming Bodhgaya into a transnational pilgrimage destination.
