Henrik H. Srensen, as a co-founder in 1987 of the Seminar for Buddhist Studies, has served as a director from 1998 onwards. He obtained his doctorate from the University of Copenhagen. His areas of research include Korean and Chinese Buddhism with special emphasis on the medieval periods, as well as the related art and material culture. He is presently working on a book on the Empowerment of Relics in Korean Bud-dhism, as well as being a contributor to the Tantric Buddhism in East Asia Project. E-mail: hensor@hotmail.com.
關鍵詞
Korean Buddhism=韓國佛教; European scholarship=歐洲學術成就; Samguk yusa; Seon; Goryeo; Buddhist art=佛教藝術; Japanese colonial period=日治時期; Buddhist rituals=佛教儀軌
摘要
This essay traces the development of interest in the study of Korean Buddhism in Europe over the past four decades. Unlike Japan and the United States, where academic interest in Korean Buddhism had been rapidly developing since the end of World War II, Europe lagged far behind and it was not until well into the 1970s that the situation began to slowly change. In this period Korean Buddhist studies was in its infancy in Europe, and it was mainly dominated by general topics, articles, and comparative issues. During the 1980s, a growing number of scholars in Europe turned their attention to Korean Buddhism, and in the 1990s, the terrain changed dramatically. Especially interest in the Seon tradition began to captivate the minds of scholars. Towards the end of the decade a new generation of scholars had appeared on the scene, and at present, Europe can boast a relatively large and growing contingent of scholars whose work reflects various approaches to the study of the religion, which includes the study of epigraphical texts and the relationship between Buddhist church and state. It is probably no exaggeration to say that Europe has by now overtaken the United States as the leading academic force in the study of Korean Buddhism.
目次
Introduction 213 The Beginnings 214 Maturation 215 The “New Wave” 218 Postscript: The Future of Korean Buddhist Studies in Europe 223 REFERENCES 225
