Esoteric Buddhism and Vajrayāna in China

Third International Conference on Vajrayāna Buddhism, 19-20 April 2019

The Third International Conference on Vajrayāna Buddhism was held from 19 to 20 April 2019, at Zhichenkhar, Thimphu, Bhutan.

The conference was organised by The Centre for Bhutan & GNH Studies and The Central Monastic Body.

Vajrayāna Buddhism is often referred to as the “Path of Skillful Methods” in reference to its diversity of means for realising enlightenment in a single lifetime. The theme for the Third Vajrayāna Conference was thus “Techniques in Vajrayāna Buddhism”.

The conference sought to identify the characteristics of Vajrayāna Buddhism that distinguish it from other modes of Buddhist practice. The conference explored the diverse ways in which the techniques of Vajrayāna Buddhism could be adapted and made relevant to a modern, transcultural, scientifically driven, and environmentally challenged world.

Biographical Profiles

Graham Lock has a BA in Chinese from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London and a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Sydney. From 1990 to 2008 he was a Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor at the City University of Hong Kong, where he taught courses and researched in linguistics, applied linguistics and second language education. He was also a student of Ven. Bhikkhu Saddhaloka for more than ten years, until the latter's passing in December 2013. With the Venerable, he studied a range of Chinese Buddhist texts, learning to translate them into English and to use reference works essential for elucidating the meanings of the texts. Upon taking early retirement in 2008, Dr. Lock was able to work more intensively on the Chinese texts, and together with Gary S. Linebarger, published Chinese Buddhist Texts: An Introductory Reader (Routledge, 2018).
Anthony Ho was a librarian at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University until 2017.
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Day One - April 19, 2019
Opening Ceremony
Panel I: The Path of Skillful Means
Panel II: Philosophical Basis of Vajrayāna Buddhism
Panel III: Mind-Body Practices in Vajrayāna

Day Two
Panel IV: Vajrayāna and Modern Science
Panel V: Great Historical Figures in Vajrayāna Buddhism
Panel VI: Historical and Contemporary Practices of Vajrayāna
Panel VII: Vajrayāna Buddhism in the Modern World
Concluding Session