Buddhist Study Center’s Summer Session 2020: Online with Rev. Dr. Duncan Williams June 22-26

Interlinked: Understanding the Origins and
Evolution of American Buddhism

Rev. Dr. Duncan Williams in robes with hands together outdoors

The Buddhist Study Center will offer “Interlinked: Understanding the Origins and Evolution of American Buddhism,” a free online Buddhist study class series on June 22-26, 2020 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. (HST) featuring the noted scholar, Rev. Dr. Duncan Ryuken Williams, author of American Sutra, a groundbreaking book published in 2019.

The study class series will cover the Foundations of American Buddhism, Buddhism in Hawaii during World War II, Religious Freedom and Buddhism during World War II, American Buddhism and Ecology, and Buddhist Social Engagement in a series of five two-hour lectures over five evenings.

Pre-registration is not required and the lectures are free and open to the public. Donations to the Buddhist Study Center are gratefully accepted in the spirit in which they are given.

Complete information on the BSC website

The link for participating in the online Summer Session will be available on the Summer Session page of the Buddhist Study Center website. You may visit the page now for more information, including the nightly schedule of topics and suggested readings. If you have questions, call the Buddhist Study Center at (808) 973-6555 or email kwong@honpahi.org.

About Professor Duncan Ryuken Williams

Duncan Williams wearing lei gestures at the podium

Dr. Williams is an Associate Professor of Religion at the University of Southern California and the Director of the USC Shinso Ito Center for Japanese Religions and Culture. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University and previously held the Shinjo Ito Distinguished Chair of Japanese Buddhism at University of California at Berkeley He is the author of many publications, including The Other Side of Zen: A Social History of Sôtô Zen Buddhism in Tokugawa Japan (Princeton, 2005). In 2019, he published American Sutra, a groundbreaking history that tells the little-known story of how, in one of our country’s darkest hours, Japanese Americans fought to defend their faith and preserve religious freedom.

About the Buddhist Study Center

Buddhist Study Center in Honolulu as seen from University Ave

The Buddhist Study Center (BSC) was established in 1972 as a part of the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii (HHMH). HHMH is a statewide organization affiliated with the worldwide Jodo Shinshu (True Pure Land Buddhism) Hongwanji-ha.

Located next to the University of Hawaii at Manoa campus, the BSC has a close working relationship with UH faculty in the Department of Religion.

The BSC also works with other educational institutions, religious groups, and community programs. The BSC serves as the Hawaii office of Ryukoku University, a major Shinshu Buddhist institution of Japan, and as the Hawaii branch office for the International Association of Shin Buddhist Studies.