Lectures on Buddhism, Business and Believers

On March 16-17, the workshop and lectures on the topic of "Buddhism, Business and Believers (BBB)- Exchange, Mediation, Creation of Value" was convened by Associate Professor in South-East Asian Studies Alexander Horstmann at the Tallinn University School of Humanities.

The workshop introduced the Danish Research Council funded collaborative research project to the Tallinn University Centre of Excellence in Intercultural Studies, to our Asian Studies colleagues, to our Asian Studies Master students, and all interested colleagues in the School of Humanities. The objective of BBB is to inquire into contemporary relations between business and Buddhism through bridging language-based area studies, religious studies, anthropology, and economics. The lectures presented and discussed concepts of exchange, mediation, and value creation, among other concepts of material culture and exchanges. Workshop participants included Trine Brox (PI) (ToRS, Copenhagen), Elizabeth Ørberg (ToRS, Copenhagen), Alexander Horstmann (Tallinn).

Alexander Horstmann gave a lecture on “Charismatic capitalism: Re-building the Land of the Buddha in the Golden Triangle”. Trine Brox gave a lecture on "Economy and Buddhism in a Sino-Tibetan Contact Zone". Elizabeth Ørberg gave a lecture on "The Spectacle of Buddhist Rituals: Recent Transformations of Monastery Festivals in Leh, Ladakh". Also, the publication activities and the next conference in Denmark in May 2017 was discussed in further.

The lectures were very well received, and the lectures were discussed again in the Alexander Horstmann's course on “Popular Buddhism in Asia.” The BBB members enjoyed their stay at Tallinn University and hope to visit again. 

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