H- SYMPOSIUM: THE SIGNIFICANCE OF TRIPITAKA AS WORLD HERITAGE

Discussion published by Deegalle on Wednesday, March 20, 2019 Type: Symposium Date: March 16, 2019 Location: Subject Fields: Area Studies, Asian History / Studies, Religious Studies and Theology, South Asian History / Studies, Southeast Asian History / Studies SYMPOSIUM: THE SIGNIFICANCE OF TRIPITAKA AS WORLD HERITAGE

Date: 16 March 2019 at 2 pm Location: The London Buddhist , W4 1UD

The Sri Lankan High Commission in London has organized this symposium in association with the .

Presenters include the following: (1) Professor Rupert Gethin (University of Bristol): “The Tripitaka: Its Significance as a source for the study of ”

(2) Dr. Elizabeth Harris (University of Birmingham): “The Tripitaka as Part of World’s Heritage of Spiritual Resources: A personal response”

Citation: Mahinda Deegalle. SYMPOSIUM: THE SIGNIFICANCE OF TRIPITAKA AS WORLD HERITAGE. H-Asia. 03-20-2019. https://networks.h-net.org/node/22055/discussions/3899505/symposium-significance-tripitaka-world-heritage Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. 1 H-Asia (3) Professor Mahinda Deegalle (Bath Spa University): “’s Occupation with the Tripitaka: Ancient and Modern Contributions to the Preservation and Understanding of Buddhavacana, the ‘Word’ of the Buddha”

(4) Dr. Martin Seager (University of Leeds): “Influence of the Pali Tipitaka Canon on Buddhist Traditions in South Asia.”

The context for this symposium is an event that took place in Sri Lanka. In responding to demands from activists against distortions of the ‘Word’ of the Buddha by idiosyncratic translations of some Sinhalese, President Maithripala Sirisena of Democratic Republic of Sri Lanka declared the Tripitaka as a National Heritage on 5 January 2019. In addition, the week of 16-22 March 2019 has been declared as Tripitaka Week with celebrations organized around the country and abroad. The current plan is to enter the Buddhist Tripitaka in the Memory of Register at UNESCO. Contact Info:

Professor Mahinda Deegalle

Professor of Religions, Philosophies and Ethics

Bath Spa University

Newton Park

Citation: Mahinda Deegalle. SYMPOSIUM: THE SIGNIFICANCE OF TRIPITAKA AS WORLD HERITAGE. H-Asia. 03-20-2019. https://networks.h-net.org/node/22055/discussions/3899505/symposium-significance-tripitaka-world-heritage Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. 2 H-Asia

Bath BA2 9BN

United Kingdom

Contact Email: [email protected]

Citation: Mahinda Deegalle. SYMPOSIUM: THE SIGNIFICANCE OF TRIPITAKA AS WORLD HERITAGE. H-Asia. 03-20-2019. https://networks.h-net.org/node/22055/discussions/3899505/symposium-significance-tripitaka-world-heritage Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. 3