Events Calendar

Asian Moon Festival Lecture 'Kuan-Yin (Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara) - Empathy and Empowerment through Many Images'

Thursday, 15 September, 2016

Sept. 15    11:30 a.m. Asian Studies Lecture: “Kuan-Yin (Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara): Empathy and Empowerment through Many Images” by “Hsiao-Lan Hu, Ph.D., associate professor in religious studies and women’s and gender studies at the University of Detroit Mercy. McIlhenny Ballroom, DeNaples Center. Free. Call 570-941-7643 or email asianstudies@scranton.edu. A light vegetarian lunch will be provided.

In celebration of the Asian Moon Festival -a traditional autumn harvest festival - the University of Scranton will host a lecture on East Asian Buddhism and an Asian tea ceremony and workshop. Both events, offered free of charge and open to the public, are planned for Thursday, Sept. 15. 

Synopsis of the lecture:
Avalokiteśvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, also known by the name Kuan-Yin, Kannon, Kwan Um, Quan Am or Chenrezig, the “Perceiver of the Cries of the World,” is the most popular bodhisattva in the Buddhist world. Many Mahāyāna Buddhists, especially those who have chanted “The Universal Gate” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra, are also familiar with the concept that Kuan-Yin may take different forms to liberate sentient beings. The forms include male and female, old and young, elite and common, and human and non-human. Through an examination of the multiplication and transformation of Kuan-Yin’s many images, this talk offers a reflection on the empathy and empowerment that Kuan-Yin provided for East Asian Buddhist women in history, and what s/he can provide for the gender, sexual and ethnic minorities in the modern time.
 
About the speaker:
Dr. Hu’s research interests include philosophy and social history of early Buddhism, engaged Buddhism, liberation theology, comparative religious social ethics, religions and globalization, religious pluralism, peace studies, poststructuralist feminist theory, religions and sexuality, and identity theories.

Dr. Hu’s lecture will take place at 11:30 a.m. in the McIlhenny Ballroom of The DeNaples Center. 

Contact:

Ann A. Pang-White

Phone: 570-941-7643
Website: Click to Visit

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DeNaples Center, McIlhenny Ballroom (407A)

900 Mulberry Street
 Scranton, PA 18510