RFG Talk: The Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan

Pakistan is today a Muslim country, and it has been so for nearly a thousand years. But before that, Buddhism thrived in the area known today as Pakistan, especially in the regions of Gandhara, Gilgit, and Baltistan. In this talk, José Cabezón will explore the Buddhist heritage of Pakistan through a virtual tour of some of its most important Buddhist sites, with examples of the exquisite art of Gandhara found in Pakistan’s major museums.

José Ignacio Cabezón is Research Professor and Dalai Lama Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His wide-ranging research interests in various aspects of Tibetan religious traditions and religious studies include Madhyamaka philosophy, gender and sexuality, classical South Asian political ethics, and Tibetan rituals. The recipient of many awards and fellowships, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2019 and served as president of the American Academy of Religion in 2020. The author of numerous books and articles, his most recent publications include Sexuality in Classical South Asian Buddhism (Wisdom Publications, 2017), a landmark study of classical Buddhist theories of sexuality, and Sera Monastery (Wisdom Publications, 2019), the most comprehensive history of a Tibetan monastery in a Western language.

Sponsored by the IHC’s South Asian Religions and Cultures Research Focus Group