July 15th event in Phnom Penh: Buddhism, "The Opposite of Buddhism"

This isn't a "typical" announcement for Khmerization to post on the
website, however, (1) you do run stories about the state of Buddhism
in Cambodia, and (2) your website probably has at least a few regular
readers who would be interested in attending this lecture ... if
they're in Phnom Penh. On the 15th, the lecture will be in English
only: I am hoping to (subsequently) translate the full text into
Khmer, and then present it again to a broader audience.

Time and Place:

15th of July 2010
6pm – Baitong Restaurant
(7 Street 360/ Norodom Bd, Beung Keng Kang I)

http://hshhpp.pbworks.com/

The lecture is very much addressed to a Cambodian audience, and makes
explicit links to the problems Cambodian students and scholars are
facing today (in "inheriting" the European tradition of Buddhist
studies).

Best wishes,
E.M.


[Title:] The Opposite of Buddhism: European Colonialism and Interpretation

[Author:] Eisel Mazard

[Abstract/Synopsis:] The legacy of European scholarship is burdened
with distorting biases; conversely, the "canon" of this scholarship is
increasingly available in digital formats, instantly accessible, and
used throughout Asia (even within Buddhist monasteries) and
incorporated into (seemingly) indigenous versions of Buddhist texts.
The formative influence of Imperialism, Christianity, Theosophy and
Aryan race theory in early European (mis-)interpretations of Theravada
Buddhism continues to have implications for the current generation of
scholars --both in Asia and in Europe. This lecture broaches some of
the outstanding problems of interpretation in the European tradition,
tracing out a few patterns over a period of centuries, with some
distortions originating in European colonialism but continuing to have
salience to debates about the content of Buddhist philosophy that
are ongoing (in Asia and Europe) today.

[About the Author:] Eisel Mazard is a scholar of Pali, the most
ancient language and literature of Theravada Buddhism, and of the
history, languages and politics of Theravada Asia. His research has
primarily concerned mainland Southeast Asia: Cambodia, Laos, Yunnan
and Thailand.

[Website:] http://www.pali.pratyeka.org/
[A list of recent articles:] http://profiles.tigweb.org/EM0