Buddhism and the Senses

We’re pleased to announce a forthcoming book, Buddhism and the Senses, a collection of essays organized around the theme of the five senses. Please join the waitlist below and be the first to learn more about the volume and when it becomes available. Additionally, we’d like to recommend HKU Centre of Buddhist Studies’ 20th Anniversary Series, Buddhism and the Senses, with lectures given by several of the volume’s contributors—Donald Lopez, Robert DeCaroli, Lina Verchery, James Robson, and Reiko Ohnuma.

Sign up for the Waitlist

About the Series:

Western sources sometimes describe Buddhism as a “world denying religion”. Philosophically, Buddhism is known for its “sense skepticism,” its claim that the senses cannot be relied upon to provide accurate knowledge of the world. The lives of Buddhist monks and nuns have been described in terms of the restraint of the senses. And yet Buddhism has produced stunning sense objects throughout its history, inspiring the cultures of Asia, and now the world. This lecture series, delivered by some of the world’s leading scholars of Buddhism, will explore the Buddhist tradition’s complicated relationship to the five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch.

Click here to learn more and register now.

The remaining lectures include:

February 25, 3:30 AM EST (4:30-6:30 PM HKT) – Lina Verchery, Sense of Smell

March 4, 7:00 AM EST (8:00-10:00 PM HKT) – James Robson, Sense of Taste

March 11, 7:00 AM EST (8:00-10:00 PM HKT) – Reiko Ohnuma, Sense of Touch

March 18, 7:00 AM EST (8:00-10:00 PM HKT) – Donald Lopez, Conclusion