The gift will be distributed over the next five years and will play a significant role in advancing Buddhist scholarship at the University. Asian Studies interviewed Jamie Yang, a representative of the Sheng Yen Education Foundation, about the gift and the foundation.
Why has your foundation decided to develop Buddhist Studies in collaboration with universities?
Master Sheng Yen established the Sheng Yen Education Foundation (SYEF) in 2006 with the mission of advancing the promotion of Chinese Buddhism worldwide. It is our belief that through education, Buddhist studies will be able to grow and benefit our lives. Since 2007, our foundation has set up several academic sponsorships with different universities (such as Columbia University and the University of California-Berkeley).
The opening ceremony of the Sheng Yen International Buddhist Conference on 7/1/2016.
How did your foundation take note of UBC? Why did you decide to collaborate with us?
Through Venerable Chang Wu’s (from the Dharma Drum Vancouver Center) introduction and also through some other acquainted scholars in the field, we discovered the growing Department of Asian Studies at the prestigious University of British Columbia. We learned that increasing numbers of students are interested in studying Asian culture and even Buddhism and, so, the SYEF board began seriously thinking about a collaboration with UBC.
What sorts of distinguishing features does your foundation have in spreading the Dharma?
SYEF has not only set up sponsorships with different universities worldwide – we also organize International Buddhist Conferences. We just had our 6th Sheng Yen International Buddhist Conference in Taipei with UBC’s Prof. Jinhua Chen as one of our keynote speakers. Other than these activities, we provide short-term research funding, scholarships for thesis and dissertation writing, and funding for research publications.
Group photo of the attending scholars after the Sheng Yen International Buddhist conference concluded on 7/3/2016.
