Author Meets Author: Multiple Truths in Buddhist Studies

Intentionally breaking from the norms of intellectual argument, where one presents a thesis and defends it against critique from others, this roundtable provides an occasion for scholars to reflect and critique their work from multiple perspectives, some complimentary, some adversarial, some exploratory. Led by two moderators who begin by showcasing conflicting reflections on their own scholarship, each panelist will pick a category (gender, identity, state, violence, mind, pluralism, and disciplinary boundaries) and critically reflect on (at least) two modes of engaging with these categories in Buddhist Studies, by making rival arguments that are equally valid. This conversation aims to create a space of openness and vulnerability where difficult dialogues between emic Buddhist and religious studies categories can take place, in hopes that situating a multiplicity of epistemological categories in the mirrors of one another will provide a vantage from which both scholarly and Buddhist notions of truth can be revalued.