Contemporary Dhamma Lecture Series

Contemporary Dhamma Lecture Series #5
14 June, 2019

Landscape of the Mind
ภูมิสถาปัตยกรรม การออกแบบ และจิตใจ

by Wannaporn Phornprapha

General Manager of P-Landscape

Contemporary Dhamma Lecture Series # 4
31 May, 2019

DHAMMA : REDESIGN
What do Thai contemporary Buddhists need from the Dhamma ?

by  Paravi Albert Wongchirachai

What do Thai contemporary Buddhists need from the Dhamma ?

In a world driven by speed, appearance, and Instagram influencers, how do we keep the Buddhist path engaging and relevant? How can contemporary (Thai) Theravada keep its core paradigms of “nekkhamma”, while reaching out to new generation of Buddhists?  

One of the founders of Thailand Creative & Design Center (TCDC), Paravi Wongchirachai has been involved with the world of design and cultural startups throughout his career. He has a continuing interest in Buddhist contemplative practices, of the Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana traditions, and how the Buddhist path evolved throughout history to meet changing social and cultural needs.

His work focuses on visioning and designing content infrastructure for many public arts and cultural spaces, including Asian Civilizations Museum Singapore, Gastropedia by Dean & DeLuca, the Observation Deck at MahaNakhon, and Rivermuseum Bangkok.

Contemporary Dhamma Lecture Series # 3
26 April, 2019

The Arts and Contemplation - ศิลปะ-ชีวิต-ภาวนา
by Kamin Lertchaiprasert

Kamin Lertchaiprasert was born in Thailand in 1964; he lives and works as an contemporary artist in Chiang Mai. Throughout his career he has worked in a variety of media including painting, installation, printmaking, and sculpture.
Kamin believes that art—as a medium of communication—is one of the more powerful languages through which one is able to express and understand the meaning of life and the explanation of the truth. 

Kamin’s own present work is a contemporary interpretation of the Dhamma draws heavily on his contemplations of impermanence, of truth, and of the value of life: They are driven by his meditation practice, and are recognized as continually pushing the perceptions of Buddhist art.

A firm believer in the inextricability of art and the meaning of life, his participation at the Stimulating Cities with Art seminar at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art (Japan), inspired him to further opportunities for artistic collaborations nearer to home, and Kamin founded the 31st Century Museum of Contemporary Spirit (Chiang Mai), whose flexible exhibition space transforms according to the spirit of each exhibition. Kamin also co-founded The Land Foundation in Chiang Mai as an initiative to transform the region’s ubiquitous rice paddies into destinations for local art and architecture projects.

A graduate of the Faculty of Painting, Sculpture and Graphic Arts at Silpakorn University, (Bangkok), Kamin also studied at the Art Students League of New York. 

Today, Kamin continues to create art and hold exhibitions both in Thailand and abroad.

Contemporary Dhamma Lecture Series # 2
28 November, 2018

Digital Sūtras:Translation for the preservation of the Tibetan Buddhist Canon
by Pema Abrahams

84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha is a global, non-profit initiative with a 100-year vision to cohesively translate into modern languages, and to make available online, the entire Tibetan Buddhist Canon. With 43 teams of over 220 translators from across the world—from Harvard University to Rangjung Yeshe Institute— currently supported by 84000, and with an increasing number of sūtras published in its state-of-the-art online Reading Room, Pema creatively and operationally oversees 84000’s communications globally, across all print and all online digital platforms.

Pema Abrahams has almost a decade of varied experience across South and Southeast Asia as a development professional and as a cultural heritage advocate, and now works at the intersection of these two fields strengthening public engagement with arts and culture initiatives in Asia—and changing the conversations with stories that matter. Pema has spoken at the V&A Museum's Culture in Crisis program (London); at photo festivals in South Asia; been a recipient of a major grant from The British Library’s Endangered Archives Programme; founded a non-profit facilitating scholarship and encouraging creativity amongst youth in the Himalaya; appeared as a host on the documentary mini-series “Joanna Lumley’s India;” and has had articles published by Foreign Policy Magazine (US), The Kathmandu Post (Nepal), and Scroll.in (India) among others.

Prior to joining the cultural realm, Pema worked with International Crisis Group (London); for The Asia Foundation (Kathmandu); and for almost four years with Human Rights Watch (New York and New Delhi). She holds an MSc Conflict Studies, with a concentration in international humanitarian law, from London School of Economics; and a BA History and Art History from New York University, during which time she worked at the International Center of Photography; Art on Paper magazine; and at photographer Mark Seliger’s non-profit exhibition space, 401 Projects.  

Contemporary Dhamma Lecture Series # 1
31 October, 2018

Pali 4.0: A digital approach in learning Pali for the contemporary era
by Dr. Alexander Wynne

Alexander Wynne is Assistant Academic Director at the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies, and joint editor of the Journal of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies. His work focuses on the intellectual history of Indian Buddhism and the Theravāda tradition. He is the author of The Origin of Buddhist Meditation (Routledge, 2007), Buddhism: An Introduction (I. B. Tauris, 2015), and many more articles on early Buddhist thought and meditation.