Preface

Abstract

The Volume Two of the Journal of The International Association of Buddhist Universities, JIABU, is now in your hand. I regret that it has come out a few months overdue. The IABU is a new academic block that aims to reach out beyond scholastic community and this means that at times the resources are spread thin and wide. However, the IABU as a whole is determined that the JIABU comes out annually and is of the highest possible academic standard. While the Volume One (2008) consists of articles from scholars all well-established in their fields, this Volume Two (2009) comprises of eight articles, two of which are from emerging scholars, Dion Peoples and Pram Sounsamut, both of whom are active in research and teaching. The inclusion of their good work here advances the goal of the IABU in encouraging the younger generation of scholars to realize their potential.
The other articles mainly focus on the topics popular to both researchers and practitioners in the world. They are, for example, Buddhist meditation in the West (Sarah Shaw); Buddhist Psychology (Padmasiri de Silva); science and Buddhism (Colin Butler) and the impact of globalization on different Buddhist schools (Asanga Tilakaratne). Justin McDaniel and Pram Sounsamut’s articles also focus on important areas but within Thailand. Andreas Doctor’s is the only article on Mahayana Buddhism in this volume and we hope more good research articles on Mahayana Buddhism will be included in the next volumes. Doctor’s area of focus is also popular but little has been published in modern languages of such controversy on either revelation of treasured teaching or reincarnation.