Vesak 2021 – 28 de maio

Ravindra Panth is an erudite Buddhist Scholar an expert of the ancient Pali language. He has deep understanding of the teachings of Buddha and their application. He also has in-depth knowledge on the Buddhist Heritage of India and its importance. He has edited and published more than 20 books and has written 75 Research Papers. He remained the Director/VC of Nava Nalanda Mahavihara (NNM), Nalanda, a unique Institution under the Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India, from 2000 to 2016. Dr. Panth also had the honour of serving as the Director, Vipassana Research Institute for 14 years devoting to Patipatti (practice) and Pativedan (experience) under the guidance of Vipassana Acharya Dr S N Goenka. He is an Executive Member of the Association of Theravada Buddhist Universities (ATBU), Bangkok, Thailand and Executive Member of the International Association of Buddhist Universities (IABU), Bangkok, Thailand. Due to his achievements in the field of Buddhist Studies, Ministry of Religious Affairs, Government of the Union of Myanmar conferred the prestigious title of “Mahāsadhammajotikadhaja” in recognition of his contribution to the purification, perpetuation and propagation of Buddha’s teaching in 2008.

Sanjoy Barua Chowdhury holds a Ph.D in Buddhist Studies from Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University, Thailand (2019); a M.A., with distinction, in Religious Studies from the International Buddhist College of Thailand (2015); a B.A. with honors, in the faculty of Religious Studies and Philosophy from the International Buddhist College of Thailand (2013). He taught courses related to History, Religious Studies and Buddhist Philosophy at Mahapajapati Buddhist College for five years (2015 – 2020). Dr. Sanjoy has been teaching a course, titled “A Survey of Abhidharma Schools” for M.A. students enrolled in the Buddhist Studies programs at the International Buddhist College (IBC) in Thailand. This program is affiliated with Than Hsiang Research Center of Malaysia. Co-authoring the book, Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha, he also authored numerous academic research papers based on various aspects of Buddhist philosophical, psychological and spiritual thought. He currently serves as a teaching fellow and a visiting scholar from Asia at Dharma College, Berkeley, California, USA. His research interests are in the field of Religion and Asia Studies, Buddhist Philosophy and Psychology, Pāli and Sanskrit scriptures, Peace and Conflict Resolution in Southeast Asia.

Abraham Vélez de Cea is professor of Buddhism and World Religions at Eastern Kentucky University since 2006. Born in Saragossa, Spain, Dr. J. Abraham Vélez de Cea taught Buddhist Ethics and Buddhist-Christian Mysticism in the department of theology at Georgetown University.
He has published five books in Spanish and two in English, The Buddha and Religious Diversity (Routledge, 2013), Buddhist Responses to Religious Diversity: Theravada and Tibetan Perspectives (Equinox 2020). He has also published several articles about diverse aspects of Buddhist Ethics, early Buddhist thought, and Buddhist-Christina dialogue in peer-reviewed journals including Philosophy East &West, Sophia, Journal of Interreligious Dialogue, Buddhist Studies Review, Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, Journal of Buddhist Ethics, Journal of Buddhist-Christian Studies. His research interests include the life of the Buddha from the perspective of Virtue Ethics and Meditation, Buddhist attitudes toward religious diversity, Theravāda-Mahāyāna dialogue, Buddhist-Christian dialogue.

Giuseppe Ferraro atualmente é professor visitante do departamento de Filosofia da UFMG, sendo doutor e pós-doutor em Filosofia pela Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Sua tese, sobre o pensamento de Nāgārjuna, recebeu os prêmios “melhor tese” em filosofia pela Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG) e pela Associação Nacional Pós-graduação em Filosofia (ANPOF). Tem mestrado em Ciências Políticas e em Filosofia da Índia pela Universidade La Sapienza de Roma, onde foi orientado pelos professores Raniero Gnoli, Raffaele Torella e Corrado Pensa. É autor de vários artigos sobre o buddhismo publicados em revistas nacionais e internacionais (como, o Journal of Indian Philosophy e Philosophy East & West, além de outros), alguns capítulos de livros em publicações nacionais e cinco livros dedicados ao pensamento de Nāgārjuna, entre os quais a tradução comentada dos “Versos fundamentais do Caminho do Meio” (Mūlamadhyamakakārikā) e da “Dissolução das controvérsias” (Vigrahavyāvartanī), que deve ser lançado pela editora Phi nas próximas semanas. Também no prelo, pela editora Associação Buda Dharma, é uma sua “História da filosofia budista indiana”, que deve sair no próximo semestre.