It aims to be a center for expertise, education and academic research with regard to the various Buddhist traditions in their societal context, and the dialogue they engage in with a.o. Christianity, secularism, spiritual care, psychology and medical sciences. It especially focuses on the place and function of Buddhism in the Netherlands and Europe.

Research

The research of the CBD aims at furthering the societal integration of Buddhism in the Dutch society. This research is academically excellent, innovative, and societally and religiously relevant. The researchers of the CBD are involved in the following research projects:

• The meeting of Asian Buddhism with Western modernity. This project consists of the subprojects of André van der Braak (Reimagining Zen in a Secular Age: Zen Buddhism in Charles Taylor’s Immanent Frame) and Henk Blezer & André van der Braak (Polderboeddhisme or Tulpenboeddhisme: The Emergence of Buddhism in the Netherlands).
• Multiple Religious Belonging. This NWO-funded project runs from December 1, 2013 until December 1, 2018, and consists of the subprojects of Joantine Berghuijs (Empirical Explorations of MRB in the Netherlands) and Daan Oostveen (Hermeneutical Explorations of Religious Hybridity).

Partners

The CBD has intensive contacts with organizations and institutions inside and outside the Buddhist World in China, Japan, US, Canada, and Germany, which allows students to do internships and minors abroad.

Prominent academic partners are Renmin University, Radboud University, Leiden University, McGill University. Within the faculty.

Prominent Buddhist partners are the Buddhist Union of the Netherlands (BUN), the  Boeddhistische Zendende Instantie (BZI), and Longquan Temple (Beijing and Utrecht).

Contact

André van der Braak, a.vander.braak@vu.nl; tel. +31 (0)20-5983066