Diverse Lives: Narratives of Śākyamuni Buddha in Text and Image

The figure of Śākyamuni Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, has held profound significance across South and East Asian – and more recently also Western – cultures and societies. Despite his central role, there is no single authoritative biographical account universally accepted by the diverse Buddhist traditions. Instead, the stories of Śākyamuni’s life are as varied as the doctrinal and ritual systems that exist across the different regions and schools of Asian Buddhism. In the absence of cross-regionally and inter-sectarian accepted textual and visual sources, even the key events of the Buddha’s life have been subject to numerous interpretations across both textual and visual media throughout Buddhism’s geographic spread and doctrinal evolution.
The aim of this conference is to explore unusual variations and interpretations of the Buddha’s life stories as found in diverse textual and visual materials. We will approach these narratives from an interdisciplinary perspective, encompassing fields such as religious studies, philology, literary studies, archaeology, and art history, among others.
This event, held at the Royal Museum of Mariemont in Belgium, is organized in collaboration with the Ghent Centre for Buddhist Studies of Ghent University, in conjunction with the exhibition “Sensing the Buddha” (September 21st, 2024 - April 20th, 2025).
The conference will be an in-person event only. The keynote lecture by Prof.  
Dr. Stephen Teiser, however, will also be accessible online. A link will be provided to registered participants closer to the date.