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The 'Subtle Body' in the Indo-Tibetan and Chinese traditions

13 May 2014

Speakers:

CoB Summer Events 2014 cardiff.ac.uk/share/contactsandpeople/academicstaff/P-T/samuel-geoffrey-dr-overview_new.html" target="_blank">Prof. Geoffrey Samuel (Cardiff) and Dr Vivienne Lo (UCL)
Time: Thursday 15th May, 5-6.30pm
Place: RHB 137a, Richard Hoggart Building, Goldsmiths, University of London, SE14 6NW.

Register free at Eventbrite: http://cob-15may.eventbrite.co.uk

Part of Goldsmiths' Centre of the Body's 'Events Summer 2014', supported by the Wellcome Trust

Based on their respective work and experience in the Indo-Tibetan and Chinese contexts, the two speakers will deal with questions like: What is meant by the 'subtle body'? How is it understood in the Indo-Tibetan and Chinese traditions? Why were practices engaging the subtle body important in India, Tibet and East Asia in the past, and why are they still practised today? How can we understand the subtle bodies of the past within contemporary science?

How to get to Goldsmiths from UCL

  • From Euston Square, take the eastbound Hammersmith & City line.
  • Change at Whitechapel.
  • Take the southbound London Overground line (formerly East London line) to New Cross or New Cross Gate.
  • Goldsmiths Richard Hoggart Building is in Lewisham Way, a few minutes' walk from either station. See map.



Geoffrey Samuel is an Emeritus Professor of Cardiff University, Wales, UK, where he directs the Body, Health and Religion (BAHAR) Research Group, and is also an Honorary Associate at the University of Sydney, Australia. His academic career has been in social anthropology and religious studies. His writings include the books Mind, Body and Culture (1990), Civilized Shamans: Buddhism in Tibetan Societies (1993), Tantric Revisionings (2005), The Origins of Yoga and Tantra (2008) and Introducing Tibetan Buddhism (2012), as well as many book chapters and journal articles. His most recent edited book (with Jay Johnston) is Religion and the Subtle Body in Asia and the West (2013). His current research interests include Tibetan yogic health practices, Tibetan medicine, and the dialogue between Buddhism and science.

Vivienne Lo is the Director of the China Centre for Health and Humanity at UCL. She conducts research and is a practitioner of acupuncture and therapeutic exercise. She translates and analyses manuscript material from Early and Medieval China and the transmission of scientific knowledge along the so-called Silk Roads through to the modern Chinese medical diaspora.

For further information, please contact centreofthebody@gold.ac.uk.