Buddhist studies

Buddhist studies, also known as Buddhology, is the academic study of Buddhism. The term Buddhology was coined in the early 20th century by the Unitarian minister Joseph Estlin Carpenter to mean the "study of Buddhahood, the nature of the Buddha, and doctrines of a Buddha", but the terms Buddhology and Buddhist studies are generally synonymous in the contemporary context. According to William M. Johnston, in some specific contexts, Buddhology may be viewed as a subset of Buddhist studies, with a focus on Buddhist hermeneutics, exegesis, ontology and Buddha's attributes. Scholars of Buddhist studies focus on the history, culture, archaeology, arts, philology, anthropology, sociology, theology, philosophy, practices, interreligious comparative studies and other subjects related to Buddhism. In contrast to the study of Judaism or Christianity, the field of Buddhist studies has been dominated by "outsiders" to Buddhist cultures and traditions, hence it is not a direct subfield of Indology or Asian studies. However, Chinese, Japanese and Korean universities have also made major contributions, as have Asian immigrants to Western countries, and Western converts to Buddhism. In Asia, University of Tokyo and Rissho University have long been a major centers for Buddhist research, and Nalanda University launched a master program at 2016. ja:仏教学部 Most major universities in Japan have departments of Eastern philosophy, including Buddhist studies or Indian philosophy. University of Tokyo (Dpt. of Indian Philosophy and Buddhist Studies) and Kyoto University (Dpt. of Buddhist Studies) are public universities which have specialized Buddhist studies departments. Toyo University (non-sect, but associated with the Honganji) a private university founded by Inoue Enryo, is also renowned for its Buddhist studies. Buddhist studies is also studied in universities run by various religious denominations.