Dharma Today: Faces of Contemporary Buddhism
Venice, 5–13 March 2022

The international conference Dharma Today: Faces of Contemporary Buddhism took place from 5 to 13 March 2022, with in-person sessions at the Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti and online sessions. The event was organized by the Research Center of the Italian Buddhist Union, with support from the Italian Ministry of Culture and under the patronage of Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, the Department of Philosophy, Sociology, Education and Applied Psichology (FISPPA) of the University of Padua, and the Veneto Region.

The conference offered a broad and in-depth reflection on the role, transformations, and future of Buddhist traditions in the contemporary world. Twenty-three international scholars participated, approaching the topic from a range of disciplinary perspectives, including religious studies, philosophy, anthropology, gender studies, ecology, and technology.

Key themes explored included:

The transformations of Asian Buddhism following its encounter with Western modernity, and the emergence of new forms of Buddhism in the West;

The role of Buddhism in the spread of secular meditation, and its contribution to the emerging field of Contemplative Studies;

The philosophical insights of Buddhist thought in relation to contemporary issues such as ethics, ecology, digital culture, and the relationship between humans, technology, and the environment.

Through dialogue among Italian and international experts, the event explored the potential of contemporary Buddhism to address major global challenges, offering both critical tools and transformative practices.