Cornell's Society for Buddhist Studies welcomes you to our 2023-24 Keynote Lecture, delivered by Dr. Jingjing Li (Universiteit Leiden).

In this presentation, Dr. Li explores the possibility of Yogācāra feminism by drawing upon the writings of Xuanzang (c.602-664) and his disciple Kuiji (632-682). As she will argue, the Yogācāra theory of consciousness-only can be read as a gendered account of non-duality that does not reduce illusory gender into non-existence. Instead, illusory gender functions as an embodied critique of ignorance that inspires sentient beings to transform their perspectives through a collaborative effort. The term “Yogācāra dialectics” is thus coined to describe such a theory of non-duality that highlights fluidity and transformability at the interpersonal level. To illustrate this dialectics of gender, Dr. Li turns to Kuiji’s commentary on the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa where protagonists appear with illusory genders on their Bodhisattvas’ path. As such, she do not venture to recover the authentic understanding of these texts but rather re-read and recontextualise them for expanding the horizons of both Yogācāra studies and Western feminism.

This talk is co-sponsored by the Departments of Asian Studies and Philosophy, by the Religious Studies, East Asia, and Southeast Asia Programs, and by the GPSA.

The talk is open to all interested parties, either in-person in Rockefeller 374 or via Zoom.