Sacred Sites of Sri Lanka
No country, apart from India, is as closely allied with the Buddha’s travels as Sri Lanka, which was visited thrice by the Buddha and received corporal relics and a branch of the Bodhi tree after his death. Today, the Buddha’s eye-tooth is venerated daily by thousands in Kandy and regarded as a priceless relic.
Buddhism is not the only religion to have influenced the island. Kataragama is a major Hindu site devoted to a Hindu god, while Christianity and Islam are also part of the mix. From Europe, the Portuguese, Dutch and English added new spiritual layers in a colonial period of nearly three centuries. As a result, understanding the country through the lens of sacred sites provides a special glimpse into this unique civilisation.
About the speaker
Donald M. Stadtner was for many years an Associate Professor of Art History and Asian Studies at the University of Texas, Austin, after receiving his Ph.D. in Indian art at the University of California, Berkeley. He is author of the Sacred Sites of Burma: Myth and Folklore in an Evolving Spiritual Realm (River Books, 2015) and co-author of the Buddhist Art of Myanmar (The Asia Society & Yale University Press, 2015). He is also co-author of The Jeweled Isle, an exhibition of Sri Lankan art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 2018. He divides his time between the San Francisco Bay Area and research trips to India and Southeast Asia.
When
Tuesday, 19 August 2025 at 19:00
Where
Admission
Members and Students (to undergraduate level) — Free of charge
Non-Members — THB 300
สำหรับข้อมูลเพิ่มเติม กรุณาติดต่อ
To book your place, please contact Khun Pinthip at 02 661 6470-3 ext 203 or pinthip@thesiamsociety.org
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