Buddhist and Christian Perspectives on the Human Mind

From 2 to 6 July 2026, a Buddhist-Christian conference on the mind from Christian and Buddhist perspectives took place in Hamburg. It was organised by the European Network of Buddhist-Christian Studies (ENBCS) in cooperation with the Academy of World Religions at the University of Hamburg. Eighty participants from Europe, the United States and Asia attended the international conference. Topics included understandings of the nature and malleability of the mind, its relationship to ultimate or highest reality, the question of continued existence after death, and insights and challenges arising from neuroscience.

In addition to keynote speakers from universities in Münster, Dortmund, Leiden, Vienna, Rome, Oxford, Philadelphia and Kyoto, eight panels featured 24 shorter presentations on further aspects of the conference theme and recent research in Buddhist-Christian studies. The speakers included early-career researchers as well as internationally renowned experts.

The ENBCS (https://www.buddhist-christian-studies.org) was founded in Hamburg in 1996 on the initiative of the Revd Gerhard Köberlin, inspired by his encounters with Buddhists in Thailand. To mark its thirtieth anniversary, a public celebration was held at the University of Hamburg. Following a welcome by Professor Claudia Jahnel on behalf of the Institute for Intercultural Theology and the Study of Religions and the Academy International Ecumenism, and greetings from Professor Mira Sievers, Director of the Academy of World Religions, and Professor Michael Zimmermann, Director of the Numata Centre for Buddhist Studies, Professor Elizabeth Harris (University of Birmingham) traced the development of the network. Personal recollections by Köberlin followed, as did a lecture by Professor Perry Schmidt-Leukel (University of Münster) on Buddhist-Christian studies as an academic task. The event was chaired by Professor Carola Roloff (University of Hamburg), who has been Vice-President of the network since July 2026. Professor Thomas Cattoi (Rome) has assumed the presidency.

Almost all previous conferences have been published as English-language books by EOS Verlag. In 2027, the keynote lectures from this year’s conference, together with selected panel contributions, are also due to appear there, following the 2025 volume On the Body: Buddhist-Christian Dialogues (https://eos-verlag.net/On-the-Body).

Carola Roloff, Perry Schmidt-Leukel

Photo by Br. Elias König OSB