Sri Lankan Bhikkhu undertakes major research project

Ven. Professor K. L. Dhammajoti is a leading scholar in the highly specialized field of Buddhist Studies known as Abhidharma, which deals with the metaphysical and epistemological doctrines of ancient Buddhism.

He is well-versed in all the Buddhist Scriptural languages, including Classical Chinese, Sanskrit, Pali and Tibetan and, as such, his expertise is highly sought after by academic institutions around the world, including the University of Calgary, which awarded him the prestigious Numata Chair of Buddhist Thought in the year 2000.

He is the author of five books on Buddhist doctrines and has written many academic papers on his specialty. Professor Dhammajoti is also the editor of the internationally-renowned Journal of Buddhist Studies, dedicated to Buddhist research.

Since joining the Centre, Professor Dhammajoti has been guiding a group of both local and foreign research students in textual studies, which has involved comparative sources of all the scriptural languages.

He is currently undertaking a major research project which involves the compilation of a dictionary of Sanskrit-English Abhidharma terminology. When completed, this dictionary will provide a valuable contribution to Buddhist scholarship.

Professor Dhammajoti, a graduate of the University of Kelaniya, in Sri Lanka, joined the University's Postgraduate Institute of Pali and Buddhist Studies in 1982 as a senior lecturer, and went on to Buddhist Literary Sources in 1992, a position he held until 2004, when he became a venerable professor at the Centre of Buddhist Studies of the University of Hong Kong.

The centre was inaugurated at the University of Hong Kong in 2001.

It promotes the study of and research into all aspects of Buddhism and its relevance to the world today, and offers a platform for academic and cultural exchange between east and west.