My guest today is Prof. Ann Heirman from the University of Ghent, a leading scholar of Buddhism and the Vinaya in particular. She is visiting Cambridge to take part in the "Cambridge Workshop on Buddhist Texts and Manuscripts from Dunhuang and Beyond," held on June 16, 2023. In the interview, she talks about how she got into the study of Buddhism and how initially it was not that easy to find a job. Also, in the 1990s her research differed from that today, how nowadays she is able to work on more details that others might not necessarily find interesting. Thus she has researched the toothbrush, insects and mosquitos, as well as sports. She also explains the changes Brexit and the pandemic brought to student life in Ghent and why it is important to be mindful of the materiality of texts.

(Sorry about the blurry picture...)


--Video's Table of Contents--
00:00 Intro
00:33 Why Buddhism?
03:24 In China
07:45 Remaining relevant
09:32 The Dutch language
12:04 Museums in London and Paris
17:32 Students
21:16 Research, teaching and admin
24:03 Changes in research
28:43 Materiality