This presentation will address ancient Vedic and Buddhist sources by comparing and contrasting cosmogonic accounts of world origins. A re-examination of selected texts from the Rig Veda and Buddhist literature will test the extent to which these traditions were in dialogue and debate about ideas of oneness and wellness. Implications and applications to modern living will be suggested.
Dr. Jason Neelis is an Associate Professor in the Religion and Culture Department at Wilfrid Laurier University, where he has been teaching since 2010. He has taught various courses on South Asian religions, including Hindu Traditions and Buddhist Narratives. His book on Early Buddhist Transmission and Trade Networks (2011) traced paths and processes for Buddhist expansion within and beyond the northwestern borderlands of ancient India. He is currently coordinating a collaborative research project on Buddhist Rebirth Narratives in literary and Visual Cultures of Gandhara and developing a partnership to preserve and promote the cultural heritage of rock drawings and inscriptions in the Upper Indus region of northern Pakistan.