This year’s conference lasted three days and featured seven sessions with a total of 49 papers presented. The topics covered a wide range of fields, including Buddhist practice, Chan studies, modern research, Tzu Chi studies, contemporary dialogues, Mahāyāna scriptures, Abhidharma and Yogācāra, historical studies, Huayan studies, cross-disciplinary applications, textual analysis, Tiantai studies, scriptural inquiry, bodhisattva praxis, historical materials, English-language presentations, and doctrinal investigations. The themes were diverse and rich, responding to the multifaceted needs of modern society—such as technological trends, dietary choices, social support, and spiritual pursuit—making the conference an important stage for the contemporary practice of “Humanistic Buddhism.” In such a highly competitive and diverse academic environment, it was truly remarkable that students from our department distinguished themselves.

The students who presented, listed by year of study, were:

• Venerable Zhiyi (7th-year doctoral student): A Debate on Re-Translated Scriptures and Suspected Apocrypha: Focusing on the Fu fa zang yinyuan zhuan (Transmission of the Dharma-Treasury through Causes and Conditions)

• Venerable Jueyun (7th-year doctoral student): An Analysis of Chengguan’s “Tenfold Classification of Schools” for Reconciling Noumenon and Phenomena: Focusing on the Two Truths Problem

• Gu You-liang (6th-year doctoral student): An Overview of Tibetan Manuscripts from Dunhuang

• Ye Yi-ting (6th-year doctoral student): A Study on Dharma Propagation by Monks in Yilan after 1949: Centering on Venerable Master Hsing Yun, Venerable Zhenhua, and Venerable Chengyi

• Venerable Zhiquan (4th-year doctoral student): From “Dharma Propagation through Food” to “Faith in Practice”: An Analysis of the Fo Guang Shan Waterdrop Teahouse as a Case Study

• Venerable Juezhuang (LIM FANG HENG, 3rd-year doctoral student): A Comparative Study of Women in the Parabolic Literature of Early Buddhism and Mahāyāna Buddhism

Among these, Venerable Juezhuang and Ye Yi-ting stood out, receiving the “Outstanding Paper Award” from among the 49 presentations. Their achievement not only became the highlight of the conference but also brought great honor to Fo Guang University.

During the conference, Dean of the College of Buddhist Studies Prof. Hsia Yun-chung, Associate Chair Prof. Tseng Chih-mien, and full-time faculty members Prof. K’an Cheng-tsung, Prof. Lin Hsin-yi, and Prof. Chien Ju-en each served as session chairs or discussants, participating alongside scholars from across the nation. Their contributions fully demonstrated the collaborative research achievements of Fo Guang University’s faculty and students.

The Department of Buddhist Studies at Fo Guang University continues to uphold Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s spirit of the “Three Acts of Goodness”—creating a good environment, nurturing good people, and fostering good work—as its educational hallmark. Its curriculum balances “doctrinal study” and “practical cultivation,” aiming to train talents with both professional expertise in Buddhist research and the capacity for cross-disciplinary application. The outstanding performance of its faculty and students on this national academic stage once again affirms the department’s representativeness and competitiveness in the field of religious studies, while steadily strengthening Fo Guang University’s influence in Buddhist education in Taiwan.