Ven. Chao Hwei, professor of religion with Hsuan Chuang University in Hsinchu, is the chairperson of the INEB organizing committee for the Taiwan conference. She and Sulak Sivaraksa, a co-founder of the INEB, will jointly present a keynote speech on "Kukkha and Its Cause" in the Sept. 1 session.
Yo Hsiang-chou, an associate professor with Fo Guang University in Yilan County and chief coordinator for the conference, will co-present another keynote speech on "Nirvana and Its Path" with Yoshiharu Tomatsu, a research fellow with Japan's Jodo Shu Research Institute.
During the afternoon sessions Sept. 1-2, the delegates will be divided into smaller groups to discuss various topics, including the perpetuation of suffering, Buddhism and consumerism, socially engaged Buddhism and spiritually engaged Buddhism, and dana: social welfare or social transformation.
From Sept. 3 to 6, the delegates will travel around Taiwan to visit major Buddhist establishments, including the Dharma Drum Mountain in Chinshan township of Taipei County,Hsuan Chuang University in Hsinchu, Fo Guang Mountain in Kaohsiung, Tzu Chi Buddhist Hospital in Taipei County's Hsintien township and the Museum of World Religions in Taipei.
The INEB was founded in 1989 by a group of Buddhist thinkers and social activists in Thailand, with its focus on peace, human rights, gender issues, spirituality-based development, diversity tolerance and interfaith dialogue.