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The Department of South Asian, Tibetan and Buddhist Studies (Institut für Südasien-, Tibet- und Buddhismuskunde), University of Vienna.

09/10/2026

Middle Ground: Nepal Literature Festival in Berlin

Nepali-expert Dr. Alaka Atreya Chudal represented the ISTB at the "Middle Ground: Nepal Literature Festival", organised by Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) last week in Berlin.

Examining Nepal’s position in the Himalayas as a physical location and as a matter of perspective, the festival asked how altitude, both literal and metaphorical, shapes the ways we see, know, write and resist.

Dr. Chudal moderated the panel "Narratives Under the Weight of Power" with Gopilal Acharya, Uzma Falak and Nayan Raj Pandey.

Bringing together writers and scholars from the region and beyond, the festival traced how Himalayan geographies and histories inform literary practice through movement and migration, waiting and crossing, and everyday negotiations with authority.

Festival programme:
https://www.hkw.de/en/programme/middle-ground-nepal-literature-festival

Photo: © Ajit Baral and Manjushree Thapa

07/10/2026

After the first part in Bhutan, this year's excursion to Buddhist pilgrimage sites and centres of study and learning in the Himalaya region continued in the Kathmandu Valley.

On arrival at their hotel in Boudha, the group was welcomed with khatas, white ceremonial scarves offered as a Tibetan Buddhist gesture of respect and good wishes (video).

The first day began at the memorial stupa of the revered Tibetan Buddhist master Dilgo Khyentse at Shechen monastery (image 1), followed by the ritual circumambulation of Boudhanath Stupa, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and centre of the Tibetan Buddhist community in Kathmandu.

In Patan, a local guide and expert on Newar culture, Birat Raj Bajracharya, introduced the group to Newar Buddhist architecture and craft traditions at the Mahabuddha Temple (1000 Buddha Temple).

In Pharping, the group visited another important pilgrimage site of Himalayan Buddhism, where a monumental statue of the Ta***ic adept Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche) marks the location where he is said to have meditated.

© Photos & video: Julian Schott

02/10/2026

The new semester is just around the corner!

We warmly invite our students to the in-person Semester Opening in Vienna, a short get-together to start the winter semester 2026/27.

Our lecturers will briefly introduce their courses, followed by coffee and an opportunity to connect with fellow students and staff.

Monday, 5 October 2026
11 am – 1 pm
Seminar Room 1 (entrance 2.7 at the ISTB)

We look forward to seeing you there!

Photo: © Monika Sailer

28/09/2026

Excursion Part 1: Bhutan

ISTB students and Prof. Jim Rheingans recently travelled to Bhutan for the first part of this year's excursion to important Buddhist pilgrimage sites and centres of study and learning in the Himalaya region.

At the Royal University of Bhutan, a first meetingwith the Registrar of the Office of the Vice-Chancellor and Ugyen Dorji, President of Trongsa College, initiated and confirmed the wish to establish cooperation with the ISTB. Sincere thanks for the warm welcome!

Watch this space for some glimpses from the second part of the excursion which took the group to Nepal, to be posted soon.

© Photos: Jim Rheingans

23/09/2026

Are you interested in learning Classical or Modern Tibetan?

Join our language courses to read Buddhist texts in their original language or converse animatedly in the colloquial language!

Don’t miss your chance: introductory language courses start in the winter semester only!

Any questions? Come to the orientation event for new students on 24 September, 11:00 at the ISTB or online.

Classical Tibetan:

Tuesday 15:30 - 17:00
Wednesday 13:00 - 14:30
Thursday 14:00 - 15:30

https://ufind.univie.ac.at/en/course.html?lv=142023&semester=2026W

Modern Tibetan:

Monday 14:00 - 15:30
Tuesday 09:00 - 10:30
Friday 10:00 - 11:30

https://ufind.univie.ac.at/en/course.html?lv=142078&semester=2026W

Website: https://stb.univie.ac.at/

© Photo: Monika Sailer

21/09/2026

Welcome to the winter semester!

Are you a new student at the Institute for South Asian, Tibetan and Buddhist Studies?

Join our orientation event on 24 September 2026, 11:00–13:00 and get an introduction to:

• study options and the curriculum
• first-semester courses and key dates
• subject areas, introductory STEOP lectures and language courses
• our tutors and student representation

University Campus · Entrance 2.7 · Seminar Room 1

No registration required.

If you cannot attend in person, you can join via Zoom:
https://univienna.zoom.us/j/63594519986?pwd=8YvmQG0wPTePbDjhVJxkQaTdPrI23l.1

We look forward to welcoming you!

© Photo: Pascale Uhl

18/09/2026

Interview: Living and studying the non-monastic tradition of the "white saṅgha" within the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism

In the current issue of Buddhismus in Österreich (07–09/2026), the magazine of the Austrian Buddhist Religious Society (ÖBR), Monika Sailer, research assistant at the ISTB, is interviewed by Johannes Kronika, Secretary General of the ÖBR.

As an emerging scholar and ordained practitioner in the Nyingma tradition (under her ordination name Ngakma Déwang Pamo), she speaks about the non-monastic tradition of the "white saṅgha" (gos dkar lcang lo'i sde) in the Nyingma school.

The interview (in German) can be found on pp. 8–15 of issue 3/2026: https://buddhismus-austria.at/wissen-und-weisheit/oebr-medien/oebr-magazin/

© Photo: Monika Sailer

To get informed about upcoming events, sign up for our newsletter: https://stb.univie.ac.at/news-events/newsletter-anmeldung/

27/07/2026

The Faculty of Philological and Cultural Studies at the University of Vienna invites applications for a Tenure-Track Professorship in Buddhist Studies.

Application deadline: 09/15/2026

For details, please go to: https://jobs.univie.ac.at/job/Tenure-Track-Professorship-in-Buddhist-Studies/1417570133/

06/07/2026

Dividing OM, Shaping Mantra Systems
08.07.2026 16:00 - 18:00 p.m. (CEST)
Keynote lecture | Finnian Gerety | University of Oxford

Join us this coming Wednesday, July 8th for the public Keynote lecture of the EurAsia Summer Academy Vienna Summer School on the Cultural and Intellectual History of Asia, focusing on „Mantras Between Language, Ritual, and Materiality“.

https://stb.univie.ac.at/news-events/detail/news/dividing-om-shaping-mantra-systems/

The lecture will take place in seminar room 1 of the ISTB (University Campus, Spitalgasse 2, Hof 2.7, 1090 Vienna). Participate on site or online:
https://univienna.zoom.us/j/68497478566?pwd=bLpGjPBm6AiH5r9n0GpxhqAiZhtOhL.1

The division of the sacred syllable „om“ into the three sounds, a, u, and m is one of the most enduring ideas in mantra culture. Originating in Vedic thought, dividing OM offers a fertile framework for the development of mantra systems in premodern India.

This talk shows how successive phases of religious thought adapted this idea to suit their own mantras and contexts, from Vedic recitation to Brahmanical dharma, from Purāṇic devotion to Yogic silence, from Śaiva resonance to Jaina karma. The division of the sacred syllable at once shapes and reflects the traditions which claim it: OM is the bedrock of mantra systems and their essential, most dynamic expression.

03/07/2026

ISTB is hiring: We are looking for a Coordinator of Digital Research Infrastructures in Pre-modern South Asian Studies.
Please note that the deadline for applications has been extended to July 27th.

For details (in German) go to:
https://jobs.univie.ac.at/job/Koordinatorin-für-Digitale-Forschungsinfrastrukturen/1407906133/

Feel free to share widely or forward to anyone who might be interested.

Adresse

Spitalgasse 2, Courtyard 2, Entrances 2. 1 And 2. 7
Vienna
1090

Telefon

+431427743501

Website

https://stb.univie.ac.at/

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