佛光山佛陀紀念館

文／路易斯‧蘭卡斯特教授 Dr Lewis Lancaster  圖／佛館新聞室 Buddha Museum Editorial Team
整理／佛館國際組 Buddha Museum International Affairs Team

「穿越時空‧法寶再現」開幕式8月9日於佛陀紀念館大覺堂舉行，特別邀請美國加州大學柏克萊分校榮譽教授路易斯‧蘭卡斯特教授進行主題演說「佛教文獻探究--數位時代中的傳統研究方法」。教授是當代佛教經典數位化、電子文化地圖的開創者。

專題演說中，教授分享佛教大藏經的研究反映了電子科技所帶來的電腦發展以及社會議題。現今面臨的挑戰是如何最好的運用所蒐集的資料。讀者收到的信息是基於搜索詞和搜索引擎的功能。我們需要研究這些典籍跟經典的思想連結，使之成為完整的文本。繫著經典中很重要的關連是歷史與人類互動中的社會與文化特徵。

此外，教授目前進行的另一項計畫是「海線佛教地圖集」，邀請到洛桑聯邦理工學院Sarah Kenderdine教授以及香港城市大學邵志飛教授，透過70逾張佛教聖地的圖像建構虛擬3D地圖。預定2020年四月於佛館推出海線佛教地圖集相關展覽，呈現全新的佛教史觀。

The Opening Ceremony of Timeless Dharma Treasures Reappearing was held at the Great Enlightenment Auditorium of the Buddha Museum on the 9th of August. Dr Lewis Lancaster, Professor Emeritus of the University of California, Berkeley, wasinvited to give a keynote speech on the Exploration of Buddhist Texts: Traditional Methods in a Digital World. Dr Lancaster is not only the forerunner of Buddhist Canon digitalization, he is also the founder of Electronic Cultural Atlas Initiative (ECAI).

According to the Dr Lancaster, the research of the Buddhist canons reflects the computer developments and social issues brought about by digital technology. People are challenged to find out the best use of the collected content as well as applications of it. What readers receive is based on the search words and the functionality of the search engine. This large collection of texts requires some form of study that recognizes the “glue” or the “thread” that bind the ideas between the texts in order to present the completeness of a “text”. A significant part of the “glue” or the “thread” is the social and cultural features of history and human encounter with others.

Another project of Dr Lancaster is the Atlas of Maritime Buddhism, supported by his partners Sarah Kenderdine from the Polytechnic Institute in Lausanne and Jeffrey Shaw from City University of Hong Kong. Together they constructed virtual reality based on the Atlas with 3-D images at nearly 70 sites. An installation and exhibition of the Atlas will be starting in April 2020 at the Buddha Museum to present a new look at Buddhist history. 

The keynote speech held at the Great Enlightenment Auditorium