The Block Museum welcomed Matthew T. Kapstein, director of Tibetan Studies at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes in Paris and Numata Visiting Professor of Buddhist Studies at the University of Chicago’s Divinity School, on February 18, 2015.

Kapstein was introduced by Sarah Jacoby, Assistant Professor of Religion in the Department of Religious Studies at Northwestern University. Jacoby studies South Asian Religions with a specialization in Tibetan Buddhism.

Click below to view Kapstein’s lecture, “Pandits and Pundits: Kashmir’s Contributions to Buddhist Literature and Philosophy in Tibet,” which traces the history of Buddhist philosophy and literature in Kashmir and their legacy in Tibet.

Block Museum- Matthew T. Kapstein – 2/18/15 from Block Museum on Vimeo.

This lecture was designed to complement Collecting Paradise: Buddhist Art of Kashmir and Its Legacies by providing historical and cultural context to the objects on display in the exhibition.