McMaster University establishes Buddhist scholar program with $1.2m donation

Photo by Mike Lalich, via McMaster Daily News.

McMaster University, in Ontario, Canada, has announced a new visiting scholar program, created with a $1.2-million donation. The donation comes from Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK), a non-sectarian Buddhist foundation, based in Japan and devoted to the promotion of Buddhism.

The gift is the largest-ever donation to McMaster’s Department of Religious Studies. McMaster will use the money to invite a prominent scholar in Buddhist studies each year, with the aim of advancing the understanding of Buddhism. The school’s Center for Buddhist Studies was founded in 2017.