Canterbury Christ Church University

Alumna, Theology and Religious Studies

Other Affiliations: University of Hamburg, Center for Buddhist Studies
Karl-Franzens-University of Graz, Art History

Thesis Title: Visual Expressions of Buddhism in Contemporary Society: Tibetan Stūpas built by Karma bKa’ brgyud Organisations in Europe.

About

Eva Seegers holds an MPhil degree in Art History from the Karl-Franzens-University in Graz, Austria and has been awarded  a  PhD in Theology and Religious Studies by the Canterbury Christ Church University, UK, funded by a University Research Scholarship. The topic of her dissertation deals with Tibetan Stūpas (mchod rten) of the Karma Kagyu Tradition in Europe. There she also taught BA and MA courses on "Tibetan Buddhism" and "Religion and Visual Culture". Currently, Dr. Seegers is Research Fellow at the Center for Buddhist Studies at the University of Hamburg. Her research interests lie in Buddhist Art in all its expressions, with special focus on Tibetan Stūpas and the corresponding rituals including modern developments.  Her current research examines cultural and artistic exchange and circulation processes between Asia and Europe. She is involved in planning and conducting exhibitions of Buddhist Art in Germany and abroad. Eva Seegers worked in the field of preservation and conservation of art and artifacts in her own studio for more than 10 years.

Abstract
The Tibetan stūpa (mchod rten) is an ancient Buddhist monument which is said to express the dharmakāya (chos sku), the ultimate state of enlightenment. Since the early 1980s a striking number of contemporary stūpas belonging to the Kagyu (bKa’ brgyud) Lineage have been erected across Europe. This study is the first to analyse these visual expressions of Buddhism in Europe and is designed to answer the basic questions which arise when such exotic monuments appear in a new cultural context. The aim of this interdisciplinary research –religious, architectural and art historical– is the analysis of the reasons for the construction of stūpas in Europe, the parameters of authenticity, the possible inherent conflicts, and the variations in construction and function.
In the first part the study sketches the historical background of the stūpas in India and Tibet, especially the set of Eight Stūpas (mchod rten brgyad) which also became very popular in Europe. The second part provides an extensive survey of contemporary stūpas built by Karma Kagyu (Karma bKa’ brgyud) and Dagshang Kagyu (Dwags shangs bKa ’brgyud) organisations in Europe, based on several research trips across Europe. The tendencies to create an innovative and modern stūpa style are analysed when examining the largest stūpa in Europe at Benalmádena, Spain (33m). The majority of stūpas follow examples built in Indian and Nepalese exile which are discussed on the basis of the most striking counterparts at Kalu Rinpoche’s principal European monasteries in Spain and France.
Part three carries out three case studies discussing the debates that ensue when an age-old tradition again finds itself in its formative years, adapting to a new cultural context. For instance, the halted stūpa project in Hamburg, Germany, provoked a discussion on religious symbols on public ground and caused massive protests of the residents. The following short-term transference of the Hamburg stūpa to a small village in Hungary (Becske) demonstrates that the European saṅgha (community of practitioners) is internationally connected and able to transform a failure into a success. Examining the construction and filling of this stūpa (9m) defines the main parameters which make a stūpa into an object of worship. A special case investigated in Bremen, Germany, shows that beyond the traditional soteriological function of a stūpa the motivation in erecting a stūpa can go far beyond the traditional range of motives. This stūpa was predominantly built for cultural reasons and in the course of its revaluation even became an icon for religious freedom and human rights. This shows how the function of stūpas can vary widely, depending on context and perspective.

Presentations:

2011:
SOAS - The School of Oriental and African Studies, London, United Kingdom
UKABS (UK Association for Buddhist Studies) Annual Conference: “Tibetan Stūpas in Modern Europe: The Opportunities and Risks of Constructing Buddhist Monuments in a New Cultural Context.” September 8, 2011.

2010:
CCCU - Christ Church University, Canterbury, United Kingdom
PGRA-Annual Conference: “A Visual Expression of Buddhism in Modern Society: Tibetan Stūpas of the Karma Kagyu Tradition in Europe.” June 17, 2010.

RAS - Institute of Oriental Studies, Moscow, Russia
Presentation of my findings at the Second International Academic and Research Conference Vajrayana Buddhism in Russia: from Contacts to Interaction, October 16-18, 2010, Moscow.

AAI - Afrika Asien Institut Hamburg, Germany
Presentation of my findings at a research-colloquium “Forschungsansätze der internationalen Süd- und Zentralasienwissenschaften.” November 3, 2010.

2008:
CCCU - Christ Church University, Canterbury, United Kingdom
PGRA-Annual Conference: “From Archive to Fieldwork and Back: Methodological Ruminations from the Ongoing Research on Traditional Tibetan Buddhist Architectural Structures Built in Europe.” June 12, 2008.

Exhibitions:
Additionally, my aim is to enable Tibetan Art and its special symbolic meaning to be understood and experienced in new and remarkable ways.
Therefore I work as a curator, consultant and co-organiser for national and international exhibitions of Buddhist Art.
2012: London, U.K.
2012: Innsbruck, Austria
2010: London, U.K.
2009: Linz, Austria
2008: Hamburg, Germany
2008: European Parliament, Brussels, Belgium
2007: Pilsen, Czech Republic
2007: Velez-Malaga, Spain

Stūpa Projects:
My further activities include consulting and providing lectures and team-workshops for current stūpa projects; if requested I hold lectures and courses across Europe, India and Nepal.

Contact Information