The Online Colloquium of the winter term 2025/26 by the Research Training Group GRK 2833 “East Asian Futures” will reign in the new year with a lecture by Dr. Rolf SCHEUERMANN. You are cordially invited to attend.

Dr. Rolf SCHEUERMANN (Heidelberg University)
“Facing the Abyss – Buddhist Strategies for Coping with the Future in Times of Crisis”
Thursday, January 22, 2026, 6–8 pm (Central European Time)

Abstract
The climate crisis is arguably one of the greatest challenges of our time, and many consider it akin to living on the edge of an existential abyss. In Buddhist philosophy, Saṃsāra, the continuous cycle of rebirths characterised by suffering, is often similarly described as an abyss that entraps beings in a cascade of endless pain and dissatisfaction. The Buddhist doctrine offers a comprehensive soteriological system that addresses the risk of living at the abyss of Saṃsāra through practices grounded in core principles such as mindfulness, compassion, and dependent arising (pratītasamutpāda). Relating Christine Hentschel’s concept of Edgework in the Anthropocene and a five-fold categorization of end-time scenarios to the idea of navigating the abyss, this talk examines Buddhist strategies for coping with the climate crisis in the context of contemporary eco-Buddhist movements.

Bio
Rolf Scheuermann holds a diploma in Buddhist Studies from the Karmapa International Buddhist Institute, New Delhi (2004), and a Magister (2010) as well as a doctorate (2016) in Tibetan and Buddhist Studies from the University of Vienna. His doctoral research explored the Four Dharmas of Gampopa, an influential 10th-century Tibetan Buddhist key text. His recent research focuses particularly on eco-Buddhist movements and Buddhist responses to the climate crisis, (Tibetan) Buddhist strategies for coping with the future, translation, and cultural exchange processes. He served as research coordinator of the Käte Hamburger Centres of Erlangen and Heidelberg and as a Locum Professor for Tibetan Studies (Professurvertretung) at the Universities of Leipzig and Munich. He currently coordinates the Thematic Research Network “Denk(t)räume – (Re-Thinking) and Doing Futures” at Heidelberg University.

Organizer
Research Training Group 2833 “East Asian Futures: Visions and Realizations on National, Transregional and Global Scales”, Ruhr University Bochum and University of Duisburg-Essen.

Access to the meeting
https://ruhr-uni-bochum.zoom-x.de/j/66757006369?pwd=LrWHxqFnJq4580netztWGtkJPmmkdt.1
Meeting ID: 667 5700 6369 | Password: 122934