On April 2, the Belgian Sinology Professor Bart Dessein, at the invitation of the Confucius Institute at University of Bucharest (UB), gave an interesting lecture on Buddhism to those interested in the religion, in a large classroom at the Institute.

Speaker of the lecture: Professor Bart Dessein

The classroom had been occupied for thirty minutes before the eagerly awaited lecture began, at 6:30. During the lecture, Professor Bart Dessein explained many complex ideas and concepts in an accessible manner for certain topics, such as the development of Buddhism in China, the relationship between Buddhism and Confucianism, the co-existence of those two philosophical belief systems in China, to his audience. His humorous and witty manner of speaking won much warm applause from the listeners.

The audience listening attentively to the lecture

In the following Q&A session, the audience was active in its participation. Many of them, based on their own knowledge of the relationship between Buddhism and China, asked Professor Bart Dessein pertinent questions, whilst the speaker replied to each question in turn. The lecture lasted over two hours, with all those in attendance leaving satisfied with the talk.