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Zoketsu Norman Fischer is an American poet, writer, and Soto Zen priest, teaching and practicing in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki. He is a Dharma heir of Sojun Mel Weitsman, from whom he received Dharma transmission in 1988. Fischer served as co-abbot of the San Francisco Zen Center from 1995–2000, after which he founded the Everyday Zen Foundation in 2000, a network of Buddhist practice group and related projects in Canada, the United States and Mexico. Fischer has published more than twenty-five books of poetry and non-fiction, as well as numerous poems, essays and articles in Buddhist magazines and poetry journals. ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoketsu_Norman_Fischer Source Accessed Jul 21, 2020]) +
Owen Flanagan is a philosopher at Duke University (James B. Duke Professor), specializing in philosophy of mind, ethics, moral psychology, and cross-cultural philosophy. He received his PhD from Boston University in 1978, taught at Wellesley for 15 years, then moved to Duke in 1993. He's also affiliated with Duke's psychology and neuroscience programs.
He's a prolific author — notable books include ''Consciousness Reconsidered'', ''The Bodhisattva's Brain: Buddhism Naturalized'', and ''The Geography of Morals''—and has held prestigious fellowships at Stanford and the National Humanities Center. He's lectured on every continent except Antarctica (though he's visited). ([https://www.neuro.duke.edu/profile/owen-flanagan Adapted from Source Mar 11, 2026]) +
University of Vienna, Department of South Asian, Tibetan, and Buddhist Studies graduate student +
Wulstan Fletcher holds degrees in Modern Languages and Theology (Oxford and Rome) and is a teacher of modern languages. He completed a three-year retreat at Chanteloube France from 1986–1989. He is a member of the Padmakara Translation Group and has been a Tsadra Foundation Fellow since 2001.
'''Current Projects as a Tsadra Foundation Fellow:'''
* Various texts by Jamgön Mipham Rinpoche, including ''The Precious Casket'', a collection of various essays dealing with certain difficult points in the general texts of Madhyamaka (dbu ma sogs gzhung sphyi’i dka’ gnad skor gyi gsung sgros sna tshogs phyogs gcig tu bsdus pa rin po che’i za ma tog ches bya ba), 765-975 in vol 17 of Mipham’s collected works.
'''Completed Projects as a Tsadra Foundation Fellow (with Helena Blankleder):'''
* ''The Precious Treasury of the Dharmadhatu'', by Longchenpa with a commentary by Khangsar Tenpa'i Wangchuk. (Shambhala, 2025)
* ''Nyingma: Mahāyoga, Anuyoga, and Atiyoga: Part Two''. The Treasury of Precious Instructions Volume 2. (Shambhala, 2024)
* ''The Precious Treasury of the Fundamental Nature'' by Longchenpa with a commentary by Khangsar Tenpa'i Wangchuk. (Shambhala, 2022)
* ''A Chariot to Freedom: Guidance From the Great Masters on the Vajrayāna Preliminary Practices''. By Shechen Gyaltsap Gyurmé Pema Namgyal. (Shambhala, 2021)
* ''Lion Speech, The Life of Jamgön Mipham'', Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. (Shambhala, 2020)
* ''Treasury of Precious Qualities'' (Sutra Section), Jigme Lingpa, commentary by Longchen Yeshe Dorje, Kangyur Rinpoche
* ''Counsels from My Heart'', Dudjom Rinpoche
* ''Introduction to the Middle Way'', Chandrakirti, commentary by Jamgön Mipham
* ''The Adornment of the Middle Way'', Shantarakshita, commentary by Jamgön Mipham
* ''Food of Bodhisattvas: Buddhist Teachings on Abstaining from Meat'', Shabkar Tsokdruk Rangdrol
* ''The Way of the Bodhisattva'', Shantideva (rev. ed.)
* ''The Nectar of Manjushri’s Speech: A Detailed Commentary on Shantideva’s "Way of the Bodhisattva,"'' Kunzang Pelden
* ''The Root Stanzas on the Middle Way'', Nagarjuna
* ''White Lotus: An Explanation of the Seven-line Prayer to Guru Padmasambhava'', Jamgön Mipham
* ''Treasury of Precious Qualities'' (Tantra Section), Jigme Lingpa, commentary by Longchen Yeshe Dorje, Kangyur Rinpoche
* ''The Purifying Jewel and Light of the Day Star'' by Mipham Rinpoche
* ''Trilogy of Resting at Ease'', Longchenpa
(Source: [http://www.tsadra.org/translators/wulstan-fletcher/ Tsadra.org])
Ralph Flores teaches literature at Thammasat University in Thailand and is the author of ''A Study of Allegory in Its Historical Context and Relationship to Contemporary Theory''. +
Dr. Gregory Forgues is Executive Director at BDRC ([https://www.bdrc.io/blog/2026/05/18/gregory-forgues-appointed-executive-director/ May 2026]). Previously, Gregory worked at Tsadra Foundation, and before that, Gregory was part of the Open Philology research project with Professor Jonathan Silk at the University of Leiden. He also worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Heidelberg and a Visiting Professor of Buddhist Studies at the University of Bochum. Gregory has published on a wide variety of topics, including Mahāyāna sūtra translations, Tibetan tantric rituals, Dzogchen teachings, and digital humanities methods. His PhD dissertation on Jamgon Mipham’s interpretation of the two truths under Professor Klaus-Dieter Mathes' supervision was reviewed by Professor Birgit Kellner and Professor Matthew Kapstein, receiving a distinction from the University of Vienna. Recent books include:
*''[https://wstb.univie.ac.at/product/wstb-no-106/ Radical Nonduality: Ju Mipham Namgyal Gyatso's Discourse on Reality]''. Wiener Studien zur Tibetologie und Buddhismuskunde No. 106. Vienna: Arbeitskreis für Tibetische und Buddhistische Studien Universität Wien, 2024. Open Access Online.
*''[https://wisdomexperience.org/product/elucidating-the-intent/ Elucidating the Intent: A Noble Mahayana Sutra]''. Translation of The Arya Samdhinirmocana Sutra. Treasury of the Buddhist Sciences series. Wisdom Publications, 2026.
*'''Published translations'''
**[https://bodhicitta.tsadra.org/index.php/Articles/The_Wheel-Like_Path:_Ati%C5%9Ba_D%C4%ABpa%E1%B9%83kara_%C5%9Ar%C4%ABj%C3%B1%C4%81na%27s_Commentary_on_The_Way_of_the_Bodhisattva Forgues, Gregory, and Khenpo Konchok Tamphel, trans. "The Wheel-Like Path: Atiśa Dīpaṃkara Śrījñāna's Commentary on The Way of the Bodhisattva."] With Introduction, Notes, and Appendices. Bodhicitta: A Tsadra Foundation Initiative, June 17, 2025.
***[https://bodhicitta.tsadra.org/index.php/People/Forgues,_G. See more on the Bodhicitta Project Website].
**2019 The Noble Sūtra of the Great Vehicle entitled “Unravelling the Intent” (Āryasaṃdhinirmocananāmamahāyānasūtra), Toh. 106, sDe dge Kangyur Vol. 49, folios 1b1-55b7, 84000.co. Introduction (30pp.) and translation (133pp.).
**2017 The Noble Sūtra of the Great Vehicle entitled “The Strength of the Elephant” (Hastikakṣyanāmamahāyānasūtra), Toh. 207, Vol.62, folios 95a7-109a5, 84000.co, Prof. Tom Tillemans (ed.). Introduction (10pp.) and translation (25pp.).
**2016 The Noble Sūtra of the Great Vehicle entitled “The Description of the Miracles and Magical Transformations that are the Attainment of the Buddha’s Powers” (Āryabuddhabalādhānaprātihārya-vikurvāṇanirdeśanāmamahāyānasūtra), Toh. 186, sDe dge Kangyur Vol.61, folios 143b4-158a4, 84000.co, Prof. Tom Tillemans (ed.). Introduction (9pp.) and translation (20pp.).
*'''Articles'''
***[https://bodhicitta.tsadra.org/index.php/People/Forgues,_G. See more on the Bodhicitta Project Website].
**2019 “Are we all gzhan stong pas?” In Reasons and Lives in Buddhist Traditions - Tibetan and Buddhist Studies in Honor of Matthew Kapstein, edited by Dan Arnold, Cécile Ducher, and Pierre-Julien Harter. Boston: Wisdom Publications (17pp).
**2018 “The Interplay of Knowledge and Liberation in ’Ju mi pham rnam rgyal rgya mtsho’s Radical Nondualism.” In Proceedings of the 7th Coffee Break Conference, 8–10 September 2016, University of Leiden, edited by Dr. Lucas den Boer and Dr. Elizabeth Cecil. Leiden: De Gruyter (33pp).
**2017 “Invoquer le dgra lha - Rituels propitiatoires adressés à Gesar dans la tradition ris med du XIXe siècle: vue d’ensemble et étude de cas.” In Musique et épopée en Haute-Asie: Mélanges offerts à Mireille Helffer à l'occasion de son 90e anniversaire, edited by Katia Buffetrille and Isabelle Henrion-Dourcy. Le Pré Saint-Gervais: L'Asiathèque (18pp).
**2016 “Who is Gesar? Gesar Rituals and Practices of the Ris med Tradition.” In Proceedings of the conference “The Many Faces of Ling Gesar - Homage to Rolf A. Stein,” 27-28 Oct. 2014, Collège de France, Paris, edited by Prof. Matthew Kapstein (17pp). Forthcoming.
**2015 “The Magic of Healing in Gesar Rituals.” In Tibetan and Himalayan Healing: An Anthology for Anthony Aris, edited by Prof. Charles Ramble and Dr. Ulrike Roesler. Kathmandu: Vajra Publications, 2015. (21pp).
*1961 born in Staveren on March 28
*1981-1986 sailor at shipping companies, Rotterdam
*1986-1993 studied Indology at Leiden University
*1991 studied at Hamburg University
*1991-1996 studied philosophy at Leiden University
*1997-2002 research fellow at the CNWS, Leiden University
*2000-2002 substitute lecturer Buddhology and Indian philosophy, Leiden University
*2004 PhD under the supervision of T.E. Vetter and Th.C.W. Oudemans, Leiden University
*2002-present teacher at Stanislas College, Pijnacker
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Philippe Édouard Foucaux (15 September 1811 – 20 May 1894) was a French tibetologist. He published the first Tibetan grammar in French and occupied the first chair of Tibetan Studies in Europe.
He was born in the town of Angers on 15 September to [a] merchant family. At the age of 27, he left for Paris to study Indology with Eugène Burnouf. After becoming aware of the work of Sándor Kőrösi Csoma, he studied Tibetan by himself for two years. After this he was appointed as a Tibetan teacher at the École des langues orientales where he gave his inaugural lecture on January 31, 1842. Funding for the position was canceled but Foucaux continued to instruct his students thereafter on a pro bono basis. Some of his most well-known students include Léon Feer [fr], William Woodville Rockhill, and Alexandra David-Néel.
Foucaux was a member of the Sociéte d'Ethnographie. After France became the Second Empire, Foucaux was elected as a member of the Collège de France. Foucaux was married to Mary Summer, born Marie Filon, who also did work as a buddhologist. He was a corresponding member of the American Oriental Society from 1865. A number of Sanskrit, Tibetan, and Chinese manuscripts and printed books from his library were acquired by the National Library of France and are preserved there. ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippe_%C3%89douard_Foucaux Source Accessed July 29, 2021]) +
Eli Franco (born June 19, 1953 in Tel Aviv ) is an Israeli Indologist. He received his BA in Philosophy and Jewish Philosophy from the University of Tel Aviv in 1976, the Diplôme de l' Ecole des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in 1978, Paris, and the Doctorat 3e cycle from the Université de Paris X and L'Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes in 1980. Since 2004 he has held the chair for Indology at the Institute for Indology and Central Asian Studies at the University of Leipzig, Germany. Among his writings include: ''Perception, Knowledge and Disbelief: A Study of Jayarāśi's Skepticism'' (Franz Steiner Verlag Wiesbaden, 1987), ''Dharmakīrti on Compassion and Rebirth'' (Arbeitskreis für Tibetische und Buddhistische Studien, Universität Wien, 1997), ''The Spitzer Manuscript: The Oldest Philosophical Manuscript in Sanskrit'' (Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2004), and (with Miyako Notake) ''Dharmakīrti on the Duality of the Object: Pramāṇavārttika III, 1 - 63'' (Lit Verlag, 2014). ([https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eli_Franco Adapted from Source July 20, 2019]) +
Erich Frauwallner studied classical philology and Sanskrit philology in Vienna. He taught Indology from 1928-29 at the University of Vienna. His primary interest was Buddhist logic and epistemology, and later Indian Brahmanic philosophy, with close attention to primary source texts.
In 1938 Frauwallner joined the Department of Indian and Iranian philosophy at the Oriental Institute after its Jewish director, Bernhard Geiger, was forced out. Frauwallner became director in 1942. He was called up for military service in 1943 but did not serve, continuing to teach until 1945 when he lost his position due to his Nazi Party membership (dating to 1932). In 1951, after a review, he was reinstated. In 1955 the Institute for Indology founded, which he chaired, becoming a full professor in 1960.
Donald S. Lopez, Jr., professor of Buddhist and Tibetan Studies at the University of Michigan, called Frauwallner "one of the great Buddhist scholars of this [the twentieth] century." ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erich_Frauwallner Source Accessed Jun 11, 2019]) +
Charlotte Freeman, a SOAS PhD student, has for the past five or more years been working under the supervision of Dr Piatigorsky on the ''Akṣyamatinirdeśa-sūtra'' and its commentary by Vasubandhu. (Source: The Buddhist Forum, Vol. 2) +
Claudia Fregiehn completed her master's degree in translation at Rangjung Yeshe Institute in 2023. She was a recipient of a Tsadra Foundation Study Scholarship. The title of her MA thesis is "Who Is the Author? Mangtö Ludrup Gyatso's ''Essential Nectar'' in the Collected Works of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo: A Case Study of the Attribution of Authorship in Tibetan Buddhism." +
Marie Friquegnon was born in 1943, grew up in Brooklyn and attended the local Catholic school. She went to high school at the Convent of the Sacred heart, 91st Street, Manhattan. During this time she studied theology and scholastic philosophy. She then attended Barnard College where she majored in philosophy. She also took courses at Columbia University. The teachers who influenced her in philosophy were Sidney Morgenbesser, Richard Taylor, Arthur Danto, David Sidorsky, Joh Herman Randall, Mary Mothersill and Jean Potter; in religion, Jacob Taubes and Anton Zigmund-Cerbu. She took her masters and doctorate at New York University. Finishing in 1974, she studied Hegel and Marx with Sidney Hook. Her thesis advisor was a Marxist philosopher, Chauncy Downes. But the most important philosophical influence on her at N.Y.U. was the analytic philosopher Raziel Abelson. Following his suggestion she wrote a masters thesis defending the possibility of free will and a doctoral thesis defending the meaningfulness of religious belief.
She worked from 1965 to 1967 as a caseworker with the Department of Welfare. From 1967 to 1968 she taught part-time at NYC Community College, Long Island University, Brooklyn College and N.Y.U. In 1969 she started to teach at William Paterson. She continues to teach there now as a Professor of Philosophy.
In 1981 Marie Friquegnon began to develop what had been a longstanding interest in Buddhist philosophy. She returned to Columbia University to audit a course in Sanskrit and to take a course in Tibetan. She continues to study at the Padmasambhava Buddhist Center and she is involved in some translation projects there. She is also interested in philosophy of childhood, and has given lectures and published on children's rights and the nature of childhood. She lives in Stuyvesant Town in Manhattan. ([https://www.wpunj.edu/cohss/departments/philosophy/faculty/dr-marie-friquegnon Adapted from Source Apr 14, 2021]) +
Gil Fronsdal has practiced Zen and vipassana since 1975 and has a Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies from Stanford. Trained by Jack Kornfield, he is the founder and primary teacher of the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, California and is also a husband and father.
He is the author of ''The Issue at Hand'', co-editor of ''Teachings of the Buddha'', editor of ''Voices From Spirit Rock'', and has published an acclaimed new translation of ''The Dhammapada''. ([https://www.zencare.org/community/gil-fronsdal Source Accessed Mar 25, 2026]) +
Eric Fry-Miller is a PhD student at the University of Virginia (UVA) who specializes in translating Tibetan Buddhist texts into English.
Eric previously attended Indiana University Bloomington. His translation work focuses primarily on Tibetan Buddhist texts, particularly from the Nyingma tradition. He has translated teachings from the Yangzab treasure cycle revealed in the 16th century, and has worked on translating empowerments and teachings he received from various Tibetan lamas including Garchen Rinpoche, Lho Ontul Rinpoche, and Lamchen Gyalpo Rinpoche. He operates a website called Buddha Visions where he shares his translations and sells books of rare and previously untranslated Buddhist texts.
His translation projects include works on advanced Dzogchen practices, the Six Dharmas of Naropa, and various texts from masters like Longchenpa. +
Barbara Frye, a student of Tibetan Buddhism for several years, has edited numerous works by Tibetan authors. +
Stanley Frye was a translator of Buddhist texts who is best known for his English translation of the ''Sūtra of the Wise and the Foolish'' (Mongolian: ''Uliger-un dalai'' or "Ocean of Narratives"), which was published in 1981 by the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in Dharamsala.
Frye translated this work from Mongolian, working with a text that had a complex transmission history—originally heard by Chinese monks in Khotan, translated into Chinese, then into Tibetan, and finally into Mongolian. ''The Sūtra of the Wise and the Foolish'' is considered one of the great treasures of Buddhist literature, containing Jatakas (rebirth stories) that trace the causes of present tragedies in human lives to events in former lifetimes.
The text contains parables demonstrating the workings of cause and effect, tracing the source of present troubles to actions in former lives Vedic Books. For centuries, it has been an inexhaustible source of inspiration, instruction and pleasure for readers.
Frye's translation has been widely cited in Buddhist studies bibliographies and continues to be referenced by scholars and practitioners. His work made this important Buddhist scripture accessible to English-speaking audiences, contributing to the broader availability of Tibetan and Mongolian Buddhist literature in the West. +
Rosemarie Fuchs (1950-2010) studied and practiced with eminent lamas of the Karma Kagyu tradition and spent much of her life translating Tibetan texts to German and interpreting for Tibetan Lamas in Germany. She is a member of the Marpa Translation Committee and has been a devoted student of the Venerable Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche since 1978. Fuchs translated the ''Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra'' upon Khenpo Rinpoche’s advice. ([https://www.penguinrandomhouseretail.com/author/?authorid=167711 Adapted from Source Jul 22, 2020]) +
Fujinaka Takashi (藤仲孝司) is a Japanese scholar of Tibetan Buddhism who has worked closely with Tsultrim Kelsang Khangkar, a well-known Tibetan scholar based in Kyoto. Together they coauthored a 2010 study on Tibetan Buddhist logic and epistemology, published as part of the series A Study of Buddhist Logic-Phenomenology of Tibet, issued through Kyoto's National Institutes for the Humanities / Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (人間文化研究機構・総合地球環境学研究所). That volume includes a Japanese translation and annotated study of the second chapter ("Establishment of Valid Cognition") of the ''Pramāṇavārttika'' together with Dharmottara's commentary.
He also coauthored, with Nakamikado Keikyō (中御門敬教), the article on Karma Chakme's ''Aspiration Prayer for Sukhāvatī'' that appeared in ''Acta Tibetica et Buddhica'' vol. 6 (2013). +
Funayama Toru, born in 1961, is currently a professor of Buddhist studies at Institute for Research in Humanities, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan. His research mainly covers two different areas in the history of Buddhism. One is Chinese Buddhism from the fifth–seventh centuries, a period from the late Six Dynasties period up to early Tang; his focuses are on the formation of Chinese Buddhist translation and apocrypha, spread of the notion of Mahayana precepts, the exegetical tradition on the ''Nirvana Sutra'', and so on. The other is philological and philosophical issues in Buddhist epistemology and logic in India from the fifth–tenth centuries, particularly Kamalaśīla's (the late eighth century) theory of perception. In both areas, he is interested in the concept of saintliness as firmly related with the system of practice. ([https://www.iias.asia/profile/toru-funayama Source Accessed June 16, 2020]) +
