Property:Bio
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Gloria Jones is a prominent administrator, editor, and event organizer within the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. While she works heavily with Buddhist texts, her primary legacy rests in her decades of service as the secretary to the renowned Kagyu master, the late Thrangu Rinpoche, and managing his translation and educational projects. +
J. J. Jones held an M.A. and worked as Deputy-Keeper in the Department of Printed Books at the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth.
Jones completed his English translation of the ''Mahāvastu'' in three volumes, published between 1949 and 1956 by the Pali Text Society as part of the Sacred Books of the Buddhists series. In his foreword dated April 1949, Jones acknowledged the help he received from scholars.
The translation was a significant scholarly achievement, as it provided the first complete English translation of this important early Buddhist text. Jones worked from the Buddhist Sanskrit original, which was written in mixed Sanskrit, Pali, and Prakrit. +
Maggy Jones served several roles at Samye Ling Monastery. She was the Samye Ling Librarian and devoted her time to the task of compiling what became, according to Dr Conrad Harvey, “… one of the most extensive repositories of Buddhadharma in the whole of Europe." Maggy was also a student of Ringu Tulku Rinpoche and transcribed and edited many of his teachings for his Bodhicharya Archive site. ([https://bodhicharya.org/manyroads/maggy-jones-31-05-41-28-09-24/ Source Accessed March 21, 2024]) +
Richard H. Jones is the author of over a dozen books on science and religion and on Eastern mystical traditions, including ''A History of Mysticism'' (SUNY 2024), ''Nagarjuna: Buddhism's Most Important Philosopher'', ''Indian Madhyamaka Buddhist Philosophy After Nagarjuna'' and so forth. He has an A.B. from Brown University, Ph.D. from Columbia University, and a J.D. from the University of California at Berkeley. He lives in New York City. His interests include science and religion, the history of science, philosophy of mysticism, the scientific study of religious experiences, Asian religions (in particular Madhyamaka Buddhism and Advaita Vedanta), Constitutional law (especially the Establishment Clause), and even Harry Potter. +
Khenpo Dr Ngawang Jorden was born in 1956 and grew up in Sikkim. He lived at Lachung, Sikkim until he was 12 then moved to Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim where he began formal studies at Enchey School. At age 14 he joined Sa-Ngor-Choe-Tshok Monastery in Gangtok. After completing his monastic studies such as rituals, he then studied Buddhist Philosophy with the late Khenpo Lodro Zangpo.
In 1975 he went to Sakya College, Dehradun, India, where he studied the five branches of Buddhist philosophy under the late Khenchen Appey Rinpoche. He obtained the degree of Kachupa (equivalent to B.A.) and Loppon (equivalent to M.A.) in Buddhist Studies. Khenpo Jorden later taught at Sakya College before going to America to study at Harvard University where he completed his M.A. and then Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies.
His Holiness the Sakya Trizin and Khenchen Appey Rinpoche invited Khenpo Jorden to take up the position of Principal of IBA in Kathmandu and so he left his teaching post at the University of Chicago and joined IBA in 2009. As Principal of IBA he oversees the many projects IBA is involved in, teaches the Dharma to students from across the globe and engages in translation work. He also travels extensively to countries such as Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and Europe to give teachings.
IBA has around 40 monastic scholars undertaking the five-year monastic leadership program and each year offers a summer program in Buddhist studies and practice to overseas students. IBA also has an active translation program, the Chödung Karmo Translation Group, with scholars and translators from many countries. Khenpo Jorden is currently managing a rebuilding program at IBA after significant damage to campus buildings in the earthquakes. ([http://internationalbuddhistacademy.org/about-us/khenpo-ngawang-jorden/ Source Accessed July 22, 2020])] +
Geshe Lobsang Jordhen is a graduate of the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics, Dharamsala. Since 1989 he has been religious assistant and personal translator to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. (Source: ''Stages of Meditation: The Buddhist Classic on Training the Mind'', viii) +
Professor Joshi was born on July 27, 1935, in a traditional Brahmin family in the Almora district of the Kumaon hills of Uttar Pradesh, near the ancient pilgrim route to Mt. Kailash. He was proud of the fact that his birth was in July of 1935, only a few weeks after H.H. the XlVth Dalai Lama was born, which he used to say was an "omen" of their shared concern for the spread of appreciation of Buddhism in the world. As a young man he had strong spiritual inclinations, and a favorite story he liked to tell was how his parents were worried at one point that he might become a ''Sadhu'', so intensely did he spend time meditating in the small but famous Yoga Ashramas in the Almora area. . . .
In the late fifties he received his M.A. in Pali from Banaras Hindu University and, as well as his Ph.D., another M.A. in Ancient History and Culture from Gorakhpur University. His doctorate dissertation was on "Buddhistic Culture of India during the 7th and 8th Centuries." He started his career as Assistant Professor in the Department of Ancient Indian History and Culture at Gorakhpur University from 1961 to 1967. He went on to join the Guru Gobind Singh Department of Religious Studies at Punjabi University, Patiala, becoming a key figure in that thriving center of the study of world religions. He was made Dean of Faculty of Religious Studies, in 1980-81. His international reputation rose steadily as he ably edited the ''Journal of Religious Studies'', and his milestone work in Indian religious history, ''Studies in the Buddhistic Culture of India'' (Delhi, 1967), was more and more widely acclaimed. Another major project of his, with Bhikkhu Pasadika, was the translation of the ''Arya-vimalakirti-nirdesa-sutra'' into Hindi (Sarnath, 1981). Other publications include ''Dhammapada'', Pali Text in Gurmukhi Script (Patiala, 1969); ''Brahmanism, Buddhism and Hinduism'' (Kandy, 1970); ''An Introduction to Indian Religions'' (Patiala, 1970); ''Vajracchedika Prajñāpāramitā'' with the commentary of Asaṅga and its translation in Hindi (Sarnath, 1978); ''Facets of Jain Religiousness in Comparative Light'' (Ahmedabad, 1981); and a chapter on "The Monastic Contribution to Buddhist Art and Architecture" in ''The World of Buddhism'' edited by Heinz Bechert and Richard Gombrich (London, 1983). He attended many international conferences, in Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Russia, Europe, and the United States, as well as all over India. He was a member of the editorial board of our ''JIABS'', as well as a member of the Board of Directors of the IABS. He was a valued member of the Board of Advisers of the American Institute of Buddhist Studies at Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts, USA. (Extracted from Prof. Lal Mani Joshi's obituary by N. H. Samtani and Robert Thurman, ''JIABS'' Vol. 8, no, 1, 1985)
Nika Jovic is a translator and member of the Dharmacakra Translation Committee. She is affiliated with the Jonang Foundation and has translated works by Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen: ''An Official Document of the King, the Spontaneously Present Dharmakāya'' and ''A General Commentary on All Profound Sutra and Tantra Teachings: Entitled, "Knowing One, All is Liberated."'' She has also participated in translating and editing for the 84000 project—namely, the ''Avalokīnīsūtra'' and the ''Bhadrakalpikasūtra''. ([https://jonangfoundation.org/works-list/ Source Accessed Oct 23, 2024]) +
Jñānadatta (Tib. Ye shes byin) was an Indian author of the Tibetan imperial period or earlier, known only as the author of the ''Āryacaturdharmakavyākhyānaṭīkā'' (Tib. ''<i>'</i>Phags pa chos bzhi pa'i rgya cher bshad pa'i rgya cher 'grel pa''; Toh 3990a). This subcommentary explains Vasubandhu's ''Āryacaturdharmakavyākhyāna'' (Toh 3990), a commentary on the ''Caturdharmakasūtra'' (Toh 251). It was translated into Tibetan by the Indian preceptors Dānaśīla and Prajñāvarman with the chief editor-translator Ye shes sde in the late eighth or early ninth century. Nothing further is known of his life. +
Jñānagarbha (Tibetan: ཡེ་ཤེས་སྙིང་པོ་, Wyl. ye shes snying po) was an 8th-century Buddhist philosopher from Nalanda who wrote on Madhyamaka and Yogācāra and is considered part of Bhāviveka's Svātantrika tradition. He was a student of Śrīgupta and the teacher and ordaining master of Śāntarakṣita.
In his mostly Svātantrika interpretation of Madhyamaka philosophy, Jñānagarbha incorporated aspects of Yogācāra philosophy and Dharmakirti's epistemology and therefore can be seen as a harmonizer of the various Buddhist philosophical systems like his student Śāntarakṣita.
He is mostly known for his work "Distinguishing the Two Truths" (Skt. ''Satyadvayavibhaṅga'', Wyl. ''Bden gnyis rnam ‘byed''). This work mostly sought to critique the views of Dharmapāla of Nalanda and his followers. A meditation text named "The Path for the Practice of Yoga" (''Yoga-bhavana-marga'' or ''-patha'') is also attributed to him by Tibetan sources. He also may have written a commentary to the ''Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra'', a major sūtra of the Yogācāra school. However, it is possible that the author of this text was actually a different writer also named Jñānagarbha.
Jñānagarbha's ''Satyadvayavibhaṅga'' analyzes the Madhyamaka "two truths" doctrine of conventional truth and ultimate truth. He defends the role of conceptual thinking and reasoning against those who would eliminate all conceptual thinking and theorizing (i.e., Candrakīrti). However, like other Madhyamikas, the goal of his project is a form of awareness which is free from all concepts, though one which, according to Jñānagarbha, is reachable through conceptual thought. Jñānagarbha held that even though language and reasoning is based on a cause and effect ontology which is ultimately empty and unreal, it can still lead toward the ultimate truth, through a logical analysis which realizes the untenable assumptions of reason and causality itself. ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%B1%C4%81nagarbha Source Accessed Jan 17, 2020]) +
Jñānavajra was the author of a commentary on the ''Laṅkāvatārasūtra'', the ''Tathāgatahṛdāyalāṃkara'' (''De bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po rgyan''), preserved in the Tengyur collection. There is some argument over whether he was Indian or Chinese based on the colophon to the text: 'phags pa lang kar gshegs pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po'i mdo'i 'grel pa de bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po'i rgyan zhes bya ba rgya'i mkhan po dz+nyA na badzras mdzad pa rdzogs so. +
Jñānaśrībhadra was from Kashmir and active in the 11th century. In addition to his commentary on the ''Laṅkāvatārasūtra'', he wrote a commentary on Maitreyanātha's ''Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra'' (''Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkārapiṇḍārtha'') and a commentary on Dharmakīrti's ''Pramāṇaviniścaya'' (''Pramāṇaviniścayaṭīkā''). He translated his own commentaries into Tibetan with the assistance of the translator Khyung po Chos kyi brtson 'grus, and also translated Dharmakīrti's ''Vādanyāya'' with the help of Rma Lo tsā ba.
His ''Pramāṇaviniścayaṭīkā'' is dated approximately 1050–1100 and is one of two surviving Indian commentaries on the ''Pramāṇaviniścaya'', the other being the ''Pramāṇaviniścayaṭīkā'' of Dharmottara (ca. 750–800). +
Könchog Yeshe Metog [Claudia Jürgens] studied Buddhist philosophy and Tibetan language from 2006 to 2013 in India, initially attending Sarah College and the Thosamling Institute near Dharamsala and later Kagyu College in Dehradun. After her return to Germany, she continued to work on translations of various texts from the Drikung Kagyu tradition. Her current translation projects include Schatz der Kernpunkte aus Schriften und Logik, Khenpo Kunpal’s commentary on the Gongcig; Phagmodrupa’s Bodhicaryavatara, and Ein Weg zu innerem Frieden, teachings of Garchen Rinpoche on the 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva. Yeshe Metog speaks German, English, and Tibetan. ([https://www.drikungtranslation.com/translators/ Source Accessed Mar 4, 2025]) +
K
Research Interests
My research interests lie in the history of philosophy, with special attention to the history of Buddhist philosophy in South Asia. Topics of particular interest to me include the philosophy of mind, action and philosophical anthropology. I believe the history of Buddhist philosophy in South Asia is best pursued keeping in view the long conversations of Buddhist and non-Buddhist philosophers in South Asia, and also the importance of narrative thought for the history of ideas. I am currently working on two book length monographs: one on the philosopher Vasubandhu, and his monograph in Twenty Verses; and another on the Buddhist poet Asvaghosa, and his narrative lyric, Beautiful Nanda. ([https://religiousstudies.as.virginia.edu/faculty/profile/sk3hp Source: UVa Faculty Profile]
Selected Publications
“Is Madness Anything Like Dying? Vasubandhu on Madness and the Fragility of Our Ways of Being Alive.” (forthcoming)
“Of Vasubandhu, and Why Ordinary Language Can and Does Take Care of Itself.” (forthcoming)
“What is it Like to Become a Likeness of Oneself? Gestures of Light, Motion and Mind at the Surfaces of Representation.” Essays of the Forum Transregionale Studien, Berlin (2015).
“The Meaning of Love: Insights from Medieval South Asia.” Available online at the website of The History of Emotions: Insights into Research. Berlin: Max Planck Institute for Human Development, 2014.
“The Last Embrace of Color and Leaf: Introducing Asvaghosa's Disjunctive Style.” Almost Island, Special Issue: On Style (2012).
Sonam Kachru is an assistant professor in the Department of Religious Studies, University of Virginia. A student of the history of philosophy, with a particular focus on the history of Buddhist philosophy in South Asia, he is especially interested in the history of such concepts as minds, persons, and selves. He is currently working on a monograph on the Buddhist philosopher Vasubandhu, tentatively titled More and Less Than Human: Life and Mind in Indian Buddhism. (Source: ''Readings of Śāntideva's Guide to Bodhisattva Practice'', 285)
Mieko Kajihara is an Associate Professor of Sanskrit in the Department of Indian Languages and Literature at the University of Tokyo. +
Professor Yuichi KAJIYAMA was Emeritus Professor of Buddhist Studies at Kyoto University.
Born in Shizuoka city on Jannary 2, 1925, Professor Kajiyama attended Shizuoka Junior High School and Shizuoka High School. He entered Kyoto University in October 1944, studying in the department of Philosophy (Buddhist Studies) of the Faculty of Letters until his graduation in March
1948. Then he became a special research fellow of the Graduate School of the same university. He married Hiroko MATSUURA in 1951 and had a daughter Tomoko in 1952. From April 1953 until March 1956 he continued his research, while teaching, under the direction of Professors J. Kashab
and Satkari Mookerjee at the Nalanda Pali Institute, in Bihar, India. After his return to Kyoto, he became an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Letters of Kyoto University in April 1956. Having received a prize from the Japanese Academy for his joint-work Ju yong guan in May 1959 as well as a prize from the Japanese Association of Buddhist Studies in October of the same year, he was promoted to Associate Professor in March 1961. From July 1961 until August 1962 he studied under the guidance of Professor John Brough as a fellow of the British Council in the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) of London Unversity. From September to December 1962 he continued his research under the guidance of Professor Erich Frauwallner at the Indological Institute of Vienna University. Promoted to Professor of Kyoto University in November 1971 he concentrated on research and education for the sixteen years until his retirement in March 1988, and in April 1988 he was given the title of Emeritus Professor of Kyoto University. From April 1988 until March 1997 he was Professor at Bukkyo University (Faculty of Letters, Department of Buddhist Studies). There in April 1991 he founded the Comprehensive Research Institute, and as its Director he inaugurated its Bulletin. From April 1997 until March 2001 he was Professor at Soka University.
There in June 1997 he founded the International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology, and as its Director he inaugurated the Annual Report. It was amazing to see how easily he accomplished the difficult tasks of founding a new Institute and launching a new journal.
The research of Professor Kajiyama was recognized and appreciated not only inside Japan, but also internationally. He had occasions to teach as Visiting Professor at the University of Wisconsin (1967-1968), the University of California, Berkeley (1974; 1981; 1997), Harvard University (1986), Vienna University (1985), and Leiden University (1989). [https://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/jiabs/article/download/8950/2843/8744 Read more here]
Beáta is both an indologist and orientalist. Her research area is Tibetan Buddhism. Her writings are for both popular and professional audiences. Recently she has done interpreting and teaching in Tibetan and Sanskrit languages. She is also keen on translating Tibetan texts, interested in all things related to Tibetan and Indian culture, lifestyle and Himalayan people. Beáta lived in India for a year, and she returns there from time to time, visiting places such as cedar woods and wonderful mountain villages . . . ([http://viewriter.hu/whohelped.html Adapted from Source Mar 23, 2022]) +
Kalu Rinpoche was one of the most prominent Tibetan lamas of the twentieth century, active in both exile communities and in the West. As a young man he spent over a decade in isolated retreat, coming out only to serve as retreat master at Tsādra Rinchen Drak. Although never formally enthroned, he was commonly recognized as a reincarnation of Jamgon Kongtrul. In exile he settled in India, where he was a primary teacher to many contemporary Kagyu lamas and served as the main propagator of the Shangpa Kagyu tradition. In the later decades of his life he traveled multiple times to Europe and North America, where he established dharma centers and three-year retreat centers and initiated the translation of Kongtrul's Treasury of Knowledge into English. (Source: [https://treasuryoflives.org/biographies/view/kalu-rinpoche/12180 Treasury of Lives]) +
David J. Kalupahana (1936–2014) was a Buddhist scholar from Sri Lanka. He was a student of the late K.N. Jayatilleke, who was a student of Wittgenstein. He wrote mainly about epistemology, theory of language, and compared later Buddhist philosophical texts against the earliest texts and tried to present interpretations that were both historically contextualized and also compatible with the earliest texts, and in doing so, he encouraged Theravadin Buddhists and scholars to reevaluate the legitimacy of later, Mahayana texts and consider them more sympathetically.
Born in Galle District, Southern Sri Lanka, Kalupahana attended Mahinda College, Galle for his school education. He obtained his BA (Sri Lanka, 1959), Ph.D (London), and D. Litt (Hon. Peradeniya, Sri Lanka). He was Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Hawaii. He was assistant lecturer in Pali and Buddhist Civilization at the University of Ceylon, and studied Chinese and Tibetan at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London where he completed a Ph.D. dissertation on the problem of causality in the Pali Nikayas and Chinese Agamas in 1966.
He left the University of Ceylon (1972) to join the University of Hawaii, serving as the Chairman of the Department of Philosophy and Chairman of the Graduate Field in Philosophy (1974–80). He directed international intra-religious conferences on Buddhism, and on Buddhism and Peace.
Many of his books are published and widely available in India (by Motilal Banarsidass and others), and therefore presumably have a fairly significant influence on the fields of Buddhism and Buddhist Studies in India and other nearby South Asian countries, such as his native Sri Lanka. ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Kalupahana Source Accessed Apr 21, 2021]) +
According to Fredrik Liland, nothing further is known about Kalyāṇadeva (Dge ba’i lha), aside from being the author of the ''Bodhisattvacaryāvatārasaṃskāra'', a commentary on the ''Bodhicaryāvatāra''. But his commentary is thought to be not as exhaustive and rich of citations as Prajñākaramati's ''Pañjikā''. +
