Gentry, J.
| English Phonetics | James Gentry |
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| Sort Name | Gentry, James |
Tibetan calendar dates
| Website: | https://religiousstudies.stanford.edu/people/james-gentry |
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| Primary Language: | English |
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| Translates from: | Tibetan |
| Translates to: | English |
- Primary Affiliation (Workplace)
- Stanford University
- Secondary Affiliation
- Dharmachakra Translation Committee; Rangjung Yeshe Institute; Kathmandu University
Current projects
- The Sūtra Entitled ‘Destroyer of the Great Trichiliocosm,’ in collaboration with Dharmachakra Translation Committee (Skt. Mahāsāhasrapramardananāma-sūtra, Tib. sTong chen mo rab tu ’joms pa zhes bya ba’i mdo, Tōh. 558, Degé Kangyur, vol. 90 [rgyud ’bum, pha], ff. 63a1-87b1, reading room, www.84000.co, pending inputting and uploading).
- The Great Peahen, Queen of Incantations, in collaboration with Dharmachakra Translation Committee (Skt. Mahāmāyūrīvidyārājñī, Tib. Rig sngags kyi rgyal mo rma bya chen mo, Tōh. 559, Degé Kangyur, vol. 90 [rgyud ’bum, pha], ff. 87b1-117a5, reading room, www.84000.co, under review)
- The Noble Great Amulet, Queen of Incantations, in collaboration with Dharmachakra Translation Committee (Skt. Mahāpratisāravidyārājñī, Tib. ’Phags pa rig pa’i rgyal mo so sor ’brang ba chen mo, Tōh. 561, Degé Kangyur, vol. 90 [rgyud ’bum, pha], ff. 117b4-138b5, reading room, www.84000.co, under review).
- The Sūtra of Great Cool Grove, in collaboration with Dharmachakra Translation Committee (Skt. Mahāśītavanī-sūtra, Tib. bSil ba’i tshal chen po’i mdo, Tōh. 562, Degé Kangyur, vol. 90 [rgyud ’bum, pha], ff. 138b6-150b2, reading room, www.84000.co, in preparation)
- The Sūtra of Upholding the Great Secret Mantra, in collaboration with Dharmachakra Translation Committee (Skt. Mahāmantrānudhāri-sūtra, Tib. gSang sngags chen po rjes su ’dzin pa’i mdo, Tōh. 563, Degé Kangyur, vol. 90 [rgyud ’bum, pha], ff. 150b2-156a6, reading room, www.84000.co, pending inputting and uploading).
PhD University
- Harvard University
Education
- 2014, Harvard University, Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies, Committee on the Study of Religion Thesis Title: “Substance and Sense: Objects of Power in the Life, Writings, and Legacy of the Tibetan Ritual Master Sog bzlog pa Blo gros rgyal mtshan” Dissertation Committee Chair: Prof. Janet Gyatso.
- 2004, MA Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Department of Religious Studies, University of Virginia.
- 2000, BA in Asian Studies, George Mason University, Thesis Title: “An Exposition in Thirty Verses: A Translation and Introduction of Sthiramati’s Commentary on Vasubandhu’s Triṃśikākārikā Based on Tibetan Sources”.
Biographical Information
James Gentry is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies. He specializes in Tibetan Buddhism, with particular focus on the literature and history of its Tantric traditions. He is the author of Power Objects in Tibetan Buddhism: The Life, Writings, and Legacy of Sokdokpa Lodrö Gyeltsen, which examines the roles of Tantric material and sensory objects in the lives and institutions of Tibetan and Himalayan Buddhists.
James’s research ranges across Tibetan and Himalayan intellectual history, material culture, contemplative and ritual practice, and scriptural translation, revelation, and canonicity, from the Tibetan imperial period to the present. His current projects include a study of the reception in Tibet from the 9th century to the present of the “Five Protectors” (Pañcarakṣā)—a set of five Indian Tantric Buddhist texts that have been among the most popular scriptures used for pragmatic purposes throughout the Buddhist world. James is also doing a study of a comprehensive literary treatment of Himalayan religious material culture: a 20th century compilation entitled A Treatise on the Paraphernalia and Musical Instruments of the Old School of Secret Mantra. His work on this compilation is directed toward the creation of a multimedia encyclopedia of Tibetan Buddhist material culture for use among scholars, teachers, and students of Asian religions.
Before joining Stanford, James was on the faculty of the University of Virginia. He has also taught at Rangjung Yeshe Institute’s Centre for Buddhist Studies at Kathmandu University, where he served as director of its Master of Arts program in Translation, Textual Interpretation, and Philology. He has also served as editor-in-chief of the project 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, which aims to commission English translations of the Buddhist sūtras, tantras, and commentaries preserved in Tibetan translation and publish them in an online open-access forum (http://84000.co). ([https://religiousstudies.stanford.edu/people/james-gentry Source: Stanford Official Website)
Publications
- Power Objects in Tibetan Buddhism (Publisher: Brill, 2017)
Book Chapters
- 2009 “Representations of Efficacy: The Ritual Expulsion of Mongol Armies in the Consolidation and Expansion of the Tsang (Gtsang) Dynasty,” in Tibetan Ritual, edited by José Cabezón (New York: Oxford University Press).
Book Chapters in Press
- 2015 “Historical Skepticism in ‘Pre-modern’ Tibet: The Contested Historicity of Traditional Padmasambhava Narratives,” in New Perspectives on Tibetan Traditionality, edited by Robert Barnett and Laura Harrington (New York: Columbia University Press).
Translations
- 2014 Ornament of the Mahayana Sutras: Maitreya’s Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra with Commentaries by Khenpo Shenga and Ju Mipham, in collaboration with Dharmachakra Translation Committee (Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications).
- 2013 The Light of Wisdom, Final Volume: The Conclusion (Lam rim ye shes snying po, by Padmasambhava, Jamgön Kongtrül, Jamyang Drakpa, and Jokyab Rinpoche), in collaboration with Erik Pema Kunsang (Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books).
- 2013 The Noble Great Vehicle Sūtra “The Play in Full,” Chapters 10-12 and 22-24, in collaboration with Dharmachakra Translation Committee (Skt. Āryalalitavistaranāmamahāyānasūtra, Tib. Phags pa rgya cher rol pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo, reading room, www.84000.co).
- 2012 Gateway to Knowledge, Volume IV: The Treatise Entitled the Gate for Entering the Way of a Pandita, (mKhas pa’i tshul la ’jug pa’i sgo, by Ju Mipham, chapters 23-27), in collaboration with Erik Pema Kunsang (Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books).
- 2012 “The Compendium of Oral Instructions: Notes on the Development Stage According to the General Ritual,” (bsKyed rim gyi zin bris cho ga spyi ’gros ltar bkod pa man ngag kun btus, by Kunkyen Tenpe Nyima), in Vajra Wisdom: Deity Practice in Tibetan Buddhism, Kunkyen Tenpe Nyima & Shechen Gyaltsap IV, in collaboration with Dharmachakra Translation Committee (Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications).
- 2010 The Glorious King of Tantras that Resolves all Secrets, in collaboration with Dharmachakra Translation Committee (Skt. Śrīguhyasarvacchindatantrarāja, Tib. dPal gsang ba thams cad gcod pa’i rgyud kyi rgyal po, reading room, www.84000.co).
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