Alexander Yiannopoulos

PersonType	Category:Authors of English Works
FirstName / namefirst	Alexander
LastName / namelast	Yiannopoulos
MainNamePhon	Alexander Yiannopoulos
SortName	Yiannopoulos, Alexander
bio	Alexander holds a dual BA in Linguistics and Philosophy from Boston College, an MA in Buddhist Philosophy and Himalayan Languages from the Rangjung Yeshe Institute at Kathmandu University in Boudhanath, Nepal, and a PhD in Religion from Emory University completed under Drs. Sara McClintock and John Dunne. He has been studying and practicing Buddhadharma since 2005, when he took refuge under the Bodhi Tree with Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche during a semester spent studying abroad in Nepal. After graduating magna cum laude from Boston College, he returned to Kathmandu on his first Fulbright research fellowship. Alexander remained in Nepal for the next six years, studying the foundational texts of Tibetan Buddhist scholastic philosophy. During that time, apart from his formal studies at RYI, he was also fortunate to receive teaching and empowerment from the lamas of Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling, as well as many other teachers, including Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, Kyabgon Gongma Trichen Rinpoche, and Lama Tsering Wangdu Rinpoche. During his second Fulbright research fellowship in Sarnath, India, Alexander was similarly fortunate to receive instruction in Sanskrit Buddhist philosophy from Drs. Ram Shankar Tripathi and Pradeep Gokhale. To date, Alexander’s research has focused primarily on “luminosity” (’od gsal or gsal ba) as this key term is presented in Indian Buddhist epistemological literature. His Master’s thesis translates and examines a pithy presentation of luminosity by Ratnākaraśānti, also known as the Mahāsiddha Śāntipa, who was a teacher of Maitripāda and one of four debate-masters at Vikramaśīla Mahāvihāra. Alexander’s doctoral dissertation, a partial translation and commentary on the Perception Chapter of Dharmakīrti’s Pramāṇavārttika, places a particular emphasis on the closely-related technical term 'reflexive awareness" (rang rig) as this term is developed in Dharmakīrti’s epistemology. Alexander lives in his hometown of New Orleans, where he enjoys walks along the Mississippi with his wife and their two sons. (Source Accessed June 5, 2023)
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In a general sense, that which clears away darkness, though it often appears in Buddhist literature in reference to the mind or its nature. It is a particularly salient feature of Tantric literature, especially in regard to the advanced meditation techniques of the completion-stage yogas.

An important term for the Yogācāra that refers to a consciousness of consciousness itself, or how one knows that they know something. It was a hotly debated topic that was disputed by followers of the Madhyamaka. In Tibet it would later become a common Dzogchen term, though with the entirely different meaning of one's own innate awareness (rig pa), a crucial concept in the Dzogchen teachings.

An important term for the Yogācāra that refers to a consciousness of consciousness itself, or how one knows that they know something. It was a hotly debated topic that was disputed by followers of the Madhyamaka. In Tibet it would later become a common Dzogchen term, though with the entirely different meaning of one's own innate awareness (rig pa), a crucial concept in the Dzogchen teachings.