Property:Bio
From Tsadra Commons
This is a property of type Text.
K
A student of Kyitön Shakya Bum, Chokden Lekpai Lodrö, Jangsem Gyalwa Yeshe, and Rongpa Sherap Senge. A teacher of Dölpopa and Longchenpa. +
Kyoko Tokuno was a senior lecturer in Comparative Religion at the Jackson School of International Studies. She is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, and received a Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies in 1994. Since then she has taught at the University of Oregon and joined the UW faculty in 2001. Her current interests focus on Buddhist texts and culture of medieval China and Japan, their relation to Indian Buddhism, and development of Buddhist canon in East Asia. Tokuno’s most recent projects include Byways in Medieval Chinese Buddhism: The Book of Trapusa and Indigenous Scriptures (Kuroda Institute Studies in East Asian Buddhism Series, University of Hawaii Press), which has been accepted for publication. She has published articles in The Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, chapters in Encyclopedia of Buddhism and A Bibliographic Guide to the Comparative Study of Ethics, and a translation of “The Book of Resolving Doubts Concerning the Age of Semblance Dharma” in Buddhism in Practice. She teaches courses on Buddhism and world religions. ([https://jsis.washington.edu/global/people/kyoko-tokuno/ Source Accessed June 2, 2023]) +
Kyosen Ito works at the Buddhist Research Institute, Taisho University. +
Kyotön Monlam Tsultrim, the abbot who led Narthang monastery at the peak of its history, was an illustrious figure of his time in Central Tibet. A resolute monk, a meditation master, a learned scholar, author, and public figure, he epitomized the high ideals, practices, and approaches of the Kadam school and championed its traditions of scriptural exegesis and meditation instructions. A Kadam luminary, he also left behind religious writings which hold great significance for Tibetan Buddhist scholarship and practice today.
(Source: Karma Phuntsho, ''The Life and Works of Kyotön Monlam Tsultrim'', iii) +
Kyǒnghǔng (fl. seventh century) came from Silla. According to the catalogue ''Naracho genzai issaikyosho mokuroku'', the monk Kyǒnghǔng wrote thirteen commentaries on Buddhist texts. +
Kåre Albert Lie (born 9 September 1942 ) is a Norwegian historian of religion, non-fiction author and translator. He has translated, or contributed to the translation of, nearly 60 books, especially in the history of religion and culture. In addition, he has published a number of books on Buddhism and the oldest texts of Buddhism.
He has a master's degree in phil. with major in religious history, with indology (Sanskrit and Pali ) in the subject area. He has translated books from Pali, Sanskrit, English, German, French, Dutch, Danish and Swedish. Lie worked for several years in the school system before concentrating on his work as a writer and translator from 1996. ([https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%A5re_A._Lie Source Accessed Mar 23, 2021]) +
Kālayaśas (C. Jiangliangyeshe; J. Kyōryōyasha; K. Kangnyangyasa 畺良耶舍 (383–442). A Central Asian monk who was one of the early translators of Buddhist texts into Chinese. Kālayaśas arrived at Jiankang, the capital of the Liu-Song dynasty, in 424, where he became an adviser to Emperor Wen. Two works of translation are attributed to him in the Buddhist catalogues. Perhaps the most influential work with which he is associated is the ''Guan Wuliangshou jing'', the "meditation-sūtra" on Amitābha Buddha, which is one of the three foundational texts of the East Asian Pure Land traditions. Because no Sanskrit recension of this sūtra is attested, this scripture is now considered to be either a Central Asian or a Chinese indigenous scripture . . ., and its ascription to Kālayaśas is problematic. The second text that he translated is the ''Guan Yaowang Yaoshang er pusa jing'' ("Sūtra on Visualizing the Two Bodhisattvas Bhaiṣajyarāja and Bhaiṣajyasamudgata"), an early sūtra on the Medicine Buddha/Bodhisattva cult associated with the bodhisattva Bhaiṣajyarāja and the buddha Bhaiṣajyaguru. (Source: "Kālayaśas." In ''The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism'', 408. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.) +
In Japanese, “Sea of Emptiness”; monk who is considered the founder of the tradition, often referred to as the Shingonshū, Tōmitsu, or simply mikkyō. He is often known by his posthumous title Kōbō Daishi, or "Great Master Who Spread the Dharma," which was granted to him by Emperor Daigo in 921. A native of Sanuki province on the island of Shikoku, Kūkai came from a prominent local family. At the age of fifteen, he was sent to Nara, where he studied the Chinese classics and was preparing to become a government official. However, he seems to have grown disillusioned with this life. At the age of twenty, Kūkai was ordained, perhaps by the priest Gonsō, and the following year he took the full precepts at Tōdaiji. He is claimed to have experienced an awakening while performing the Kokūzō gumonjihō, a ritual dedicated to the mantra of the bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha. While studying Buddhist texts on his own, Kūkai is said to have encountered the ''Mahāvairocanābhisaṃbodhisūtra'' and, unable to find a master who could teach him to read its mantras, decided to travel to China to learn from masters there. In 804, he was selected as a member of a delegation to China that set sail in four ships; Saichō was aboard another of the ships. Kūkai eventually traveled to the Tang capital of Chang’an, where he studied tantric mijiao Buddhist rituals and theory under Huiguo and Sanskrit under the Indian monk Prajña. Under the direction of his Chinese master, Kūkai was initiated into the two realm (ryōbu) maṇḍala lineages of Yixing, Śubhakarasiṃha, Vajrabodhi, and Amoghavajra. In 806, Kūkai returned to Japan; records of the texts and implements he brought with him are preserved in the ''Shōrai mokuroku''. Little is known about his activities until 809, when he moved to Mt. Takao by imperial request. Kūkai described his new teachings as mikkyō, or "secret teachings," vajrayāna ( J . ''kongōjō''), and mantrayāna (J. ''shingonjō''). At the core of Kūkai’s doctrinal and ritual program was the belief that all acts of body, speech, and mind are rooted in, and expressions of, the cosmic buddha Mahāvairocana, as the dharmakāya. Kūkai argued that the dharmakāya itself teaches through the artistic and ritual forms that he brought to Japan. Once his teachings gained some renown, Kūkai conducted several abhiṣeka ceremonies, including one for the Tendai patriarch Saichō and his disciples. However, Kūkai and Saichō’s relationship soured when Kūkai refused to transmit the highest level of initiation to Saichō. In 816, Emperor Saga granted Kūkai rights to Kōyasan, to serve as a training center for his Shingon mikkyō tradition. In early 823, Kūkai was granted the temple of Tōji in Kyōto, which became a second center for the Shingon tradition. In the summer of 825, Kūkai built a lecture hall at Tōji, and in 827 he was promoted to senior assistant high priest in the Bureau of Clergy. In 829, he built an abhiṣeka platform at Tōdaiji. In early 834, he received permission to establish a Shingon chapel within the imperial palace, where he constructed a maṇḍala altar. Kūkai passed into eternal samādhi (J. ''nyūjō'') in 835 on Mt. Kōya, and it is said that he remains in his mausoleum in meditation waiting for the bodhisattva Maitreya to appear. Kūkai authored a number of important texts, including the ''Benkenmitsu nikyōron'', a treatise outlining the inherent differences of kengyō (revealed) and mikkyō (inner) teachings; ''Sokushin jōbutsugi'', a treatise on the doctrine of attainment of buddhahood in "this very body" (J. sokushin jōbutsu); ''Unjigi'', a text describing the contemplation of Sanskrit syllables (S. ''bīja'' , J. ''shuji''); ''Shōjijissōgi'', a text outlining Kūkai's theory of language in which all sounds and letters are themselves full embodiments of the dharmakāya’s teachings; and his magnum opus, the ''Himitsu mandara jūjūshinron'', in which Kūkai makes his case for recognizing Shingon mikkyō as the pinnacle of Buddhist wisdom. Kūkai was an accomplished calligrapher, poet, engineer, and sculptor and is also said to have invented kana, the Japanese syllabary (Source: "Kūkai." In ''The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism'', 450. Princeton University Press, 2014.)
Kṛṣṇapaṇḍita was and Indian scholastic who lived in the 11th century and was the author or translator of numerous works. According to ''The Treasury of Knowledge: Book Five, Buddhist Ethics'', Krishna Pandita (Kṛṣṇa Paṇḍita) was the "author of one of the most respected commentaries to Shantideva's ''Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life''. He is not the Krishna (Kṛṣṇācārya) who is counted among the eighty-four accomplished tantric adepts of ancient India. The means for restoration of the commitments is found in his ''Ascertainment of the Difficult Points of the Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life'' (''Bodhisattvacaryāvatāraduravabodhananirvṇaya; Byang chub sems dpa'i spyod pa la 'jug pa'i rtogs par dka' ba'i gnas gtan la dbab pa'') (Toh. 3875), f. 95a7–b3." ('Jam mgon kong sprul. ''The Treasury of Knowledge: Book Five, Buddhist Ethics''. Translated by Kalu Rinpoché Translation Group. [New York: Snow Lion Publications, 2003], 424n85). +
L
Lachen Jel (bla chen dpyal) was one of the Ten Men of U and Tsang during the later spread of the doctrine in Tibet. His outer activity and inner spiritual accomplishment was unrivaled. He became the head ornament of all scholars. He possessed all inconceivable great superior qualities of Body, Speech and Mind. Even a being dwelling on the bhumis had difficulty communicating with him, needless to say ordinary beings. For the ordinary beings, buddha activity was too difficult to fathom; however he realized it effortlessly.
His first greatness was his heavenly descended caste. He renowned as Jel (dpyal) after descending from heaven, therefore his second greatness was meaning of the name. His third greatness was his noble mother lineage— his mother traveled to Five-Peaks Mountain, and was related to the King of China. The fourth greatness— he was the dharmic minister of the manifested Dharma Kings (chos rgyal gyi chos slun), and the grandchild of the ruler of gods and humans. His fifth greatness was his phenomenal transmission— he received the great, middle and small transmission from the manifested Dharma King. His sixth greatness was that he had the most eminent interdependent causes and conditions—for example, the virtuous royal-brother bestowed him the sacred shrine. His seventh greatness was that he appropriately approached the Secret Mantrayana, the profound tantric doctrine, and Vajra Vehicle, and he was the escort of the King with signs of realization and magical powers. His eighth greatness was his well-learned knowledge— he built many temples in center of Myang Ro (myang ro) village in Tsang and visited the noble land of India. He overcame countless difficulties and requested extraordinary teachings from perfected and authentic scholars, and also brought the practice to completion. His ninth greatness was being able to auto-translate the excellent doctrine—he requested numerous sutras and tantras from perfected and authentic scholars and translated them properly; also he attained mastery in meditative power by attaining the imperishable breath of dharmic sky-goers. Since he became a being of the field of forbearance, he benefited all beings for as long as samsara is not emptied—this continuous lineage of the ten directions illuminating the demonstration that transcended all directions, was his tenth greatness. (Source: [[Dpyal gyi gdung rabs za ra tshags dang gang gA'i chu rgyun gnyis gcig tu bris pa kun gsal me long bzhugs so|དཔྱལ་གྱི་གདུང་རབས་ཟ་ར་ཚགས་དང་གང་གཱའི་ཆུ་རྒྱུན་གཉིས་གཅིག་ཏུ་བྲིས་པ་ཀུན་གསལ་མེ་ལོང་]])
Michael Lackner, Dr. phil. (1983), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, is Professor of Sinology at the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg. He has published monographs and many articles on China and co-edited Mapping meanings. The Field of New Learning in Late Qing China (Brill, 2004). Source: ([https://brill.com/view/title/34845?contents=editorial-content Brill]) +
A student of Jamgön Kongtrul, Patrul Rinpoche, Mipam Gyatso, etc. A teacher of Mewa Khenchen Sönam Gönpo. +
Scholar who assisted in producing the first complete translation of the ''Mirror'' in about 1270, collaborating with Shong ston rdo rje rgyal mtshan. ([https://academic.oup.com/book/45656/chapter/398026442 Source Accessed Feb 2, 2024]) +
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)
Professor Lama Chimpa was the head of Indo-Tibetan Studies, Visvabharati University, Santiniketan. He is the translator of works including ''Atīśa and Tibet: Life and Works of Dīpaṃkara Śrījñāna in Relation to the History and Religion of Tibet with Tibetan Sources'' (Motilal Banarsidass, 1996), and ''Tāranātha's History of Buddhism in India'' (Indian Institute of Advanced Study, 1970, reprinted by Motilal Banarsidass 1990). +
Lama Choedak Rinpoche, is the founder and Spiritual Director of Sakya Losal Choe Dzong, Rongton Buddhist College and Virupa Retreat Centre in Canberra. He is also Spiritual Director of the Sakya Jamchen Buddhist Centre in Melbourne, as well as at least 20 centres around Australia and New Zealand and has helped design teaching programs for many other Tibetan Buddhist centers in Malaysia, USA, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. ([https://eastwestwisdoms.com/lama-choedak-rinpoche/ Source Accessed Oct 7, 2021]) For a longer biography, click [http://www.sakya.com.au/lama-choedak-rinpoche/ here]. +
Lama Chönam, Chöying Namgyal, was born in Golog, eastern Tibet, in 1964. His root master, Khenpo Münsel, was a direct disciple of Khenpo Ngagchung and was one of the great authentic Dzogchen masters of the 20th century. Since coming to the United States in 1992, Lama Chönam lived near and studied extensively with Kyabjé Thinley Norbu Rinpoche and has engaged in extensive studies under the guidance of Khenchen Namdrol Rinpoche. A co-founder of Light of Berotsana, Lama Chönam assists in translating classical Tibetan literature into English, helps beginning translators meet the highest standard of excellence, and teaches dharma and Tibetan language. (Source: [https://www.berotsana.org/pages/lama-chonam Light of Berotsana] Official Communication, June 14, 2024.) +
Anthony Chapman - Lama Drupgyu Tenzin, a student of Kalu Rinpoche since 1972 and a monk from 1974 to 1995, participated in the first traditional three-year retreat for Westerners from 1976 to 1980 in France. Kalu Rinpoche subsequently appointed him as Lama of his center in Paris, and later Lama Drupgyu became the first westerner to be appointed Druppön, or Retreat Master, training students in three-year retreats on Salt Spring Island, Canada. Lama Drupgyu also participated for six years in the translation of Jamgon Kongtrul’s Treasury of Knowledge.
Stepping back from the traditional Buddhist world, in the mid 1990’s he spent several years developing business application software in Southeast Asia. In 2000 he assisted Eric and Andrea Colombel in the establishment of Tsadra Foundation, a New York-based non-profit that brings the skills and insights of western philanthropy to the development of resources for the advanced study and practice of Vajrayana. He is currently Vice-President and Director of Contemplative Scholarships of Tsadra Foundation and divides his time between Canada and France.
As a holder of the teachings of the Shangpa and Karma Kagyu traditions as well as a varied experience of the modern world, Anthony Chapman - Lama Drupgyu continues to share his deep contemplative experience and the insights of a Western practitioner through personal mentorship and occasional retreats.
https://www.lamadrupgyu.com/profile +
Lama Jabb was born and brought up in a nomadic community in Northeastern Tibet and received formal education in Tibet, India and the UK. In 2013 he completed his DPhil on Modern Tibetan Literature and the Inescapable Nation at the University of Oxford.
He is fascinated by the ways in which both the past and living traditions shape contemporary Tibet. He explores the intertextual nature of Tibetan literature by, among other things, examining the complex interplay between the Tibetan literary text and oral traditions. He also has a keen interest in the theory and practice of translation and produces his own original translations.
Currently he is studying the unexplored genre of Tibetan bird stories within its broader cultural framework focusing particularly on a volume called ''The Treasury of Intellect: Narrating the Worldly tale of the Winged Ones'', that fuses Tibetan oral and literary arts.
Junior Research Fellow in Tibetan and Himalayan Studies, Wolfson College
([https://www.wolfson.ox.ac.uk/lama-jabb Source])
'''Publications:'''<br>
*2015 “Tibet’s Critical Tradition and Modern Tibetan Literature”. In Jim Rheingans (ed), Tibetan Literary Genres, Texts, and Text Types: from Genre Classification to Transformation. (PIATS 12), Leiden, Boston: Bill, pp. 231-269.
*2015 “A Poem-song on the Perfect Tibetan Physician”. In C. Ramble and U. Roesler (eds), Tibetan & Himalayan Healing: An Anthology for Anthony Aris. Kathmandu: Vajra Books, pp. 417-433.
*2014 “The Hungry Bandit: The Ballad of Yidak Kela”. In The Tibet Journal, Vol. XXXIX, No.1, pp. 95-120.
*2012 “Agir et s’exprimer au travers de la poésie tibétaine modern”. In Monde Chinois, nouvelle Asie, No 31, pp. 78-86.
*2012 “Singing the Nation: Modern Tibetan Music and National Identity”. In Tim Myatt et al (eds), Revisiting Tibetan Culture and History. Dharamsala: Amnye Machen Institute, pp. 1-29. This essay was first published online in Revue d’Etudes Tibetaines, No. 21 (Oct 2011), pp. 1-29.
*2011 “The Consciousness of the past in the creativity of the present: Modern Tibetan Literature and Social Change”. In International Journal of Asian Studies, No 8, 1, pp. 89-95.
<br>
'''Books:'''
*2015 Oral and Literary Continuities in Modern Tibetan Literature: The Inescapable Nation. New York: Lexington Books.
*2009 Studies in the History of Eastern Tibet. Edited with Wim Van Spengen.
Lama Jampa was born in England in 1952; he became a student of Karma Thinley Rinpoche at the age of 20 and met His Holiness 41st Sakya Trizin a year later.
[https://lamajampa.org/biography Read the full biography here] +
