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Seth Auster-Rosen
Seth Auster-Rosen is a PhD candidate in Philosophy of Religions at the University of Chicago and has been attending teachings at Samye NY for ten years. His dissertation is a study and translation of two Madhyamaka Buddhist philosophical texts by the 8th Karmapa Mikyö Dorje on the nature of reality, what we can know about […]
Samye Institute Summer Immersion: The Buddhist Arts & Sciences,
John Makransky
John Makransky, PhD, is a professor of Buddhism and Comparative Theology at Boston College, senior advisor for Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche's Centre of Buddhist Studies in Nepal, a fellow of the Mind and Life Institute, and developer of the Sustainable Compassion Training model for accessing innate capacities of compassion and awareness. John's scholarly writings have focused […]
Samye Institute Summer Immersion: The Buddhist Arts & Sciences,
Hilary Herdman
Hilary Herdman, PhD, studied and taught at Rangjung Yeshe Institute at Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling monastery since 2000. Hilary was a founding member of the Dharmachakra Translation Committee. She completed an MA and later a Ph.D in Buddhist Studies at the University of Bristol, UK. Her thesis concerned the origins of pilgrimage and her research interests […]
Samye Institute Summer Immersion: The Buddhist Arts & Sciences,
Tawni Tidwell
Tawni Tidwell, TMD, PhD, is a biocultural anthropologist and Tibetan medical doctor, the first non-Asian to complete formal Tibetan medical training alongside Tibetan peers. She integrates Tibetan medicine, neuroscience, and Buddhist epistemology in her research, focusing on diagnostic practices for cancer and metabolic disorders. As a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she […]
Samye Institute Summer Immersion: The Buddhist Arts & Sciences,
Sophie (Shu-chin) Wu
Trained in Chinese intellectual history at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Sophie teaches Asian history and philosophy, including Buddhism, as an associate professor at Agnes Scott College. Her current academic research focuses on Chinese and Tibetan independent films and contemplative education. As a longtime student of Buddhism, Sophie is a board member and meditation instructor for […]
Oriane Lavole
Oriane Lavole is a translator and interpreter of Tibetan Buddhist texts and teachings, as well as a PhD candidate in Buddhist Studies (Religious Studies department) at Stanford University. Her research centers on ecology in Tibetan Buddhism, land-based rituals, and the relationship to sacred sites. In parallel, Oriane is training as a Buddhist eco-chaplain and developing […]
Samye Institute Summer Immersion: The Buddhist Arts & Sciences,
Joie Szu-Chiao Chen
Joie is a PhD candidate in Buddhist Studies at Harvard University, where her research looks at the confluence of various modes of learnedness in Tibetan Buddhism, in particular how the language and visual arts play into the formation of a learned Buddhist person. She holds a BA in Film Studies and English from Yale University […]
Tsunma Jamyang Donma
Tsunma Jamyang Donma, RP, CRPO, is a certified clinical chaplain and pastoral counselor. She serve as Lead for Spiritual & Religious Care and The Mindfulness Project at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada and is an ordained Buddhist nun. Tsunma provides ongoing support to patients, families, and staff, as well as on-call throughout […]
Andrea Sherman
Andrea Sherman, Ph.D., is a gerontologist, educator, trainer and end-of-life doula, and is co-author of Transitional Keys: Rituals to Improve Quality of Life for Older Adults. She is Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America, and New York Academy of Medicine, former Curriculum Consultant to the Bronx VA, and National Center for Creative Aging, and […]
Michael Friedman
Michael Friedman has spent 50 years in an intensive study of philosophy in general and the nature of mind in particular. He completed the traditional three-year retreat in 1989 in Dordogne, France under the guidance of H.H. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and Taklung Tsetrul Tulku Pema Wangyal, and at present teaches weekly at Samye Hermitage New […]