Buddhist Studies Footnotes

A conversation with Nan Kathy Lin, visiting assistant professor at Oberlin College in religious ethics and critical thought. Her work focuses on East Asian Buddhism, environmentalism, and moral philosophy as informed by ordinary language philosophy. In this conversation with Frances Garrett, part of a Footnotes series on posthumanist approaches to the study of Buddhism, Nan Kathy Lin talks about her work on developing a theory of religious change as seen through Buddhist environmentalism, drawing on philosophy of language and theoretical biology. She discusses the use of the concept of "interdependence" by 20th-century environmentalists, and she traces how the word interdependence as a translation of the Buddhist term paticca-samuppada should be seen as a response to moral concepts, such as growth or progress, embedded in 20th-century industrial political economy. This episode of Buddhist Studies Footnotes was created, produced and edited by Frances Garrett, with support from the Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation Centre for Buddhist Studies at the University of Toronto. This project aims to make Buddhist Studies research freely accessible to students and the public.

A conversation with Matt King, professor of Buddhist studies at the University of California, Riverside. King is also the director of Asian studies and co-director of the medical humanities program at UCR. His research traces encounters between Buddhist scholasticism, science, humanism and state socialism in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In this conversation with Frances Garrett, part of a Footnotes series on posthumanist approaches to the study of Buddhism, Matt King talks about his new research on the Gobi desert in the long 19th century. He discusses frontiers and zones of exchange between Tibetan and Mongolian communities in early 20th century China and Buddhist perspectives on nature, culture, and science. He talks about how nature/culture binaries may be understood newly through the lens of Buddhism, Indigenous studies, Black feminist studies, and models of planetary thinking, and about how the concept of nature is used to justify power structures, including colonialism and imperialism. He describes how his research with Mongolian and Tibetan sources suggests that knowledge and environments are co-produced and fundamentally perspectival. This episode of Buddhist Studies Footnotes was created, produced and edited by Frances Garrett, with support from the Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation Centre for Buddhist Studies at the University of Toronto. This project aims to make Buddhist Studies research freely accessible to students and the public.

A conversation with Devin Zuckerman, a Buddhist studies scholar from the University of Virginia whose research looks at Buddhist theories and practices involving the elements of earth, water, fire, wind, and space. In this conversation with Frances Garrett, part of a Footnotes series on posthumanist approaches to the study of Buddhism, Devin Zuckerman talks about how the elements are used to map human difference, and how they function as an “information technology” that connects human bodies and non-human environments. She describes sensory practices such as listening to the sounds of water as a way of making intelligible a more-than-human world. Drawing inspiration from eco-feminism, she explores how embodied contemplative practices in Buddhism may subvert a nature/culture binary, and how these practices may allow climate change to manifest in a practitioner's body. Listeners may learn more about Devin Zuckerman’s work at https://vcsr.virginia.edu/devin-zuckerman. Works discussed in this conversation include Astrida Neimanis and Rachel Loewen Walker’s article “’Weathering’: Climate Change and the ‘Thick Time’ of Transcorporeality” , published in Hypatia, Vol. 29, No. 3 (2014), pp.558-575. This episode of Buddhist Studies Footnotes was created, produced and edited by Frances Garrett, with support from the Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation Centre for Buddhist Studies at the University of Toronto. This project aims to make Buddhist Studies research freely accessible to students and the public.

A conversation with Jessica Madison Pískatá, a cultural anthropologist who studies relationships between humans and geological landscapes on the peripheries of Cold War empires. Pískatá is now Visiting Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Environmental Studies at Oberlin College. In this conversation with Frances Garrett, part of a Footnotes series on posthumanist approaches to the study of Buddhism, Pískatá talks about how her interest in anthropology was sparked by the experience of translating poetry in Mongolia, and how working with Mongolian poets led to insights into the relationship between people and the mineral landscape. She describes how geosocial relationships with mountains and mines can challenge binaries of living and nonliving, or nature and social life. Pískatá also discusses Mongolian understandings of the concept of energy, in the context of the field of energy humanities, and her new work on uranium mining in the Czech Republic. Listeners may read and listen to three poems celebrating life on Earth called “Grass Trilogy” by Mongolian author Ochirbatyn Dashbalbar, translated by Jessica Madison Pískatá, at https://www.sapiens.org/culture/grass-trilogy/. Works discussed include: Geontologies: A Requiem to Late LiberalismBeyond Nature and Culture The Birth of Energy: Fossil Fuels, Thermodynamics, and the Politics of WorkHow To Visit Shambala, Mongolia’s Most Sacred And Spiritual Place This episode of Buddhist Studies Footnotes was created, produced and edited by Frances Garrett, with support from the Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation Centre for Buddhist Studies at the University of Toronto. This project aims to make Buddhist Studies research freely accessible to students and the public.

Dr. Sean Hillman discusses caregiving work and his research on end-of-life care in India through the lenses of religious studies, bioethics and the law. He talks about how religious views affect end-of-life decision-making of patients, families and health care professionals; issues around blocking disclosure of bad news in sharing of sensitive medical information; ritual fasting and immobilization at the end of life; and attitudes towards end-of-life care, including pain management, hospice palliative care and assistance in dying. Dr. Hillman is a clinical bioethicist with the Centre for Clinical Ethics (CCE), a consultant organization based at Unity Health Toronto and contracted to seven institutions in Ontario. He also is a Buddhist Corrections Chaplain for two facilities in the Kingston region. Dr. Hillman was a bedside caregiver in hospital for almost two decades and did a year-long fellowship in Clinical and Organizational Bioethics also at the CCE. A medical anthropologist and textualist, he has a doctorate in religion, bioethics, and south Asian studies from the University of Toronto. A scholar of Asian philosophies and languages for almost thirty years, Dr. Hillman has spent five years living, studying and researching in India. His current research projects are on maximizing decisional participation by those who might have mental capacity interferences, and on how to better understand why families may request aggressive medical management for their loved-ones despite a poor prognosis (including religious logic such as vitalism, non-harm and filial piety). Dr. Hillman is a member of Durham Family Resources community advisory committee for their “recognizing capacity” pilot project which advocates for increased inclusion of those with intellectual, cognitive or communication challenges and for including supported decision making in Ontario healthcare law.

As psychedelic-assisted psychotherapies march towards likely legality for therapeutic purposes, we may ask how Buddhism and psychedelics intersect. In this episode, Kerry Helston explores some challenges and opportunities as well as the existing legacy of Buddhism and psychedelics in the West, with reference to current science and academic literature as well as personal experiences. Resources mentioned: Altered States: Buddhism and Psychedelic Spirituality in America by Douglas Osto LSD and the Mind of the Universe by Christopher M. Bache Secret Drugs of Buddhism: Psychedelic Sacraments and the Origins of the Vajrayana by Mike Crowley “Characterization and prediction of acute and sustained response to psychedelic psilocybin in a mindfulness group retreat” “Psychedelics, Meditation, and Self-Consciousness” Chacruna Religion & Psychedelics Forum Kerry Helston is a University of Toronto graduate student in psychotherapy and spiritual care. The Footnotes series is produced at the University of Toronto, in Canada. See more at https://buddhist-studies-footnotes.castos.com/.

A conversation with Ronit Yoeli-Tlalim on her ground-breaking 2021 book, ReOrienting Histories of Medicine: Encounters along the Silk Roads. Ronit's research on Eurasian medical history illuminates cross-cultural interactions and transmissions of knowledge, drawing on medieval manuscripts from Dunhuang, Kucha, the Cairo Genizah and Tabriz. See more about this book at https://www.bloomsbury.com/ca/reorienting-histories-of-medicine-9781472512574/ . The Footnotes series is produced at the University of Toronto, in Canada. See more at https://buddhist-studies-footnotes.castos.com/ .

A conversation with Pierce Salguero on his 2022 book, A Global History of Buddhism and Medicine. Pierce explains what it means to talk about "Buddhist medicine", how medical texts and healing practices interact, and how Buddhism and its healing practices change over time and across geographic regions. He emphasizes how the deep importance of Buddhism has been neglected in our understanding of medical practices globally, and stresses the value of transdisciplinary collaboration and conversation. See more about this book at http://cup.columbia.edu/book/a-global-history-of-buddhism-and-medicine/9780231185271. The Footnotes series is produced at the University of Toronto, in Canada. See more at https://buddhist-studies-footnotes.castos.com/ .

A conversation about Buddhist spiritual care work with Joanne Yuasa, a Jodo Shinshu Buddhist minister who is also in training to be a military chaplain. Joanne talks about how she came to Buddhism as an adult, and about her experiences with social anxiety disorder. Karl, Wini, and Joanne share their experiences of engaging with Buddhist practice in moments of suffering and distress. They also talk about working in hospital clinics as Buddhist care providers, and about the role of practices like deep listening and chanting mantras. All three speakers have gone through Emmanual College’s Buddhist chaplaincy program – Emmanual College is located in Toronto. Karl and Wini are just completing their Master of Pastoral Studies, focusing on Buddhist spiritual care, and Joanne Yuasa completed that program recently. The Footnotes series is produced at the University of Toronto, in Canada. See more at https://buddhist-studies-footnotes.castos.com/.

Thinley Gyatso discusses the use of mantras in Tibetan medical practice. He describes early medical texts that address how mantras are used as healing tools, and reports on conversations with Tibetan medical doctors who use mantra recitation in their medical practice. Thinley describes how mantra recitation as a form speech or sound therapy and a type of breathing practice. Thinley’s research brings forth the multidimensional impact that mantras can have in Buddhist practices of healing. Thinley Gyatso is a University of Toronto doctoral student in Buddhist Studies. The Footnotes series is produced at the University of Toronto, in Canada. See more at https://buddhist-studies-footnotes.castos.com/.

Jonathan Morgan examines the role of the demonic in Buddhism, with a focus on Tibetan perspectives. He looks into how animistic traditions, such as Tibetan Bon, co-exist with Buddhism, and he asks: are demons inherently evil in the way that some Euro-North American cultures understand them, or are they more ubiquitous and even intimately familiar to people? Do demons teach us anything about ourselves or the nature of the world we inhabit? Can demons even help us to heal? Jonathan Morgan is a University of Toronto graduate student in psychotherapy and spiritual care. The Footnotes series is produced at the University of Toronto, in Canada. See more at https://buddhist-studies-footnotes.castos.com/.

An interview by Uvina Persaud with Buddhist minister Joanne Yuasa about her student practicum work in a hospital palliative care unit, and about how her own sensibilities about death and dying have changed through this training. Uvina Persaud is a recent graduate of the University of Toronto. The Footnotes series is produced at the University of Toronto, in Canada. See more at https://buddhist-studies-footnotes.castos.com/.

An interview by Sumeet Kumar with Buddhist monk Adesh on the role of mindfulness in healing. Bhante Adesh shares insights on the role of a monk in Buddhist spiritual care, on the differences between healing practices in Buddhism and biomedicine, and on his work with people experiencing advanced life-limiting illnesses. He also talks about the importance of deeply listening to others as the first step in working as a healer, and on the role of mindfulness in healing. Sumeet Kumar is an MA student at the University of Toronto. The Footnotes series is produced at the University of Toronto, in Canada.

A reading guide by Frances Garrett for the article, "Sex and Sexuality in Buddhism: A Tetralemma.", by Amy Langenberg, published in 2015 in Religion Compass, 9: 277– 286. This episode of Footnotes was produced by Frances Garrett, with sound editing by Jesse Whitty. The show’s music is “Like Pebbles in a Stream" by Fabio Rambelli and Rory Lindsay and "Not Tired Bells" by Daniel Birch. The Footnotes series is created at the University of Toronto, in Canada, with support from eCampus Ontario.

A reading guide by Frances Garrett for chapters 4 and 6 from the book, Virtuous Bodies: The Physical Dimensions of Morality in Buddhist Ethics by Susanne Mrozik, published in 2010 by Oxford University Press. This episode of Footnotes was produced by Frances Garrett, with sound editing by Jesse Whitty. The show’s music is "Maya’s Guidance for Gotami" Khmer & English versions by Trent Walker, and "Bells Bobbing Along" by Daniel Birch. The Footnotes series is created at the University of Toronto, in Canada, with support from eCampus Ontario.

A reading guide by Frances Garrett for the article, "Circumambulatory Reading: Revolving Sutra Libraries and Buddhist Scrolls" by Charlotte Eubanks, published in 2010 in Book History 13, 1-24. This episode of Footnotes was produced by Frances Garrett, with sound editing by Jesse Whitty. The Footnotes series is created at the University of Toronto, in Canada, with support from eCampus Ontario.

A Footnotes reading guide by Frances Garrett for two chapters from Joseph Cheah's book, Race and Religion in American Buddhism: White Supremacy and Immigrant Adaptation (Oxford University Press, 2011), namely, the “Introduction” and Chapter 3, “Adaptation of Vipassana Meditation by Convert Buddhists and Sympathizers”. This episode of Footnotes was produced by Frances Garrett, with sound editing by Jesse Whitty. The Footnotes series is created at the University of Toronto, in Canada, with support from eCampus Ontario.

A reading guide by Tony Scott for the article, "Contemporary Buddhist Chanting and Music" by P. Greene, published in 2017 in The Oxford Handbook of Contemporary Buddhism, Oxford University Press. This episode of Footnotes was produced by Tony Scott, with sound editing by Jesse Whitty. The Footnotes series is created at the University of Toronto, in Canada, with support from eCampus Ontario.

A reading guide by Frances Garrett for a chapter by Sharon Suh called "Buddhist Meditation as Strategic Embodiment: An Optative Reflection" from the book, "Flashpoints for Asian American Studies", edited by Cathy Schlund-Vials, and Viet Thanh Nguyen, and published in 2017 by Fordham University Press. This episode of Footnotes was produced by Frances Garrett, with sound editing by Jesse Whitty. The Footnotes series is created at the University of Toronto, in Canada, with support from eCampus Ontario.

An interview by Tony Scott with Dr Tanatchaporn Kittikong on her 2015 article, "Choreographing the site of impermanence: Performing body with Buddhist philosophy and meditation in movement-based performance" in Dance Movement & Spiritualities 2(1):57-72. This episode of Footnotes was produced by Tony Scott with sound editing by Jesse Whitty. The show’s music is a single track called “Meditation” created by the artist Synapsis working in Perth, Australia. Synapsis can be reached at a-zone records@live.ca. The Footnotes series is created at the University of Toronto in Canada with support from ecampus Ontario. Image of Tanatchaporn Kittikong from her doctoral thesis.