In the summer of 2022, the Ho Centre for Buddhist Studies offered numerous graduate students support for summer research and travel. Here is a roundup of some of their stimulating and enriching activities, ranging from North America, to Europe, to Nepal’s Kathmandu Valley. Emaho!
Andrew Dade, PhD Candidate in the Department for the Study of Religion
Earlier in the summer, Andrew was able to visit Northern Illinois University (a designated Center for Burma Studies by the Burma Studies Group of the Association for Asian Studies). There, he was able to locate texts relevant to his dissertation research, as well as to chat with the director of the Southeast Asian Digital Library concerning issues of equity in the use of a transliteration system for Burmese sources (rather than Burmese script itself). Today, there is a push by graduate students and librarians to make sources available for search with Burmese script metadata in order to allow Burmese speakers access to resources without having to learn an unintuitive transliteration system.
Jade Hui, MA Student in the Department for the Study of Religion
This summer, Jade engaged in a summer traineeship to consult Buddhist manuscripts in the British Library and British Museum in London. Along with their MA advisor Amanda Goodman, Jade examined a set of tenth-century Chinese Buddhist manuscripts from the Dunhuang cave library. These materials constitute important background research for their major research project into Buddhist interactions with queer theory and disability studies.
Prabhjeet Johal, PhD Candidate in the Department of Art History
Prabhjeet received a research travel grant this summer to visit numerous collections holding material objects stemming from Gandharan and Arsacid contexts. Visiting museums and libraries across Europe, she was able to gain access to and catalog hundreds of objects related to her interest in wine culture. Given many of these objects are scattered across Europe, seldom on display, or yet to be researched, her research allowed her to contextualize these objects and bring them into conversation with one another, in the service of her wider ambition to understand these objects in the context of their original cultures, whether Gandharan or Parthian.
Ian Turner, PhD Candidate in the Department for the Study of Religion
Ian received a Buddhist Studies Research Traineeship for summer research travel and language training from the Ho Centre, for which he was hosted by the Central Department of Nepāl Bhāṣā, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu. Notably, this is the only post-secondary institution devoted specifically to the study of Nepāl Bhāṣā anywhere in the world. For four months, he had the pleasure of meeting regularly with two instructors: Dr. Omkareshwor Shrestha, outgoing chair of the Department and specialist in ethnolinguistics; and Dr. Bajramuni Bajracharya, current instructor of general linguistics and specialist in traditional Newar Buddhist ritual and culture. With both figures, he was able to read works pertaining to his research focus on domestic religiosity, as well as to participate in the lively social and intellectual life of the department and local community.
Andrea Wollein, PhD Candidate in the Department for the Study of Religion
Andrea has been conducting dissertation research in the Kathmandu Valley for much of 2022, collecting primary source material in Tibetan that was only available in the Rigon Tashi Choling Monastery in Dakshinkali, Nepal. Due to an extraordinary coincidence (or as Tibetans might say, an auspicious karmic connection), a cycle of teachings related to Andrea’s research was edited for publication (in Tibetan) by Dakpa Gyatso Acharya, an affiliate of the Ho Centre for Buddhist Studies. Meeting with Dakpa over Zoom, Andrea thus had an extremely valuable and enjoyable opportunity to improve her Tibetan translation skills and ability to understand the contexts of the texts.
