publications & presentations

Presenting at the Five College Conference for Compassionate Leadership, 2016

scholarly publications

other publications

cover image for the audible original: religious lessons from asia to the world

works in progress

  • The Synopsis of Madhyamaka, an English translation of dbu ma’i spyi don by Go rams pa bSod nams Seng ge.
  • Tibet: History, Culture, and Religion, a 24-lecture video course for Wondrium (formerly The Great Courses) (scheduled for release in 2023).
Delivering the Spring 2023 Honors Convocation address with Dr. Madera Allan

presentations & public lectures:

  • “Buddhist Studies at The Shala NYC,“ a weekly series of lectures on Buddhist history, philosophy, and social justice (March-June 2021)
  • “Organizing Time to Prioritize Research,” for the Ho Centre for Buddhist Studies at the University of Toronto’s How Do You Do It? Series (December 2020)
  • “What are Buddhist Philosophers Doing When They ‘Do Philosophy’?” American Academy of Religion annual meeting (December 9, 2020)
  • “Anger and Sticks, Compassion and Fire-Pits: Buddhist Perspectives on How to Live a Good Life,” Lawrence University Mortarboard Society, Last Lecture Series, Appleton, WI (February 19, 2020)
  • “Bhagavad Gita: Krishna’s Counsel in Time of War”, Lawrence University Freshman Studies Lecture (January 10, 2020)
  • “The Tricky Business of Innovation in Buddhist Philosophy,” Rangjung Yeshe Institute (August 2019)
  • “Polemics! Who cares?,” The 15th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Paris, France (July 13, 2019)
  • “Put On Your Shoes!,” Baccalaureate address to Lawrence University’s class of 2019, Appleton, WI (June 10, 2019)
  • “Two Wings of a Bird: Wisdom and Compassion,” Paine Art Center, Oshkosh, WI (March 22, 2019)
  • “No-Self, Karma, and Rebirth,” Paine Art Center, Oshkosh, WI (March 20, 2019)
  • “Automatic Ethical Action in Tibetan Buddhist Philosophy,” American Philosophical Association Central Division Meeting, Denver, CO (February 21, 2019)
  • “Making Sense of Space and Time with Digital Tools in the Classroom,” Emory Digital Humanities Symposium: DH for the Study and Teaching of South Asia, Atlanta, GA (April 7, 2018)
  • Panelist, “Responses to Muslim Superheroes: Comics, Islam, and Representation,” American Academy of Religion annual meeting, Boston, MA (November 18, 2017)
  • “The Roots of Compassion: Leaning Into Our Own Discomfort,” Five College Conference for Compassionate Leadership, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA (April 16, 2016)
  • “How to Win Debates and Influence History: A Case-Study from 15th-Century Tibet,” South Asia Alumnae Lecture Series, Smith College, Northampton, MA (February 2016)
  • “Rhetoric and Marginalization Through a Tibetan Buddhist Perspective,” American Academy of Religion annual meeting, Atlanta, GA (November 2015)
  • “Tibetan Buddhists on Knowing How: Intellectualists, Anti-Intellectualists, Both, or Neither?,” American Philosophical Association Central Division, St. Louis, MO (February 18, 2015)
  • “We Are What We Pretend To Be: Constructing Identity Through Argument in Tibetan Buddhism,” Emory University, Atlanta, GA (September 4, 2014)
  • “Accounting for Appearances in Go rams pa bSod nams Seng ge’s dbu ma’i spyi don,” 17th Congress of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, Vienna, Austria (August 23, 2014)
  • “Thinking the Unthinkable: Rational Analysis, Nonconceptuality, and the Philosophy of Gorampa Sonam Senge,” Rangjung Yeshe Institute, Kathmandu, Nepal (July 30, 2013)
  • “The Two Truths: The Scaffolding of Madhyamaka,” International Buddhist Academy, Kathmandu, Nepal (November 12, 2012)
  • “Madhyamaka in Tibet and Beyond: History, Development, Innovations,” International Buddhist Academy, Kathmandu, Nepal (November 11, 2012)
  • “Nonimplicative Negation and Paraconsistency in Gorampa’s spros pa dang bral ba,” American Academy of Religion Buddhist Philosophy Group, San Francisco, CA (November 2011)
  • “What Does it Mean if Emptiness is Really Empty?” International Buddhist Academy, Kathmandu, Nepal (April 3, 2011)
  • “Why Study Gorampa? – On His Influence in Tibet, and Why He Should Be Influential in the West” International Buddhist Academy, Kathmandu, Nepal (March 20, 2011)
  • “The Suppression and Resurgence of Gorampa’s Philosophy,” Fulbright South and Central Asia Conference, Goa, India (March 11, 2011)
  • “Toward a Development of Western Madhyamaka: Who Does Nāgārjuna Want Us To Be?” Madhyamaka and Methodology Symposium, Smith College, Northampton, MA (April 2010)
  • “How Do Buddhas Experience Emptiness, and What Does It Mean For the Rest of Us?” International Seminar of Young Tibetologists, Paris, France (September 7, 2009)
  • “Affirming and Negating Negation: Cataphatic and Apophatic Treatments of the Catuṣkoṭi,” American Academy of Religion Buddhist Philosophy Group, Chicago, IL (November 2008)
  • “Gorampa, Negation, and the Tetralemma: A Critique of Tsongkhapa’s Approach to Emptiness,” Stanford Graduate Religion Conference on Transcendence, Stanford, CA (April, 2008)