10. Stephen Jenkins | Understanding the Role of Compassion in Buddhism

06/21/22 • 71 min

1 Listener

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Stephen Jenkins about his beginnings as a scholar of Buddhism, his research on the place of compassion in Buddhism, and how he thinks this fundamental idea has been overlooked in many contemporary discussions of Buddhism. Plus, we discuss the relation between compassion and wisdom, the role of imagination in Buddhist practice, and the reasons Buddhist traditions argue that compassion benefits the practitioner!
We also preview Dr. Jenkins' upcoming online course, BSO 108 | Buddhism and Compassion, which will history and development of this key idea in Buddhist thought and practice.
Speaker Bio

Dr. Stephen Jenkins is Professor of Religious Studies at Humboldt State University. He received his doctorate from Harvard University in 1999. Much of his career has been spent in Asia serving study abroad programs in India, Tibet, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Japan. His research has been primarily focused on Indian Buddhist concepts of compassion, their philosophical grounding, and their ethical implications.

Links

BSO 108 | Buddhism and Compassion

Links

BSO 108 | Buddhism and Compassion

Previous Episode

9. Daniel Cozort | Should Buddhists Care About Climate Change?

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Daniel Cozort about his path to Buddhist Studies, research on Buddhist philosophy, and adventures in Buddhist ethics. We discuss the question of whether and how Buddhists might address contemporary issues like climate change. Are these topics that Buddhists should be concerned about? How have Buddhists in the past approached issues of environmentalism? Does the Buddha himself say anything about the environment? What resources in the Buddhist tradition can help address these problems, and what work remains to be done? We also preview his upcoming online course, BSO 107 | Buddhism and Climate Change, which addresses all of these issues at greater length.

Speaker Bio

Daniel Cozort is Professor Emeritus of Religion at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He retired from Dickinson College in June 2021, having taught for 37 years in many areas, but specializing in Tibetan Buddhism.
A native of North Dakota, Dr. Cozort graduated from Brown University, where he focused on Christian theology and ethics but encountered Buddhism through the Providence Zen Center. At the University of Virginia, as a student of Dr. Jeffrey Hopkins, he began his study with Tibetan lamas. He did a year of fieldwork in India, traveling broadly and staying in Tibetan monasteries.
In his teaching career, he created over forty courses, but he also curated art exhibits, directed study abroad programs in South India and in England, and made a film about sand mandalas. He is the author of six books, including Highest Yoga Tantra, Buddhist Philosophy, and Unique Tenets of the Middle Way Consequence School, as well as book chapters and articles. For thirteen years, he was the Editor of the Journal of Buddhist Ethics. His most recent book is the Oxford Handbook of Buddhist Ethics (2018), and he recently published an article in Lion’s Roar titled “Ten Years After My Accident”. He is currently compiling a new sourcebook for courses on Buddhism and climate change.

Links

Next Episode

11. Rebecca Bloom | How Art Challenges and Enriches Understandings of Buddhism

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Rebecca Bloom about her beginnings as a scholar and curator of Himalayan Buddhist art history, the meaning of "art" in a Buddhist context, and why she thinks studying art history is valuable for people interested in Buddhism. She also gives a behind-the-scenes look at how museum curators organize exhibitions, and talks about why she loves this kind of work.
We also preview her upcoming online course, BS 109 | Introduction to Buddhist Art, which will explore these issues in more depth!
Speaker Bio
Dr. Rebecca Bloom is Diane P. Stewart Assistant Director, Curatorial Affairs at the Southern Utah Museum of Art. She is a scholar and curator who specializes in Tibetan Buddhism, Buddhist material culture, and issues surrounding the intersection of religion and museums. She holds a BA in Art History and Religion from Middlebury College, an MA in Asian Religions from Yale Divinity School, and she recently received her PhD from the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Michigan, where she also earned a Graduate Certificate in Museum Studies.
Dr. Bloom began her career at the Rubin Museum of Art, where she curated and co-curated more than a dozen exhibitions of Tibetan and Himalayan art, as well as contemporary and historical photography. At the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art, she co-curated a multi-year exhibition of Buddhist art entitled Encountering the Buddha: Art and Practice across Asia, for which she designed the Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room and created the related app, Sacred Spaces. Assembly of the Exalted: The Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room, coauthored with Donald S. Lopez, Jr., focuses on the shrine’s history and its objects. Dr. Bloom also contributed to a multi-disciplinary project dedicated to the pilgrimage of the eighth-century, Korean monk, Hyecho. The project produced two apps, a website, and a book that each explore the world of Buddhism Hyecho encountered on his journey, with special attention paid to Buddhist material culture.
Links discussed in episode