Donald S. Lopez Jr. | |
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Personal | |
Born | 1952 (age 71–72) Washington, D.C. |
Religion | Unknown |
Education | University of Virginia |
Occupation | Professor of buddhist and tibetan studies author |
Senior posting | |
Based in | University of Michigan |
Donald Sewell Lopez Jr. (born 1952) is an American scholar of Buddhism and the Arthur E. Link Distinguished university professor of Buddhist and Tibetan Studies at the University of Michigan, in the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures. [1]
Lopez was born in Washington, D.C., and is the son of U.S. Air Force pilot and Smithsonian Institution official Donald Lopez. He was educated at the University of Virginia, receiving a B.A. (Hons) in Religious Studies in 1974, an M.A. in Buddhist Studies in 1977, and his doctorate in Buddhist Studies in 1982. [1] He is married to another prominent Religious Studies scholar, Tomoko Masuzawa. [2]
Lopez is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has written and edited many books on various aspects of the religions of Asia. He specializes in late Indian Mahayana Buddhism and in Tibetan Buddhism and commands classical and colloquial Tibetan. [3] In 2008, he gave four talks on The Scientific Buddha: Past, Present, Future as part of a Dwight H. Terry Lectureship at Yale University. In 2012, he delivered the Edwin O. Reischauer Lectures at Harvard, "The White Lama Ippolito".
He is a long-term associate of Yale professor of New Testament studies Dale Martin. [4]
Hīnayāna is a Sanskrit term that was at one time applied collectively to the Śrāvakayāna and Pratyekabuddhayāna paths of Buddhism. This term appeared around the first or second century. The Hīnayāna is considered as the preliminary or small (hina) vehicle (yana) of the Buddha's teachings. It is often contrasted with Mahāyāna, the second vehicle of the Buddha's teachings, or the great (maha) vehicle (yana). The third vehicle of the Buddha's teachings is the Vajrayana, the indestructible (vajra) vehicle (yana).
The Kadam school of Tibetan Buddhism, or Kadampa was an 11th century Buddhist tradition founded by the great Bengali master Atiśa (982–1054) and his students including Dromtön (1005–1064), a Tibetan Buddhist lay master. The Kadampa stressed compassion, pure discipline and study. By the 15th century, Tsongkapa is credited with synthesizing and folding Kadampa lineages into the Gelug school.
The purpose of this timeline is to give a detailed account of Buddhism from the birth of Gautama Buddha to the present.
The relationship between Buddhism and science is a subject of contemporary discussion and debate among Buddhists, scientists, and scholars of Buddhism. Historically, Buddhism encompasses many types of beliefs, traditions and practices, so it is difficult to assert any single "Buddhism" in relation to science. Similarly, the issue of what "science" refers to remains a subject of debate, and there is no single view on this issue. Those who compare science with Buddhism may use "science" to refer to "a method of sober and rational investigation" or may refer to specific scientific theories, methods or technologies.
Buddhism in the West broadly encompasses the knowledge and practice of Buddhism outside of Asia in the Western world. Occasional intersections between Western civilization and the Buddhist world have been occurring for thousands of years. The first Westerners to become Buddhists were Greeks who settled in Bactria and India during the Hellenistic period. They became influential figures during the reigns of the Indo-Greek kings, whose patronage of Buddhism led to the emergence of Greco-Buddhism and Greco-Buddhist art. There was little contact between the Western and Buddhist cultures during most of the Middle Ages but the early modern rise of global trade and mercantilism, improved navigation technology and the European colonization of Asian Buddhist countries led to increased knowledge of Buddhism among Westerners. This increased contact led to various responses from Buddhists and Westerners throughout the modern era. These include religious proselytism, religious polemics and debates, Buddhist modernism, Western convert Buddhists and the rise of Buddhist studies in Western academia. During the 20th century, there was a growth in Western Buddhism due to various factors such as immigration, globalization, the decline of Christianity and increased interest among Westerners. The various schools of Buddhism are now established in all major Western countries making up a small minority in the United States, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
Oṃ maṇi padme hūm̐ is the six-syllabled Sanskrit mantra particularly associated with the four-armed Shadakshari form of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. It first appeared in the Mahayana Kāraṇḍavyūhasūtra, where it is also referred to as the sadaksara and the paramahrdaya, or "innermost heart" of Avalokiteshvara. In this text, the mantra is seen as the condensed form of all Buddhist teachings.
Subhūti was one of the ten principal disciples of the Buddha. In Theravada Buddhism he is considered the disciple who was foremost in being "worthy of gifts" and "living remote and in peace". In Mahayana Buddhism, he is considered foremost in understanding emptiness.
In Buddhism, refuge or taking refuge refers to a religious practice which often includes a prayer or recitation performed at the beginning of the day or of a practice session. Its object is typically the Three Jewels, which are the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. Taking refuge is a form of aspiration to lead a life with the Triple Gem at its core. In early Buddhist scriptures, taking refuge is an expression of determination to follow the Buddha's path, but not a relinquishing of responsibility. Refuge is common to all major schools of Buddhism.
In Tibetan Buddhist tradition, Shambhala, also spelled Shambala or Shamballa, is a spiritual kingdom. Shambhala is mentioned in the Kalachakra Tantra. The Bon scriptures speak of a closely related land called Tagzig Olmo Lung Ring.
Gohonzon (御本尊) is a generic term for a venerated religious object in Japanese Buddhism. It may take the form of a scroll or statuary. The term gohonzon typically refers to the mainstream use of venerated objects within Nichiren Buddhism, referring to the calligraphic paper mandala inscribed by the 13th Japanese Buddhist priest Nichiren to which devotional chanting is directed.
Dharanis, also known as (Skt.) vidyās and paritas or (Pal.) parittas, are lengthier Buddhist mantras functioning as mnemonic codes, incantations, or recitations, and almost exclusively written originally in Sanskrit while Pali dharanis also exist. Believed to generate protection and the power to generate merit for the Buddhist practitioner, they constitute a major part of historic Buddhist literature. Most dharanis are in Sanskrit written in scripts such as Siddhaṃ as can be transliterated into Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Sinhala, Thai and other regional scripts. They are similar to and reflect a continuity of the Vedic chants and mantras.
Southern Buddhism, Eastern Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism are geographical terms sometimes used to describe the three main schools of Buddhism as it spread from the northeastern region of the Indian subcontinent throughout Central Asia, East Asia, Mainland Southeast Asia, and Maritime Southeast Asia.
Buddhism, also known as Buddha Dharma, is an Indian religion and philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or 5th century BCE. It is the world's fourth-largest religion, with over 520 million followers, known as Buddhists, who comprise seven percent of the global population. It arose in the eastern Gangetic plain as a śramaṇa movement in the 5th century BCE, and gradually spread throughout much of Asia. Buddhism has subsequently played a major role in Asian culture and spirituality, eventually spreading to the West in the 20th century.
Theosophical teachings have borrowed some concepts and terms from Buddhism. Some theosophists like Helena Blavatsky, Helena Roerich and Henry Steel Olcott also became Buddhists. Henry Steel Olcott helped shape the design of the Buddhist flag. Tibetan Buddhism was popularised in the West at first mainly by Theosophists including Evans-Wentz and Alexandra David-Neel.
Navayāna, otherwise known as Navayāna Buddhism, refers to the modern re-interpretation of Buddhism founded and developed by the Indian jurist, social reformer, and scholar B. R. Ambedkar; it is otherwise called Neo-Buddhism and Ambedkarite Buddhism.
Gendun Chompel or Gendün Chöphel (1903–1951) was a Tibetan scholar, thinker, writer, poet, linguist, and artist. He was born in 1903 in Shompongshe, Rebkong, Amdo. He was a creative and controversial figure and is considered by many to have been one of the most important Tibetan intellectuals of the twentieth century.
Buddhist studies, also known as Buddhology, is the academic study of Buddhism. The term Buddhology was coined in the early 20th century by the Unitarian minister Joseph Estlin Carpenter to mean the "study of Buddhahood, the nature of the Buddha, and doctrines of a Buddha", but the terms Buddhology and Buddhist studies are generally synonymous in the contemporary context. According to William M. Johnston, in some specific contexts, Buddhology may be viewed as a subset of Buddhist studies, with a focus on Buddhist hermeneutics, exegesis, ontology and Buddha's attributes. Scholars of Buddhist studies focus on the history, culture, archaeology, arts, philology, anthropology, sociology, theology, philosophy, practices, interreligious comparative studies and other subjects related to Buddhism.
Buddhist modernism are new movements based on modern era reinterpretations of Buddhism. David McMahan states that modernism in Buddhism is similar to those found in other religions. The sources of influences have variously been an engagement of Buddhist communities and teachers with the new cultures and methodologies such as "Western monotheism; rationalism and scientific naturalism; and Romantic expressivism". The influence of monotheism has been the internalization of Buddhist gods to make it acceptable in modern Western society, while scientific naturalism and romanticism has influenced the emphasis on current life, empirical defense, reason, psychological and health benefits.
Sadāparibhūta Bodhisattva, Never Disparaging Bodhisattva, appears in Lotus Sutra Chapter 20 which describes the practices of Bodhisattva Never Disparaging, who lived in the Middle Period of the Law of the Buddha Awesome Sound King. He persevered in the face of persecution for the sake of the correct teaching, and finally attained Buddhahood. Bodhisattva Never Disparaging was Shakyamuni Buddha in one of his past lifetimes.
Prabhūtaratna, translated as Abundant Treasures or Many Treasures, is the Buddha who appears and verifies Shakyamuni's teachings in the Lotus Sutra and the Samantabhadra Meditation Sutra.
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: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)I've known Don Lopez for about twenty years. I began teaching at Duke University in 1988, and Don's wife, Tomoko Masuzawa, who is a theorist in religious studies, was in the Religious Studies Department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, just down the road. Don, who was just about to start teaching then at the University of Michigan, would be in Chapel Hill regularly. We all became not only colleagues and regular dialogue partners on issues of religion and culture; we also became good friends. We've eaten many dinners together, and drunk much wine; we've commiserated together through many disappointing political seasons, especially, it seems, in North Carolina during the Jesse Helms Dark Ages. But we've also vacationed together on the beaches in North Carolina. Both Tomoko and Don are valued friends, and it's with real joy and affection that I introduce him tonight.
External videos | |
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The Scientific Buddha: Past, Present, Future – "A Purified Religion", Yale University, October 1, 2008 |
The Unfortunate Idol Fo: The Story of a Forgotten Buddha, Fairbank Center, Harvard University, April 17, 2012 |