FACULTY

​John D. Dunne holds the Distinguished Chair in Contemplative Humanities, at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.  
John's work is guided by the motivation to reduce suffering and enhance flourishing, and he brings that intention to his work on Buddhist philosophy and contemplative practice, especially in dialog with cognitive science and secularized contemplative interventions.

FACULTY

James Gentry is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Stanford. He specializes in Tibetan Buddhism, with particular focus on the literature and history of its Tantric traditions.

James’s research ranges across Tibetan and Himalayan intellectual history, material culture, contemplative and ritual practice, and scriptural translation, revelation, and canonicity, from the Tibetan imperial period to the present.

FACULTY

As a scholar and translator at 84000 Ana Cristina Lopes specializes in Tibetan Buddhist literature and culture, working at the intersection of textual scholarship and the living transmission of Buddhist thought.

Ana Cristina has served as faculty at the University of Virginia and UNC Greensboro, and has taught at Stanford University.

EXTENDED FACULTY

Khenpo Pema Namgyal is a senior teacher in the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Drawing on many years of study and practice, he offers clear and practical guidance in Buddhist philosophy and meditation.

EXTENDED FACULTY

Chiara Mascarello is a researcher at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, specializing in Tibetan Buddhism. Her work focuses on Indo-Tibetan contemplative literature, its contemporary transmission, and its interdisciplinary dialogue with modern consciousness studies. After five years as co-director of the Italian Buddhist Union’s Research Center, she continues to serve as a scientific consultant. She also lectures at several Italian universities, contributing to the academic and public discourse on contemplative practices.

EXTENDED FACULTY

Francesco Tormen is a philosopher specializing in Tibetan language, Buddhist philosophy, and contemplative studies, with teaching experience at several Italian universities. He currently serves as Co-Director of the Study Center of the Italian Buddhist Union and is actively involved in postgraduate programs in contemplative studies and neuroscience. His work bridges neuroscience and contemplative traditions. His research interests also include Madhyamaka philosophy and dialogues between Buddhism, posthumanism, and transhumanism.

SPEAKER (COURSE)

Jim Rheingans is Professor for Tibetan Studies at the University of
Vienna and key researcher in the interdisciplinary Cluster of Excellence
"Eurasian Transformations." Jim’s main research concerns the religious
and intellectual history of the Tibetan plateau with a focus on Buddhist
meditative traditions and their masters (Kagyu and Sakya) from the 13th
to the 17th century and Tibetan literary genres. He is also interested
in interdisciplinary collaborations, in particular the exchange with
cognitive Neuroscience in investigating Himalayan contemplative
traditions (founding of the Vienna Meditation Research Network in 2023).
Next to his research, he has acted as interpreter for Tibetan scholars
and meditation masters for more than twenty years.

SPEAKER (COURSE)

Julian is a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer at the Department of South Asian, Tibetan and Buddhist Studies at the University of Vienna. Trained in Indology, Tibetology, Philosophy, and Religious Studies, he specializes in Indo-Tibetan tantric traditions, with a focus on primary Sanskrit sources and Tibetan translation literature. He has published, e.g., on dohā traditions and exegetical “siddha literature” centered on Mahāmudrā and the Kālacakra. In addition to textual scholarship, Julian engages with contemplative studies, aiming at uniting humanities with scientific perspectives. Julian has done contemplative training in Japanese, Chinese and foremost Himalayan and Indian spiritual traditions of tantric Buddhism, Yoga and Qi Gong.