Faculty of Oriental Studies

All episodes

Title	Description	People	Date
Nidhi (treasure) in the Jayadrathayāmala, a 10th century tantric compendium from Kashmir (Oxford Treasure Seminar Series)	Olga Serbaeva describes how the Jayadrathayāmala envisaged magically discovered nidhi (treasure) as an integral part of its soteriological program.	Olga Serbaeva, Robert Mayer	4 March, 2025
Treasure and archaeology: reflections on the Begram hoard and the interpretation of deposits of valuable objects (Oxford Treasure Seminar Series)	Lauren Morris examines archaeologically discovered hoards: how does one tell if their concealment was pragmatic, or ritual? And can one always even make such distinctions?	Lauren Morris, Robert Mayer	11 February, 2025
Do they think money grows on trees? Yakṣas, nāgās and nidhis (Oxford Treasure Seminar Series)	John Guy looks at the embracing presence of gods of place in early Buddhist art.	John Guy	19 December, 2024
Deep Histories: the ground-waters of serpentine treasure guardians (Oxford Treasure Seminar Series)	Veronica Strang explores the role of serpentine water beings as guardians of treasures.	Veronica Strang	29 November, 2024
Asian Territorial Deity Cosmologies as Vehicles for the Transmission of Buddhadharma (Oxford Treasure Seminar Series)	Robert Mayer's analysis of Guru Chowang's enduring connection between territorial deity cosmologies and the preservation of hidden teachings in Tibetan Buddhism	Robert Mayer	5 July, 2024
Nāgas and relic treasures in the Mahāvaṃsa (Oxford Treasure Seminar Series)	Kristin Scheible uncovers the hidden role of nāgas in defining Buddhist treasures and explores their surprising significance in safeguarding sacred relics through early texts	Kristin Scheible	5 July, 2024
The Successive Avatars of the Heart Essence of the Ḍākinī: Termas as Continuous Revelation (Oxford Treasure Seminar Series)	Team presentation on the project "For a Critical History of the Northern Treasures" (FCHNT)	For a Critical History of the Northern Treasures (FCHNT)	13 June, 2024
Concealed Prosperity: Why People and Territorial Deities Need Treasures (Oxford Treasure Seminar Series)	This talk explores the intricate cosmology of territorial deities in Tibet and related concepts of land, prosperity, and fecundity, as well as sociality and socio-political organisation	Anna Sehnalova	13 June, 2024
Unseen Beings and Tibetan Eco-Daemonology	Erik Jampa Andersson's presentation delves into the intricate world of Tibetan eco-daemonology and advocates for a deeper understanding of Traditional Ecological Knowledge	Erik Jampa Andersson	24 November, 2023
Recalibrating the Perspective on Tibetan and Himalayan History: Identity- and Nation-Building in Bhutan	In this talk, Dr. Dagmar Schwerk presents the work-in-progress of her current research project, an investigation into identity- and nation-building in eighteenth-century Bhutan	Dagmar Schwerk	13 November, 2023
‘Treasures’ (gter ma) and treasure-finders in Yungdrung Bön: a Tibetan tradition spanning a thousand years (Oxford Treasure Seminar Series)	This talk presents an outline of the Yungdrung Bön ’Treasure’ tradition	Per Kværne	9 August, 2023
Yoginīs, Revelation, and Hidden Knowledge in Tantric Śaivism (Oxford Treasure Seminar Series)	This presentation examines Śākta transformations of conceptions of revelation and the transmission of esoteric knowledge in Mantramārga Śaivism	Shaman Hatley	12 July, 2023
Nectar, Water, or Blood? A Buddhist History of Perceptual Relativism	In this talk, Jacob Fisher presents his research on a history of the Buddhist discussions surrounding perceptual relativism, in India and Tibet	Jacob Fisher	12 July, 2023
A Chorus of Voices Chanting the Names of Mañjuśrī Rong-zom Chos-kyi-bzang-po’s Commentary on the Nāmasaṅgīti, and Its Indian Sources	Nicola Bajetta takes us through Rongzom Chökyi Zangpo's commentary on the Nāmasaṅgīti, a hymn of praise dedicated to Mañjuśrī	Nicola Bajetta	12 July, 2023
Sūtra in Early Buddhist Treasure Texts (Oxford Treasure Seminar Series)	Reinier Langelaar’s talk on early Tibetan treasure literature’s influences, inspirations, and narrative themes	Reinier Langelaar	15 May, 2023
Early Teachings on the Four Phurpas and the Relationship between the Revelatory and Transmitted Textual Tradition (Oxford Treasure Seminar Series)	Early teachings on the Four Phurpas in the light of the Eightfold Buddha Word, Embodying the Sugatas (bka' brgyad bde gshegs 'dus pa) revelation of Myang ral Nyi ma 'od zer (1124-1192), and the relationship between the Revelatory (gter ma) and Transmitted	Cathy Cantwell	21 April, 2023
Exploring relationships between theory of practice and practice by looking at the Abhisamayālaṃkāra in Gelukpa scholasticism	Chandra Ehm's investigation into the foundations of the Geluk monastic curriculum	Chandra Ehm	17 March, 2023
The Transformation of Nyingma Identity: Some Key Developments in Contemporary Nyingma Monastic Education	Nicholas Hobhouse on Developments in Contemporary Nyingma Monastic Education	Nicholas Hobhouse	17 March, 2023
Forms of Buddhist treasures (re)discovered in Kalmykia (Oxford Treasure Seminar Series)	Valeriya Gazizova's talk on several cases of ‘treasure’ concealment and discoveries in the Buddhist society of postsocialist Kalmykia	Valeriya Gazizova	1 March, 2023
Exploring Rendawa’s Madhyamaka Legacy	Drukgyel Tsering's talk on Rendawa Shonu Lodro (1349–1412), the famed teacher of Lama Tsongkhapa and important progenitor of Madhyamaka philosophy in Tibet	Drukgyal Tsering	28 February, 2023
The Rgyud sde spyi rnam ascribed to Rin chen bzang po (958–1055) and its authoritative sources	Sonam Choden discusses Lo tsā ba Rin chen bzang po's composition of his "General Presentation of the Tantric Systems" and its authoritative sources	Sonam Choden	28 February, 2023
How Tibetans Received and Perceived the Yuan Edicts: Some Preliminary Observations	This lecture highlights Tibetan responses to the Mongol imperial bureaucratic practices during the 14th century	Penghao Sun, Trawang	15 February, 2023
Theorizing Buddhist Revelation in the Great Lamp of the Dharma Dhāraṇī Scripture (Oxford Treasure Seminar Series)	The Great Lamp of the Dharma Dhāraṇī Scripture and its theory on scriptual revelation in the Mahāyāna tradition.	Ryan Overbey	14 February, 2023
A typology of modes of revelations in Chinese religious history (Oxford Treasure Seminar Series)	Vincent Goossaert's talk on the ritual production of revelation in Chinese religious history	Vincent Goossaert	14 February, 2023
Towards a textual discourse analysis of Longchenpa’s writings on Buddha nature	Gregory Forgues presents his research on Longchenpa's writings on Buddha nature	Gregory Forgues	10 February, 2023
Variants of the Rudra Subjugation Myth: Contrasting Themes in the Legends of Mahākāla and Vajrabhairava	Cameron Bailey's talk on wrathful deities and their myths	Cameron Bailey	11 January, 2023
The Rise of Guru Yoga in Twelfth-Century Tibet	Zim Pickens looks at the origins of guru or lama worship in Tibet, introducing us to the Indian antecedents and the Tibetan emphasis on the role and status of the lama.	Zim Pickens	9 November, 2022
Treasure Hunting in the Philippine Islands (Oxford Treasure Seminar Series)	Where to Look for the Missing Plunder of Pirates, Ghosts, Rebels, Fairies, Colonisers, and Dictators	Piers Kelly	3 November, 2022
Treasure Traditions in Greece (Oxford Treasure Seminar Series)	Charles Stewart's surveys the diversity of treasure traditions in Greece	Charles Stewart	3 November, 2022
'Tibetanness' in Dharamsala - how does the youngest generation of artists define their identity?	Paulina Koniuch introduces us to the latest Tibetan art trends in social media and how Tibetan identities are negotiated	Paulina Koniuch	28 October, 2022
Displacement: Tibetan Buddhist Contributions to the International Humanitarian Field	Dr Kilby's talk explores Tibetan Buddhist perspectives on displacement that can inform the international humanitarian response to the displacement crisis	Christina Kilby	20 October, 2022
Dharmabhāṇakas, Siddhas, Avatārakasiddhas, and gTer stons (Oxford Treasure Seminar Series)	This lecture offers a new look at the origins of Gter ma literature in an intertextual framework.	Robert Mayer	8 June, 2022
Early Explanations for the Appearance of Mahāyāna sūtras (Oxford Treasure Seminar Series)	A presentation looking at how early Mahayana sutras explain where they came from.	David Drewes	8 June, 2022
Revelation and Rediscovery: Early Medieval Indian Origin Myths of the Tantras (Oxford Treasure Seminar Series)	David Gray talks about revelatory or "treasure" texts from Indian and Tibetan perspectives in a comparative framework.	David Gray	6 May, 2022
Perfected Beings in Human Form: The Siddha Tradition in Śaiva Tantra (Oxford Treasure Seminar Series)	John Nemec's talk on the origin of siddha and its polysemic application in Sanskrit textual sources.	John Nemec	6 May, 2022
Thomas Newhall, ‘Partially in Accord with the Greater Vehicle: Reading the Four-Part Vinaya as a Mahāyāna text in Daoxuan's Commentaries’	Reading Mahāyāna Scriptures Conference, Sept 25-26, 2021	Thomas Newhall	30 March, 2022
Dr. Stephanie Balkwill, ‘Reading the Sūtra of the Unsullied Worthy Girl’	Reading Mahāyāna Scriptures Conference, Sept 25-26, 2021	Stephanie Balkwill	30 March, 2022
Dr. Reed Criddle, ‘Collective oral tradition in the musical recitation of the Medicine Buddha Sūtra’	Reading Mahāyāna Scriptures Conference, Sept 25-26, 2021	Reed Criddle	30 March, 2022
Dr. Rafal K. Stepien, ‘On Numen in Antinomianism, or Reading Religion in Irreligion’	Reading Mahāyāna Scriptures Conference, Sept 25-26, 2021	Rafal K. Stepien	30 March, 2022
Nic Newton, ‘Description, Visualisation, and Concatenation in the Larger Sukhāvatīvyūhasūtra’	Reading Mahāyāna Scriptures Conference, Sept 25-26, 2021	Nic Newton	30 March, 2022
Dr. Mikael Bauer, ‘Tracing the exoteric-esoteric in pre-modern Japanese Dharma Assemblies’	Reading Mahāyāna Scriptures Conference, Sept 25-26, 2021	Mikael Bauer	30 March, 2022
Dr. Gregory Adam Scott, ‘Reading Mahāyāna Scriptures in Modern China: The Role of Scriptural Presses, Distributors, and Buddhist Bookstores’	Reading Mahāyāna Scriptures Conference, Sept 25-26, 2021	Gregory Adam Scott	30 March, 2022
Dr. David Drewes, ‘How Many Mahāyānas Were There?’	Reading Mahāyāna Scriptures Conference, Sept 25-26, 2021	David Drewes	30 March, 2022
Dr. D.E. Osto, ‘Virtual Realities: A Mahāyāna Interpretation based on The Supreme Array Scripture’	Reading Mahāyāna Scriptures Conference, Sept 25-26, 2021	D. E. Osto	29 March, 2022
Dr. Charles DiSimone, ‘Identical Cousins? Insights on the Parallel Development of Prajñāpāramitā Families Gleaned from New Manuscript Discoveries in Greater Gandhāra’	Reading Mahāyāna Scriptures Conference, Sept 25-26, 2021	Charles DiSimone	29 March, 2022
Prof. Paul Harrison, Keynote: ‘Mahāyāna Sūtras: Reading As, Reading For, Reading Into’	Reading Mahāyāna Scriptures Conference, Sept 25-26, 2021	Paul Harrison	29 March, 2022
Dr. Berthe Jansen, ‘The Role of Indic Mahāyāna Scriptures in Tibetan Legal Texts’	Reading Mahāyāna Scriptures Conference, Sept 25-26, 2021	Berthe Jansen	29 March, 2022
The Dharmabhāṇaka’s Body and the Ontologization of Authority (Oxford Treasure Seminar Series)	This talk by Natalie Gummer explores the role of Dharmabhāṇaka – those who recite the Dharma – in Mahāyāna Sutras	Natalie Gummer	15 March, 2022
Medicine Mountains along the Himalayas: Healing, Trade, and Ecology	The Greater Himalayas extend through many different kinds of community. This lecture considers several ‘medicine mountains’, particular mountains that fold society and ecology together, and explores them as a comparative category	Will Tuladhar-Douglas	25 May, 2021
Why Go on Pilgrimage? Geomancy and the Transformational Powers of Sacred Places in Tibetan Buddhism and Bon	This presentation considers the association between pilgrimage and healing in Tibet through an exploration of the process whereby natural sites are imbued with meaning	Charles Ramble	25 May, 2021
Reading khrims Between the Lines: The Rise of Legality in 13th Century Central Tibet	Daniel introduces us to the term khrims and looks at the “rise of legality” in 13th century Central Tibet.	Daniel Wojahn	25 May, 2021
Virūpa is Virūpākṣa: Towards an Indo-Tibetan Siddha Corpus	Westin Harris opens the dialogue between Tibetan, Nāth and Yoga studies centred around the figure of Virūpa	Westin Lee Harris	12 May, 2021
Buddhism and Gender Perspectives in Sikkim: Historical and Contemporary Approaches	The talk explores the historical and contemporary influence of women in Sikkim from a Buddhist perspective	Marlene Erschbamer	10 May, 2021
Connections in the Making and Meaning of the Art of Bhutan and Tibet in the 17 th and 18 th Centuries: A Study of the Wall Paintings at Tango Monastery	Pu Lan discusses her PhD project, which explores the 17th-century Monastery of Tango and how it illustrates the development of wall painting technology in Bhutan	Pu Lan	31 March, 2021
The Geluk Domestication of Tantra	Brenton Sullivan presents his new book "Building a Religious Empire: Tibetan Buddhism, Bureaucracy, and the Rise of the Gelukpa" and discuss the third chapter, "Institutionalizing Tantra", in more detail	Brenton Sullivan	31 March, 2021
The Mongolian Kanjur - Should Tibetologists Care?	Kirill Alekseev presents his latest research on the Mongolian Kanjur and its ramifications in Tibetan Studies	Kirill Alekseev	16 March, 2021
Layers of Protection: Everyday Life with Empowered Objects	In her talk, Inger Vasstveit discusses “empowered objects” - small Buddhist objects that people wear on their person - in relation to the broader socio-political and cosmological environment in India	Inger Vasstveit	2 March, 2021
Death by Poisoning: Cautionary Narratives and Inter-Ethnic Accusations in Contemporary Sikkim	Kikee Bhutia talks about the contemporary discourses around ‘othering’ in Sikkim and analyse the region’s inter-ethnic challenges	Kikee Bhutia	4 February, 2021
Fervent admiration and devotion: Exploring devotional literature in the collected works of the 3rd Dodrupchen	Renée Ford's introduction to the devotional literature in the collected works of the 3rd Dodrupchen composed in admiration of his late teacher Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo.	Renée Ford	2 February, 2021
The Role of Prophecies in the Construction of the Geluk Tradition	In this talk, Michael Ium explores the role of prophecies in the legitimation and construction of the Geluk tradition.	Michael Ium	3 December, 2020
Liu pin fo lou (Building of Six Classes of Sutra and Tantra), the Tibetan Buddhist pantheon in the Forbidden City	Ziyi Shao takes us to the reign of the Qianlong Emperor and will show us around the Fan hua lou (Hall of Buddhist Efflorescence), one of the most complex and prominent Buddhist monuments in the Forbidden city	Ziyi Shao	26 November, 2020
Culture of Emotions: Uses and Interpretations of Musical Heritage in the Tibetan Refugee Community of Dharamsala	Chloé Lukasiewicz talk on the significance of music in the Tibetan refugee community in Dharamsala, India	Chloé Lukasiewicz	19 November, 2020
Buddhism and the Rise of ‘the Tibetans’ (bod pa): Religion, Myth and the Promotion of Ethnicity in the Pre-modern Period	Apropos 'the Tibetans': Reinier Langelaar's talk focuses on the mythical origins and the promotion of ethnicity in historical Tibet	Reinier Langelaar	5 November, 2020
Human Remains in Tibetan Material Religion: An object centered approach	Ayesha Fuentes shares a unique and interdisciplinary insight into art conservation of human remains in Tibetan material religion	Ayesha Fuentes	29 October, 2020
Sacred Trash, Trash Talks, And Personhood	Bo Wang discussing the practice of depositing garments as offerings to sacred mountains in Eastern Tibet	Bo Wang	29 October, 2020
The First Tibetan Block Print: The Khara-Khoto Collection of Precious Dhāraṇīs with the Emperor's Postscript	Alla Sizova discusses the role of translation activities in the spread of Buddhism in the 12th century and outlines the extent of Tibetan influence on the Tangut culture.	Alla A. Sizova	15 October, 2020
Fictional Facts or Factual Fiction? The Social Reality behind Kha stag ʼDzam yag’s "Diary" and Lhag pa Don grub’s "Life of a mule driver"	Fictional Facts or Factual Fiction? Lucia Galli's talk on self-representation and the social reality behind two Tibetan memoirs	Lucia Galli	4 June, 2020
The Nechung Oracle and the Construction of Identity in the Tibetan Diaspora	The Oracle in Exile: Pema Choedon's talk on the Nechung Oracle and identity construction in the Tibetan Diaspora	Pema Choedon	28 May, 2020
The Mortality of the Dalai Lama and its Scriptural Sources: A Study in Tibetan Buddhist Political Theology	I am currently focusing on the problem of the Dalai Lama’s mortality that is, the question of how to come to terms with his suffering and death, in light of the association between Tibetan kingship and the deity Avalokiteśvara.	Ian MacCormack	21 May, 2020
Preliminary Practices: Bloody Knees, Calloused Palms and the Transformative Nature of Women’s Labor	The Preliminary Practices not only initiate practitioners into a specific tradition, but also more fundamentally, into Vajrayana Buddhism as it is practiced in contemporary Tibet.	Kati Fitzgerald	14 May, 2020
Writing about the Nechung Oracle	Christopher Bell's talk about oracles, protector deities, and other mysteries	Christopher Bell	7 May, 2020
The sku bla of the Tibetan emperors and its metamorphosis in Yungdrung Bön	In the late 12th century Yungdrung Bön text Grags pa gling grags a deity that has a special relationship to the Tibetan ruler plays a prominent part in the narrative of the Tibetan kings.	Per Kværne	30 April, 2020
Episode 8: Death Leaves Signs	This episode, the final one of this season, features the work of Palestinian poet Yousif M. Qasmiyeh, author-in-residence at Refugee Hosts.	Yousif M. Qasmiyeh, Adriana X Jacobs	14 June, 2019
Episode 7: Living Absences	In this conversation with Trinidadian Scottish poet Vahni Capildeo, author of Venus as a Bear (2018), we explore the layered, polyphonous histories of the places we pass through and inhabit.	Vahni Capildeo, Adriana X Jacobs	7 June, 2019
Episode 6: The .01 Percent	In this episode, Israeli poet Tahel Frosh talks to us about her debut poetry collection Betsa (Avarice, 2014), financial crisis, and the value of culture.	Tahel Frosh, Adriana X Jacobs	29 May, 2019
Episode 5: The Cut Out	In this episode, I talk to US poet Diana Khoi Nguyen (Ghost Of, 2018) about the perseverance of eels, technologies of printing, and how poetry allows for the possibility that our dead will remain present with us in one form or another.	Diana Khoi Nguyen, Adriana X Jacobs	22 May, 2019
Talking with the Soul: A Dialogue about Life and Death	In this Ancient Egyptian poem, a man talks with his own soul about whether it is better to live or die. Read by Barbara Ewing. Translated by Richard Bruce Parkinson.	Barbara Ewing, Richard Parkinson	16 May, 2019
Episode 4: Survival Takes Time	Interview with US poet Laura Sims, author of Staying Alive (2016) and Looker (2018)	Laura Sims, Adriana X Jacobs	16 May, 2019
Episode 3: A Language for Grief	Interview with Israeli poet Shimon Adaf, author of Aviva-Lo (Aviva-No, 2009).	Shimon Adaf, Adriana X Jacobs	8 May, 2019
Episode 2: We Grow out of the Past	Interview with UK poet and translator Sasha Dugdale, author of Red House (2011) and Joy (2017)	Sasha Dugdale, Adriana X Jacobs	1 May, 2019
Episode 1: Like a Zombie Life	Interview with the US poet Mike Smith, author of Pocket Guide to Another Earth (2018) and And There was Evening and There was Morning (2018).	Mike Smith, Adriana X Jacobs	23 April, 2019
The Qur'an as literature	A principal reason for why the Qur'an managed to establish itself as a text believed to constitute divine revelation is that it is compelling literature. How do Islamic and modern Western scholars approach the Qur'an's literary dimension?	Nicolai Sinai	27 February, 2018
Confirming and clarifying: The Qur'an in conversation with earlier Judaeo-Christian traditions	The Qur'an's original addressees must have been familiar with earlier Jewish and Christian traditions, which the Qur'an claims both to "confirm" and to "clarify".	Nicolai Sinai	27 February, 2018
Rekindling Prophecy: The Qur'an in its historical milieu.	This second episode examines the historical context in which the material now collected in the Qur'an was first promulgated. Special attention is paid to the various groups of addressees who figure in the Qur'an.	Nicolai Sinai	27 February, 2018
Hovering about the Qur'an without entering into it? On the academic study of the Qur'an.	What does it mean to study the Qur'an historically? In this initial episode we consider how historically oriented research on the Qur'an relates to religious belief and to traditional Islamic scriptural interpretation.	Nicolai Sinai	27 February, 2018
The Life of Sinuhe	An ancient Egyptian tells his life-story from the walls of his tomb, c. 1850 BC. Read by Barbara Ewing. Translated by Richard Bruce Parkinson	Barbara Ewing, Richard Parkinson	1 November, 2016
The Queen Shrieks: The Shock of Ancient Egyptian Poetry	The Inaugural lecture of Richard B. Parkinson as Professor of Egyptology, accompanied by actress and author Barbara Ewing, on the emotional power of the famous Ancient Egyptian poem "The Tale of Sinuhe"	Richard Parkinson, Barbara Ewing	27 June, 2014
One Connected Vision of Ancient Egypt: A launch of the digitised Topographical Bibliography	Richard Parkinson, Professor of Egyptology, gives a talk about the new digital Topographical Bibliography from the Griffith Institute at Oxford.	Richard Parkinson	23 June, 2014
How to Be Publishable: Graduate Training Seminar	A crash course in how to get published, from approaching the writing process to marketing your ideas. Dr. Eugene Rogan discusses the ins and outs of academic and trade publishing with insights for students at the graduate level and beyond.	Eugene Rogan	20 February, 2014

Faculty of Oriental Studies

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Series in this collection

Buddhist Studies at Oxford

Tibetan Graduate Studies Seminar

Staying Alive: Poetry and Crisis

Introducing the Qur'an

Ancient Egyptian Poetry

Oriental Institute

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