Faculty
Our faculty is comprised of expert scholars and educators in the fields of Yoga Studies, Indology, Religious Studies, and South Asian Studies.
Dr. Geoffrey Barstow
Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Oregon State University
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Dr. Geoffrey Barstow first encountered Tibetan Buddhism in 1999, and since that time the study of Tibetan religion, history, and culture has been the focus of his professional life. For the last decade and a half, his research has focussed on the history and practice of vegetarianism on the Tibetan plateau, asking questions about how animals were viewed, how they were treated (i.e., eaten), what that can tell us about Tibetan Buddhism, and how Buddhist ideas about animal ethics might impact broader philosophical discussions. His published work includes Food of Sinful Demons: A History of Vegetarianism in Tibet (Columbia University Press) and The Faults of Meat: Tibetan Writings on Vegetarianism (Wisdom Publications).
 Courses taught:Â
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Selected Publications:Â
- 2021. “A Case for Vegetarianism.” Voices from Larung Gar. Ed. Holly Gayley and Jann Ronis. Boston: Wisdom.
- 2020. “Skillful Memories: Recalling the Traumatic Past in the Life of Tangla Tsewang.” Conflicting Memories: Post-Mao Retellings of Early Tibetan Encounters with the Chinese Communist Party. Eds. Benno Weiner, Françoise Robin, and Robbie Barnett. Leiden: Brill: 547-570.
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2019. “Monastic Meat: The Question of Meat Eating and Vegetarianism in Tibetan Buddhist Monastic Guidelines (bca’ yig).” Religions, 10(4).
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2019. “On the Moral Standing of Animals in Tibetan Buddhism.” Études mongoles & sibériennes, centrasiatiques & tibétaines, 50.
- 2019. Editor. The Faults of Meat: Tibetan Buddhist Writings on Vegetarianism. Boston: Wisdom Publications.
- 2018. Food of Sinful Demons: Meat, Vegetarianism, and the Limits of Buddhism in Tibet. New York: Columbia University Press.
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2017. “A Necessary Evil: Shardza Tashi Gyeltsen's Advice on Eating Meat.” Buddhist Luminaries: Inspired Advice by Nineteenth-Century Ecumenical Masters in Eastern Tibet. Eds. Holly Gayley and Josh Shapeiro. Boston: Wisdom.
2013. “Between Abstinence and Indulgence: Vegetarianism in the Life and Works of Jigmé Lingpa.” Journal of Buddhist Ethics 20: 73-104.
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