Professor Halkias Talks Tibetan Pure Land Buddhism

A few months ago the Asia Pacific Memo sat down with Dr. Georgios T. Halkias a noted scholar of Pure Land Buddhism, particularly of the Himalayan region, and the author of Luminous Bliss, A Religious History of Pure Land Literature in Tibet (University of Hawai'i Press, 2012). In our discussion, which we present here in abridged form, Dr. Halkias considers the special characteristics of Tibetan Pure Land Buddhism and Tantric Buddhism in particular, as well as the relationship between Tibetan Buddhism and Asian Buddhism more generally. Finally, he touches upon the challenges, both disciplinary and personal, facing scholars studying Tibetan Buddhism today. Dr. Georgios T. Halkias is an Assistant Professor of Buddhism at the Centre of Buddhist Studies, The University of Hong Kong. Since 2007 he has also been a Visiting Associate Researcher at the Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford, and since 2009 a Fellow at the Oxford Centre of Buddhist Studies. He was interviewed by Jessica Main of the Institute of Asian Research and Department of Asian Studies, University of British Columbia, and since 2009 the Tung Lin Kok Yuen Canada Foundation Chair on Buddhism and Contemporary Society.