By Elena Drozdova 2014

[Major key]

I hold a Ph.D. in Buddhist studies from Harvard University's Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies. My scholarly work focuses on various aspects of Buddhism. For a long time I was concerned with how to make classical Buddhist literature, philosophy, and practice relevant to contemporary life. So, much of my work stems from that concern.

But, over time, something interesting happened. The more I gave thought to "contemporary life," the more actual "life" emerged. The more I permitted life to emerge–in the fullness of its spectrum–the more "Buddhism" receded. Hmmm. So, now I am more interested in a critique of this tedious tessallation called "Buddhism."

Since the early 1990s, I have taught in the religion departments of several universities, including the University of Georgia (where I received tenure), Brown University, Bowdoin College, and the Rhode Island School of Design.

I stumbled into Buddhist practice in 1975, and subsequently received training in several forms of Buddhist meditation. Here is an interview from The Worst Horse with some more details. Here's one from Seymour Magazine.

Currently, I am associate professor and chair of the Applied Meditation Studies program at the Won Institute of Graduate Studies. The Institute is an emerging leader of integrative education. It is located just outside of Philadelphia, in Glenside, Pa. It is a fifteen minute train ride from downtown Philadelphia, a one and a half hour commute from New York City, and a two and a half hour commute from Washington, D.C.

I have scrawled a few books: Basic Teachings of the Buddha (New York: Random House, 2007), The Dhammapada: Verses on the Way (New York: Random House, Modern Library, 2004), Mediating the Power of Buddhas (Albany: State University of New York Press, Buddhist Studies Series, 2002), Buddhavacana: A Pali Reader (Onalaska, Wash; Pariyatti Press, 2011), and Cruel Theory|Sublime Practice: Toward a Revaluation of Buddhism (Roskilde: EyeCorner Press, 2013) (with Tom Pepper and Matthias Steingass). I have also published several articles and reviews on various aspects of Buddhism in both scholarly journals and more popular magazines.

[Minor key]

I have inherited from the dadaists and the surrealists
A wariness concerning technological society–
Its grayness, uniformity, and boredom.

Like the horsemen of the apocalypse
I know the yearning for a completely different world,
A paradise which can–and should–be realized.

I take my fantastic constructions from utopia
But want to integrate them into realizable projects.
I refuse to banish the dream and boil down the real
To what is currently achievable.

In moments of bombast and, perhaps, desperation,
I claim for myself that supreme disposition
Of children and saints: hopefulness
That others will respond with concern
To that which stands before them.

Long live the ephemeral!

[I collaborated on this with some French Situationist.
I'm afraid I can't remember the source or his name.]