Biodata
Michael R. Sheehy; Jomonang, 2006
Michael R. Sheehy has a Ph.D. in Tibetan and Buddhist studies, and is the founder and executive director of Jonang Foundation. His doctoral dissertation was a study of the intellectual history, philosophical formulation, and literary productions of zhentong (gzhan stong) Buddhist thought according to the Jonangpa along with an annotated translation of the ground (gzhi) section of the modern Tibetan text titled, "The Great Exposition on Extrinsic Emptiness" (Gzhan stong chen mo).
From June of 2005 through November of 2007, Michael lived in a Jonang monastery in the Golok region of northeastern Tibet where he studied Buddhist thought and literature with Jonangpa scholars, and with masters in Dzamthang and Ngawa. During that time, he conducted field research on Jonang art and literature throughout the Amdo cultural domain of far eastern Tibet as part of a collaborative initiative between Jonang Foundation, Himalayan Art Resources, and the Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center (TBRC).
His most recent research is concerned with Tibetan historical and philosophical works that narrate the exegetical tradition of Zhentong Madhyamaka from the time of the Jonang author Taranatha (1575-1635), up to the modern author Khenpo Lodro Drakpa (1920-1975). In particular, he has taken an interest in the biographies and works of several of the major Tibetan authors who contributed to the late nineteenth and twentieth century renaissance of the Jonang scholastic tradition in Amdo. He is now working on a series of articles that discuss the Zhentong Madhyamaka lineage, and is translating Khenpo Lodro Drakpa's History of the Jonang Tradition.
Michael is currently the Shelly and Donald Rubin Scholar in Residence at the Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center in New York City, and an adjunct lecturer at Manhattanville College.
Select Publications
Dissertation
The Gzhan stong chen mo: A Study of Emptiness According to the Modern Tibetan Buddhist Jo nang Scholar 'Dzam thang Mkhan po Ngag dbang Blos gros Grags pa (1920-1975). Ph.D. Dissertation. California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS): San Francisco, 2007.
Articles
"A Lineage History of Vajrayoga and Tantric Zhentong from the Jonang Kalachakra Practice Tradition." In As Long As Space Endures: Essays on the Kalachakra Tantra in Honor of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Snow Lion Publications: New York, (forthcoming) 2008.
"Rangjung Dorje's Variegations of Mind: Ordinary Awareness and Pristine Awareness in Tibetan Buddhist Literature." In Buddhist Thought and Applied Psychological Research: Transcending the Boundaries. Routeledge Curzon Press, Critical Series in Buddhism: London, 2005.
"Severing the Source of Fear: Contemplative Dynamics of the Tibetan Buddhist gCod Tradition." In Contemporary Buddhism, 6.1. Routeledge Curzon Press, London, 2005.
Online Publications
"Essence of Zhentong." By Taranatha. Translator. In Jonang Foundation's Digital Library, www.jonangfoundation.org/translations, 2008.
"A Brief History of the Jonang Tradition." Author. In Jonang Foundation's Digital Library, www.jonangfoundation.org/essays, 2007.
"Supplication to the Profound Zhentong Madhyamaka Lineage." By Taranatha and Khenpo Lodrak. Translator. In Jonang Foundation's Digital Library, www.jonangfoundation.org/translations, 2007.
"Ordinary Awareness & Pristine Awareness: A Treatise on the Distinction." By the 3rd Karmapa Rangjung Dorje. Translator. In Jonang Foundation's Digital Library, www.jonangfoundation.org/translations, 2007.
