Eva Natanya

Advisors: David Germano and Kurtis Schaeffer
Year Entered Program: 2010
Year Completed PhD: 2017
Current Status: Alumnus
Educational Background: Fordham University; Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, CA.

Research Interests

Drawing upon a multi-faceted background in Christian Theology and Tibetan Buddhism, I wrote my doctoral dissertation on the Vajrayana philosophy of Je Tsongkhapa (1357-1419), focusing on his explanations of the system of Guhyasamaja. By examining several of Tsongkhapa’s tantric commentaries alongside his most important works on the Mind-Only and Middle Way schools of Indian Buddhist philosophy, I sought to discover how different portions of his thought might be understood to form a systematic whole. I believe we can grasp the practical, transformative applications of Tsongkhapa’s Middle Way view much more clearly when reading these specialized texts in the light of his broader vision of Buddhist cosmology, ethics, human nature, and perceptual theory. I also propose that we gain insight into lesser known implications of Tsongkhapa’s Madhyamaka when turning to passages where he explained that view specifically for the purpose of Vajrayana meditation.