Jay Valentine

Advisor: Kurtis Schaeffer
Year Entered Program: 2004
Currently Pursuing: PhD
Current Status: Dissertating
Courses Taught: The Experience of Buddhism (Johns Hopkins University),
Ethics (Harford Community College), Comparative Religion (Harford Community College)
Educational Background: B.A. University of Delaware – Philosophy
M.A. Naropa University – Indo-Tibetan Buddhism

Research Interests

The Lords of the Northern Treasures: The Development of the Institution of Rule by Successive Incarnations (Working Title)
My dissertation examines the biographies and autobiographies of the patriarchs of one particular Buddhist tradition (The Northern Treasure Tradition) as it developed from a community guided by charismatic revealers of scriptures and artifacts to one that was led by a series of (re)incarnations. The goal is to further understanding of the ubiquitous Tibetan social institution of “rule by incarnation” or “incarnation lineage,” both in its functions and historical development, through a case study of one particular incarnation lineage.