Faculty Members in Asian and Comparative Studies
Asian and Comparative Studies MA and PhD
Program Co-Directors
Steven D. Goodman, PhD
Jim Ryan, PhD
Steven D. Goodman, PhD (1984), Far Eastern Studies, University of Saskatchewan, is the program co-director whose research areas include, Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, comparative philosophy, classical Tibetan language, Mahayana Buddhism, and poetics.
Dr. Goodman is interested in the broad issues of comparativism and cross-cultural interpretation. His specialty is the Indo-Tibetan influenced forms of Mahayana and Vajrayana (tantric) Buddhism in traditional rural Himalayan settings and in contemporary urban settings.
His research and travels in Afghanistan, Iran, India, Ladakh, Nepal, and Bhutan have furthered his study of the social context of East-West contact, particularly the effects of modernization on the adaptation and survival of Buddhist traditions.
His forthcoming book to be published by Snowlion is titled Frogs in the Custard: Adventures in Buddhist Philosophy.
Jim Ryan, PhD (1985), South Asian Literature, Uuniversity of California, Berkeley,
is the program co-director whose research areas include Sanskrit, Hindi and Tamil, Hindu Tantrism, and Jainism.
Dr. Ryan’s general interests are in the culture, history, and philosophies of India. He is specifically interested in the various forms of Hindu tantra, particularly the Kashmir Shaiva traditions, the tradition of Sri Aurobindo, and the "modernized" tantra of Haridas Chaudhuri.
A secondary interest is in Jainism and the historical interplay between the non-theistic philosophical traditions and Hinduism.
In 2006, he published his translation of Civakacintamani: The Hero Civakan, the Gem That Fulfills All Wishes: Verses 1-1165, and in 2007 he co-authored the Encyclopedia of Hinduism, with CIIS colleague Constance Jones.
Rina Sircar, PhD, Indian Philosophy, Gujurat University, 1974; and in Buddhist Studies, CIAS, 1976; holds an MA in Philosophy from Rangoon University and a Dhammaratna Degree in Pali from Pongyi Sahtinkyaung.
Her research areas include, Buddhism, Abhidhamma, mindfulness meditation, Pali language, healing in the Theravāda forest tradition, cancer healing, and working with death and dying.
In Burma, the country of her birth, Dr. Sircar earned the title Dhamma-ratana (“Jewel of the Dhamma”), indicating that her scholastic training took place both in the monastery and the university.
Her areas of specialty include Abhidhamma, Pali language and chanting, Burmese Buddhist Healing Traditions, and interdisciplinary courses in East-West psychology.
She is one of the first practitioners to introduce satipatthana-vipassana meditation in the United States, and she includes meditation as an experiential component in all her classes.
Yi Wu, PhD (1970), University of Chinese Culture, has been teaching Chinese philosophy and language at CIIS since 1980. His research areas include, Chinese philosophy, religion, literature, and Chinese language.
As a proponent of integral studies, Dr. Wu has developed an Integral Life Philosophy and a method for applying it to studying Chinese philosophy. The Integral Life Philosophy includes psychology and the power of mind-transformation.
“We must find new ways to establish integral education in order to help students become full members of society. Teaching philosophy encourages students to align their daily lives with their principle spiritual values.”
Dr. Wu's publications include Chinese Philosophical Terms, The Translation of the Book of Lao Tzu, The Mind of Chinese Ch'an (Zen), and Concerned Mind Tea (The Mind of Chinese Philosophy). One of his books, The Story of Chinese Philosophy, is also translated into Korean.
