Christopher Key Chapple is an

Indologist Indology, also known as South Asian studies, is the academic study of the history and cultures, languages, and literature of the Indian subcontinent, and as such is a subset of Asian studies. The term ''Indology'' (in German, ''Indologie'') is o ...

and scholar of the renouncing

religions of India Religion in India is characterised by a diversity of religious beliefs and practices. The Indian subcontinent is the birthplace of four of the world's major religions; namely Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. The preamble of Indian co ...

, namely

yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current ...

and

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

. He is Doshi Professor of Indic and Comparative Theology at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles. He has written several books on the history and

philosophy of yoga Yoga philosophy is one of the six major orthodox schools of Hinduism,Maurice Phillips (Published as Max Muller collection), The Evolution of Hinduism, , PhD. Thesis awarded by University of Berne, Switzerland, page 8 though it is only at the end ...

, and on the intersection of religion and

ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

Life

Chapple received his bachelor's degree in comparative literature and religious studies at the

State University of New York at Stony Brook Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public research university in Stony Brook, New York. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is one of the State University of New York system's ...

in 1976. He went on to complete his master's degree in Buddhism (1978) and PhD in history of religions (1980) at

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

. He noted in an interview that he initially struggled to reconcile Buddhism's "emptiness" with Yoga's self-realisation, and commented that the '' Yogavasistha'' answered the debate on "the tension between emptiness and consciousness in superbly poetic verse." He has published numerous books and papers on the history and philosophy of

Indian religions Indian religions, sometimes also termed Dharmic religions or Indic religions, are the religions that originated in the Indian subcontinent. These religions, which include Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism,Adams, C. J."Classification of ...

, and on the intersection of religion and

. Chapple advises the International Summer School of Jain Studies, the Forum on Religion and Ecology (

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

), the Ahimsa Center (

Pomona Pomona may refer to: Places Argentina * Pomona, Río Negro Australia * Pomona, Queensland, Australia, a town in the Shire of Noosa * Pomona, New South Wales, Australia Belize * Pomona, Belize, a municipality in Stann Creek District Mexico ...

), the Dharma Academy of North America (

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...

), the Jain Studies Centre (

SOAS SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury are ...

), the South Asian Studies Association, and International School for Jain Studies (

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

). He founded the Masters Program in Yoga at Loyola Marymount University, where he is Doshi Professor of Indic and Comparative Theology.

Works

Yoga

* ''Karma and Creativity'' (1986, SUNY) * ''Nonviolence to Animals, Earth, and Self in Asian Traditions'' (1993, SUNY) * ''Reconciling Yogas'' (2003, SUNY) * ''Yoga and the Luminous: Patanjali's Spiritual Path to Freedom'' (2008, SUNY) * ''Living Landscapes: Meditations on the Elements in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain Yogas'' (2020, SUNY) ;Edited * ''Yoga in Jainism'' (2015, Routledge) * ''Engaged Emancipation: Mind, Morals and Make-Believe in the Moksopaya/Yogavasistha'' (2016, with Aridam Chakrabarti, SUNY)

Religion and ecology

* ''Ecological Prospects: Religious, Scientific, and Aesthetic Perspectives'' (1994, SUNY) * ''Hinduism and Ecology'' (2000, with

Mary Evelyn Tucker Mary Evelyn Tucker is the co-founder and co-director of the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology with her husband, John Allen Grim. Tucker teaches in the joint Master's program in religion and ecology at Yale University between the School of the Env ...

, Harvard) * ''Jainism and Ecology'' (2002, Harvard) * ''Yoga and Ecology'' (2009, Deepak Heritage) * ''In Praise of Mother Earth: The Prthivi Sukta of the Atharva Veda'' (2011, with O. P. Dwivedi)

References

External links

Interview on Religion and Ecology
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chapple, Christopher Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Indologists Yoga scholars Loyola Marymount University faculty Stony Brook University alumni Fordham University alumni