Judith Simmer-Brown is a Distinguished Professor of Contemplative and Religious Studies Emerita at

Naropa University Naropa University is a private university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1974 by Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chögyam Trungpa, it is named for the 11th-century Indian Buddhist sage Naropa, an abbot of Nalanda. The university describes itself as B ...

. She has expertise in

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

, Women and Buddhism, Buddhist-Christian dialogue, Western Buddhism and Contemplative Education. She is an

acharya In Indian religions and society, an ''acharya'' (Sanskrit: आचार्य, IAST: ; Pali: ''ācariya'') is a preceptor and expert instructor in matters such as religion, or any other subject. An acharya is a highly learned person with a tit ...

— a senior Buddhist teacher — in the

Shambhala Buddhist Shambhala Training is a secular approach to meditation developed by Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chogyam Trungpa and his students. It is based on what Trungpa calls Shambhala Vision, which sees enlightened society as not purely mythical, but as reali ...

tradition and was a senior student of

Chögyam Trungpa Chögyam Trungpa (Wylie transliteration, Wylie: ''Chos rgyam Drung pa''; March 5, 1939 – April 4, 1987) was a Tibetan Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhist meditation master and holder of both the Kagyu and Nyingma lineages of Tibetan Buddhism, the 11th ...

Rinpoche. She serves on the board of the Society of Buddhist-Christian Studies, and is on the steering committee of the Contemplative Studies Group of the American Academy of Religion. Previously she was a member of the Lilly Buddhist-Christian Theological Encounter.

Life

She was raised as a minister's daughter in

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

, and graduated from

Cornell College Cornell College is a private college in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Originally the Iowa Conference Seminary, the school was founded in 1853 by George Bryant Bowman. Four years later, in 1857, the name was changed to Cornell College, in honor of iron ty ...

in Iowa (BA History and Religion);

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

(MA Religious Studies); and

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

Religious Studies, ABD. After studying at

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

in Buddhist Studies, she received her PhD from

Walden University Walden University is a private online for-profit university headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It offers Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, Master of Business Administration, Master of Public Administration, Master of Public Health, E ...

. Previously, she taught at Bensalem College and 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 ...

Western Washington University Western Washington University (WWU or Western) is a public university in Bellingham, Washington. The northernmost university in the contiguous United States, WWU was founded in 1893 as the state-funded New Whatcom Normal School, succeeding a pri ...

Fairhaven College Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies is an interdisciplinary liberal arts college at Western Washington University. Instead of completing the general education requirements at Western, students take interdisciplinary classes at Fairhaven ...

, and

Whatcom Community College Whatcom Community College (WCC or Whatcom) is a public community college in Bellingham, Washington, in Whatcom County. Established in 1967, Whatcom has been accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities since 1976. Academi ...

. In 1980, she married Richard Brown and has two children and three grandchildren.

Writings

* Simmer-Brown, Judith and Fran Grace (2011). ''Meditation and the Classroom: Contemplative Pedagogy for Religious Studies.'' SUNY Press. * Simmer-Brown, Judith (2001). ''Dakini's Warm Breath: The Feminine Principle in Tibetan Buddhism''. Shambhala Publications. Also published in Spanish, French, Dutch, and Polish translations. * Simmer-Brown, Judith (1999). "Commitment and Openness: A Contemplative Approach to Pluralism," ''in The Heart of Learning: Spirituality and Education'', edited by Steven Glazer. New York: Penguin Putnam, Inc. * Simmer-Brown, Judith (2000). "A Buddhist Approach to Pluralism: The Dialogue Relationship''," Buddhist Theology: Critical Reflections by Contemporary Buddhist Scholars,'' edited by Roger Jackson and John Makransky. Honolulu: Curzon Press. * Simmer-Brown, Judith (2006). “The Prospects for a Bhikṣunī Saṅgha in Tibetan Buddhism,” in ''Buddhist Studies from India to America: Essays in Honor of Charles S. Prebish'', edited by Damien Keown. New York and London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2006.

References

External links

Audio Interview Series
on ''Buddhist Geeks'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Simmer-Brown, Judith Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Tibetan Buddhists from the United States Tibetan Buddhism writers Tibetan Buddhist spiritual teachers Converts to Buddhism Buddhist acharyas Naropa University faculty Western Washington University alumni