My Work

Currently, I have quite a complex work portfolio. I have been involved in disability-related work for Access Summit, Manchester for several years. Initially, I worked as a tutor and mentor for students with dyslexia and mental health needs studying at the local universities. Since 2006, I have also worked as a Disabled Students Allowance Assessor. This role is concerned with creating a package of additional support for disabled students in Higher Education institutions to enable them to participate as fully as possible in their academic programmes.

Besides this, I also work as an Associate Lecturer for the Open University. For several years I have tutored on a distance learning course which functions as a kind of access to Higher Education course. This programme, Making Sense of the Arts, introduces students to a range of humanities disciplines, including English literature (poetry) and history, in order to prepare them for higher level academic study. All tutorials are conducted one-to-one by telephone.

I also lecture part-time at the University of Manchester in the Religions and Theology department. Previously, I presented a second-year module called ‘Texts, Ritual and Practice in Mahayana Buddhism’, which inspired my recent book, Visions of Mahayana Buddhism. Currently, I offer a first-year introduction to Buddhist culture called ‘The World of Buddhism’.

Besides these regular jobs, I also work as a consultant teacher of Religious Studies mainly at Advanced Level, focusing especially on Buddhism. As part of this work, I have delivered a series of study days and sessions for students at Ripon Grammar School, and more are planned. I hold a PGCE in postcompulsory education awarded by the University of Greenwich (2009) and am a member of the Institute for Learning (MIfL). I have also worked as an examiner for AQA at AS Level.

When I am not busy doing all of the above, I serve as the Reviews Editor of the Western Buddhist Review, an online Buddhist journal. Besides this, I pursue my own writing on Buddhism, including articles for Tricycle magazine, for the Western Buddhist Review, and my books. Read about my current writing.

Education

A very young Naga I was born in 1969 in the north of England, near Middlesbrough. At a young age I settled in Gloucestershire near the village of Kingswood where I attended the local primary school. From the age of 11 I attended the local comprehensive school, Katharine Lady Berkeley.

At Advanced Level I studied Law, History, and English. Despite my head teacher's best efforts to persuade me to pursue a law degree, I chose instead to study Philosophy at the University of Leeds. This decision was prompted in part by a growing existential awareness and a need to find answers to life's ultimate questions.

During my degree I studied a range of Western philosophical thought, including analytic philosophy and Existentialism. I was particularly impressed by the work of Nietzsche's, especially Thus Spoke Zarathustra, and Wittgenstein. As my degree I evolved I took modules in the History and Philosophy of Science and ended up with a joint degree.

After graduating in 1990, my focus switched to studying Buddhism more intensively from a practical, spiritual point of view. I also began a serious programme of reading world literature.

After several flirtations with postgraduate study, I eventually pursued an MA in Religions at the University of Manchester from 2003-4. My submitted work included a long essay on Luther's ideas of salvation by faith alone, a study of the work of David Blaine, and a group project on homosexuality in the Anglican Church. My dissertation examined Buddhist theories of truth especially in relation to Western pragmatism.

From 2005-6, I successfully completed a Level Three Certificate in Counselling Skills.

In summer 2009 I completed a PGCE (DTLLS) for teaching in the post-compulsory sector through the University of Greenwich. My specific area of expertise is Religious Studies and Philosophy. I am currently engaged in pursuing QTLS via the Institute for Learning.

Intellectual Interests

In terms of Western thought, I am drawn to Existential philosophy, especially as applied to the practical problems of life through therapeutic approaches. I am also interested in hermeneutics, especially textual but also broader cultural hermeneutics as pursued by the likes of Hans-Georg Gadamer (1900-2002) and Paul Ricoeur (1913-2005). Finally, I continue to be attracted to philosophical pragmatism, especially as expounded by William James (1842-1910) and Richard Rorty (1931-2007).

In terms of Buddhism, in recent years my interest has focused on Mahayana Buddhist teachings in general, and their cultural expressions in East Asia. I have a particular fascination for Japanese True Pure Land Buddhism (Jodo Shinshu), and the teachings of Shinran (1173-1263) in particular. I am also inspired by Buddha-Nature perspectives.