Dr. David Fiordalis

David Fiordalis has had a lifelong personal interest in the religions, cultures, and history of Asia, especially South Asia and the Himalayan region. He began a formal study of Sanskrit while attending Carleton College for his undergraduate degree and won a Fulbright fellowship to investigate Sanskrit educational practices in India in 1998-99. In graduate school he began to learn Pāli, Tibetan, and Japanese, and went on to earn a doctorate in Asian languages and cultures with a focus on Buddhist Studies at the University of Michigan. Since 2011, he has taught at Linfield University in Oregon, where he is a tenured associate professor. He has also taught at Buddhist institutions of higher education, such as Rangjung Yeshe Institute in Kathmandu, Nepal, and Maitripa College in Portland, Oregon.

His publications include studies, editions, and translations of Buddhist narrative literature, particularly on the topic of the fantastic, as well as work on Buddhist philosophy and meditation practice. As someone with deep respect for the Buddhist tradition and its literary heritage, he feels tremendous gratitude for the opportunity to contribute to the work of the 84000 project.