Dr. David Fiordalis

Since 2011, Dave 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. Dave began the formal study of Asian languages and cultures at Carleton College. He researched Sanskrit education in India on a Fulbright scholarship and then completed a masters from the University of Chicago before earning his doctorate with a focus on Buddhist literature from the University of Michigan. Dave has a lifelong personal interest in the history, cultures, and religions of Asia, especially South Asia and the Himalayan region. 

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Dave began his personal journey of exploration as a young child in Hindu community gatherings (or satsangs) and ashrams in the United States, and later, as a teenager, he was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to live and work among brahmin priests from India for several months. His journey eventually took him for a number of years to India and Nepal, where he first encountered the living Buddhist traditions of Asia. Dave counts himself fortunate to have been part of several devoted communities of study and practice.

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