Gross to kick off October series on Buddhism

Rita M. Gross, internationally known religion scholar, will be the first speaker in an October series of discussions on Buddhism. Free and open to the public, the discussions are sponsored by the Department of Philosophy and Religion and the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life. 

Gross will discuss "Buddhism and Feminism: Reflections of a Buddhist Feminist," beginning at 8 p.m. Monday, Oct. 17, in Gannett Auditorium, Palamountain Hall.

A professor emerita at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Grosshas specialized in topics pertaining to Buddhism and contemporary issues, including gender issues, ecology, and religious diversity. She also has taught about the implications of an accurate understanding of Buddhist history for Buddhist practitioners. In addition, she has focused on issues pertaining to theology of religious diversity and inter-religious exchange and can offer a variety of solo or co-taught workshops on this topic for seminaries and religious institutions.

Her books include Buddhism after Patriarchy: A Feminist History, Analysis, and Reconstruction of Buddhism (1993), Feminism and Religion: An Introduction (1996), Soaring and Settling: Buddhist Perspectives on Contemporary Social and Religious Issues (1998), Religious Feminism and the Future of the Planet: A Buddhist Feminist Conversation (with Rosemary Radford Ruether, 2001), A Garland of Feminist Reflections: Forty Years of Religious Reflection (2009), and Others, Identity, and Integrity: Surviving Religious Diversity (forthcoming).

Gross is also a Buddhist dharma teacher, having been appointed to that position by Her Eminence Jetsun Khandro Rinpoche of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. For more information, visit Dr. Gross's web site .

Upcoming lectures in the series include the following:

Monday, Oct. 24, 7 p.m., Emerson Auditorium, Palamountain Hall - "Meditation and Social Activism: Opposites or Complements?" by Thomas B. Coburn, president emeritus of Naropa University and visiting scholar, Brown University.

Wednesday, Oct. 26, 5 p.m. meditation in Wilson Chapel, 7:30 p.m. lecture, Davis Auditorium, Palamountain Hall. A program on Tibetan Buddhism by Lama Lhanang Rinpoche, Nyingma Lonchen Nying-Thig order of Tibetan Buddhism.

Monday, Oct. 31, 8 p.m. Gannett Auditorium, Palamountain Hall - "American Buddhism" (meditation to follow), by Konrad Ryushin Marchai Sensei Abbot, Zen Mountain Monastery.