The Mythological Studies M.A./Ph.D. Program welcomes Dr. Kali Cape as its newest core faculty member. Dr. Cape is a historian of religion specializing in transnational Tibetan Buddhism, women, and Buddhism outside the monastery. She earned her MA from University of Virginia in the History of Religions, specializing in Tibetan Buddhism. In 2023, she earned her Ph.D. in Religious Studies specializing in Buddhist Studies. Dr. Cape鈥檚 forthcoming book is based on her dissertation is Yoginis in Tibet, a History of Women in the Great Perfection (rdzogs chen). It focuses on women, meditation, and sexuality in esoteric Tibetan contemplative literature.
Dr. Cape鈥檚 research focuses on Tibetan philosophical literature about ultimate reality, women, and meditation in the fourteenth century, a period of the formation of canons in Tibet. These were revealed texts full of traditional and innovative ontologies that reflected Tibetan reception and reinterpretation of Indian Buddhism along with the development of yogic techniques in a transnational exchange across East Asia.
鈥淚 found 51社区 through my interest in the Western reception of Tibetan Buddhist manuscripts. My research focuses on fourteenth-century Tibetan texts that deal with women, sexuality, death, and liberation, including works of the Great Perfection (rdzogs chen). These texts were important in the early reception of Buddhism in America, since it is this genre that contained texts that later came to be known as the Tibetan Book of the Dead. Thus, although much of my research happens in caves, temples, and archives in Asia, it also intersects with great modern thinkers who have influenced how these texts are read today. Jung said about the Tibetan Book of the Dead that it was his constant companion to whom he owed his fundamental insights. In researching Jung鈥檚 engagement with these texts, I discovered Pacifica and its wonderful libarary. I was overjoyed to find an institution that, through those early courses on Jung, explored the dialogue between Eastern wisdom traditions and Western thinkers.
What drew me most deeply was Pacifica鈥檚 understanding that mythological narratives are not merely objects of study but living forces that shape both individual and collective transformation. This is attested to in my research as well since Buddhist mythologies became the building blocks of identity formation, personhood and maps for spiritual awakening across centuries of transmission, transformation, and reinterpretation. Because of this, it was mythologies of cosmic buddha-couples that allowed women to be included in esoteric Tibetan Buddhism. This is the power of myth to reshape cultures and societies.
I am also delighted to see Pacifica as a place where my approach to contemplative pedagogy could flourish since here there is a commitment to both rigorous scholarship and the cultivation of experiential understanding and the human imagination. I believe learning should not be just listening, memorizing, and regurgitating, it should be joyful, engaging, and multi-modal. I see the classroom as a potential place to foster higher-level thinking, a meta-awareness about oneself, one鈥檚 beliefs, and one鈥檚 world so that students are not just learning new information but also discovering themselves in the process.鈥�
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For those interested in the Mythological Studies program please visit here. To learn more about Dr. Cape, please visit her website .
Dr. Kali Cape is the newest core faculty member with the Mythological Studies program at Pacifica. Dr. Cape is a historian of Buddhist philosophy specializing in transnational Tibetan Buddhism, women, and Buddhism outside the monastery.听She earned her MA from University of Virginia in the History of Religions, specializing in Tibetan Buddhism.听She finished her Ph.D. in听Religious Studies in听2023听at University of听Virginia,听听specializing听in听Buddhist Studies.听Her research touches on themes women,听contemplative studies,听the environment, post-colonial and decolonial feminisms, and Buddhist philosophy.听听
Dr. Cape鈥檚听forthcoming book听is听based on her dissertation is听Yoginis in Tibet, a History of Women in the Great Perfection听(rdzogs听chen). It听focuses on听women, meditation,听and sexuality in esoteric Tibetan contemplative literature.听It features a听study of听The Heart Essence of the听岣屇乲in墨听(mkha鈥� 鈥榞ro听snying听thig), scriptures of pivotal importance to Tibetan Buddhist contemplative movements in the fourteenth century. These scriptures are significant as a major early source advocating inclusion of women in the Great Perfection (rdzogs听chen),听Tibets听contribution to Buddhist philosophy.听
