Reiko Ohnuma
Professor
Appointments
Robert 1932 and Barbara Black Professor of Religion
Area of Expertise
Buddhism in South Asia,
Hinduism in South Asia,
Women and Religion
Biography
Reiko Ohnuma is a specialist in the Buddhist traditions of South Asia (with a particular focus on narrative literature, hagiography, and the role and imagery of women), but also teaches courses on Hinduism. She holds a B.A. from the University of California (Berkeley) and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor). She is the author of Head, Eyes, Flesh, and Blood: Giving Away the Body in Indian Buddhist Literature (Columbia University Press, 2007); Ties That Bind: Maternal Imagery and Discourse in Indian Buddhism (Oxford University Press, 2012); and Unfortunate Destiny: Animals in the Indian Buddhist Imagination (Oxford University Press, 2017).
Education
B.A. University of California at Berkeley (1986)
M.A. University of Michigan at Ann Arbor (1993)
Ph.D. University of Michigan at Ann Arbor (1997)
Taught Courses
Publications
Unfortunate Destiny: Animals in the Indian Buddhist Imagination (Oxford University Press, 2017).
Ties That Bind: Maternal Imagery and Discourse in Indian Buddhism (Oxford University Press, 2012).
Head, Eyes, Flesh, and Blood: Giving Away the Body in Indian Buddhist Literature (Columbia University Press, 2007).
"Animal Doubles of the Buddha," Humanimalia 7:2 (2016) 1-34.
"Buddhism and the Family," Oxford Bibliographies in Buddhism, ed. Richard Payne (New York: Oxford University Press, 2014).
"Bad Nun: Thullanandā in Pāli Canonical and Commentarial Sources," Journal of Buddhist Ethics 20 (2013) 18-66.
"An Elephant Good to Think: The Buddha in Pārileyyaka Forest," Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 35:1-2 (2012) 259-293.
"Mother-Love and Mother-Grief: South Asian Buddhist Variations on a Theme," Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion 23:1 (2007) 95-116.
"Debt to the Mother: A Neglected Aspect of the Founding of the Buddhist Nuns' Order," Journal of the American Academy of Religion 74:4 (2006) 861-901.
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