Dr. Gregory Seton’s Qualifications

Tarpa’s educational program is designed and taught by Dr. Gregory Seton, who brings together extensive academic credentials in Buddhist studies with decades of experience in contemplative practice. In addition to presenting the main lectures in the Palace of Learning, Dr. Seton resides on the property neighboring Tarpa’s meditation laboratories in Vershire, Vermont, providing ready access for regular instructional meetings, guidance sessions, and educational support throughout each student’s study intensive. Dr. Seton teaches Tarpa students with the same secular, academic approach to Buddhist studies that he employs in his university teaching—presenting Buddhist theory and practice as subjects of intellectual inquiry and experiential learning, while maintaining respect for the historical, cultural, and religious contexts that shaped them. Read about How We Teach.

Academic Work

University Teaching & Research Positions

Dr. Gregory Seton is a Senior Lecturer at Dartmouth College, an internationally recognized scholar, and an accomplished Sanskrit translator. Before first coming to Dartmouth in the 2016-17 academic year, he was a professor of Buddhist Studies at Mahidol University in Thailand 2014–16, where he taught and advised doctoral students in Buddhist Studies, and a DAAD research fellow at the University of Hamburg, Germany 2011–2013.

University Courses

Dartmouth College (2017-Present):
Dr. Seton has taught courses on Indian and Tibetan Buddhism cross-listed in the Religion Department, Philosophy Department, and the Department of Asian Societies, Cultures & Languages (ASCL), including:

  • Buddhist Meditation Theory

  • Tibetan Buddhism

  • Buddhist Philosophy

  • Buddhism and Film

  • Consciousness East and West

  • Himalayan Buddhist Lifeworlds

Mahidol University, Thailand (2014-2016):

  • Buddhist Philosophy in Sanskrit and Tibetan

  • Buddhist Ethics

University of Hamburg, Germany (2011-2013):
DAAD Research Fellow - Textual scholarship and philology

Scholarly Publications and Research

In Press:
The Mahāyāna Buddhist Scripture on the Transcendent State of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines

  • 950-page annotated translation from Sanskrit to English

  • One of the most central Mahayana Buddhist scriptures

  • Includes annotations from primary commentators Haribhadra and Ratnākaraśānti

  • Joint publication by AIBS and Wisdom Publications (expected 2027)

Forthcoming Publication:
Ratnākaraśānti's Quintessential Commentary: An Annotated English Translation and Critical Edition

  • 900-page, two-volume scholarly work based on 11th and 13th century Sanskrit manuscripts

  • To be published by Manuscripta Buddhica

  • Focuses on one of the most important 11th-century Indian Buddhist philosophers

Recent Chapter:
"Ratnākaraśānti: The Illumination of False Forms"

  • Published in Routledge Handbook of Indian Buddhist Philosophy

  • Examines the seminal philosophy of Ratnākaraśānti (ca. 975-1045)

  • Highlights signature contributions to Buddhist intellectual history

Sanskrit Translation:
Buddhist Literary Heritage Project translator (2011-present)

Academic Education

Doctoral Degree

  • DPhil in Buddhist Studies, Oriental Insitute, University of Oxford (2016)

  • Supervised by leading scholars Harunaga Isaacson, Vesna Wallace, and Alexis Sanderson

  • Dissertation focus: History of Indian and Tibetan Buddhist philosophy and meditation theory

Master's Degrees:

  • MA in Religious Studies, University of California Santa Barbara (2008)

  • MA in Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies, Naropa University (2004)

  • MFA equivalent, American Film Institute

  • BA in Film Studies, Wesleyan University

Language Training:

  • Classical Sanskrit, Pāli, and Gāndhārī

  • Classical Tibetan, spoken Tibetan

  • German and French (for scholarly research)

Traditional Contemplative Training

Outside of his academic studies, Dr. Seton has studied and practiced meditations from the Nyingma and Karma Kagyu traditions for 38 years. During this time he has studied the central Buddhist philosophical texts, received two complete sets of traditional lineage transmissions and empowerments, and has spent a cumulative four years in solitary and group contemplative practice retreats, in periods ranging from one month to one year. This training provides deep familiarity with contemplative methods from the inside, while his academic study provides the scholarly framework for understanding and presenting these methods in secular, educational contexts.

For further questions about instructor qualifications or educational methodology, contact Tarpa.