Dr. Julian Schott

Julian Schott studied Indology, Philosophy, and Religious Studies in Göttingen, Pune, and Hamburg. During his bachelor's and master's degrees (2014), he studied classical Tibetan at a part-time program throughout six years. His Dissertation was carried out at and funded by the Centre for the Study of Manuscript Culture (CSMC) in Hamburg, It was published in 2019 and studies the esoteric Buddhist Apabhraṃśa-poems (dohā) of Kṛṣṇacaryā and its Sanskrit and Tibetan commentary traditions, together with its genre. His study was the first to comprehensively study, edit and translate one among the major poems of its genre.

Currently, he is involved in a couple of research projects, dealing with the poetic writings of the Siddha Tillopā, a śāstra on Buddhist cosmology by the Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje, a re-edition of Indrabhūti’s Jñānasiddhi, but also engaged in interdisciplinary research on mindfulness.

His main research interests, besides the dohā traditions and their receptions within the Tibetan cultural sphere, are lying in the Indo-Tibetan Great Seal doctrine (Mahāmudrā) and its Indian origins. For a couple of years, Julian also teaches Sanskrit and Classical Tibetan in various education programs connoting Tibetan Buddhist traditions with academia.