Presentations

Invited Public Lectures (academic, selected):

  1. “A Burmese Kammavācā Manuscript: A Ritual Manual for Buddhist Ordination from the Royal Ontario Museum,” Hidden Stories: Books Along the Silk Roads, Institute of Advanced Study/University of Toronto/Aga Khan Museum (April 2022). [video]

Related short videos:

      • "The Making of a Burmese Kammavācā Manuscript" [video]

      • "A Burmese Kammavācā Manuscript and its Use in the Buddhist Ordination Ritual" [video]

  2. “Scripting the End of Life in Cambodia,” Department of Religious Studies/Department of East Asian Studies/Contemplative Studies Initiative, Brown University (Mar 2022).

  3. “A Conversation on Bilingualism and Bitexts with Trent Walker,” Textual Microcosms: A New Approach in Translation Studies, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, online (Feb 2022).

  4. "Text and Bitext in Middle Cambodia," Center for Southeast Asian Studies, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, October 2021. [video]

  5. "Using Music in Buddhist Studies," How Do You Do It? series, Ho Centre for Buddhist Studies, University of Toronto, June 2021. [video]

  6. "Cetanābhedā and Cinderella: Multiple Rebirths, Bilingual Sermons, and Popular Narratives in Southeast Asia," Ho Center for Buddhist Studies, Stanford University, April 2021. [video] [slides]

  7. "The Scattering of the Thirty-Two Minds: A Southeast Asian Buddhist Doctrine of Rebirth." Harvard Buddhist Studies Forum, Harvard University, March 2021.

  8. "Bilingual Theravada Scholasticism: Pali-Vernacular Bitexts and the Indic Commentarial Tradition." Transnational Network of Theravada Studies, Shan State Buddhist University and King's College London, November 2020. [video] [slides]

  9. “Invitation to Preach the Dharma: A Chant’s Nine Lives in Southeast Asia.” Rangjung Yeshe Institute, Kathmandu, Nepal, February 2020. [handout] [audio]

  10. “วัฒนธรรมการสืบทอดคัมภีร์พุทธศาสนาในประเทศกัมพูชา (The Transmission of Buddhist Texts in Cambodia)” (delivered in Thai), การศึกษาและสืบสานพระไตรปิฎกในนานาประเทศ, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand, February 2020. [video] [slides]

  11. “សាស្ត្រានិងក្រាំងខ្មែរក្នុងបរិបទអាស៊ីអាគ្នេយ៍និងអាស៊ីខាងត្បូង (Cambodian Manuscripts in the South and Southeast Asian Context)” (delivered in Khmer). Department of Archaeology, Royal University of Fine Arts, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, December 2019. [slides]

  12. “ความรู้พื้นฐานเกี่ยวกับเอกสารโบราณในประเทศกัมพูชา (An Introduction to Cambodian Manuscripts)” (delivered in Thai). Department of Thai, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand, September 2019. [slides]

  13. “บทสวดต่างๆในคัมภีร์สมุดข่อยเขมร : การศึกษาวิเคราะห์เบื้องต้น (Liturgical Texts in Khmer Leporello Manuscripts: A Preliminary Analysis).” One-hour televised interview and lecture in Thai for Channel 13 (Siamthai), Bangkok, Thailand, October 2016.

  14. “The Oldest Verse Inscription in Khmer: New Evidence from Leporello and Palm-Leaf Manuscripts សិលាចារឹកភាសាខ្មែរចាស់ជាងគេដែលសរេសរជាពាក្យកាព្យ ៖ ទិន្នន័យបានមកពីក្រាំងនិងសាស្រ្តាស្លឹករឹត” (delivered in Khmer, with English summary). Royal University of Fine Arts, Phnom Penh, August 2016. [video] [slides]

  15. “Translation, Transliteration, and Transcription from a Buddhist Studies Perspective,” for the series Translation Matters: Applications in the 21st Century, Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages, Stanford University, February 2015.

Invited Talks and Panels (non-academic, selected):

  1. Panelist, “Requiem as a Musical Form in the Context of Cambodia,” Arts & Healing: Bangsokol Virtual Festival, Cambodian Living Arts/ArtsEmerson (online), December 2020. [video]

  2. Panelist, “Introducing ‘Bangsokol: A Requiem for Cambodia,’” Columbia University School of the Arts, New York, December 2017.

  3. Post-performance lectures for Houston Grand Opera’s production of the chamber opera New Arrivals, Asia Society Texas Center, Houston, June 2012.

  4. “Listening to Angkor Wat: Soundscapes of Ancient, Middle, and Modern Cambodia,” Stanford Khmer Association, Stanford University, February 2012.

  5. Co-presenter, “Dharma Songs: Buddhist Melodies from Cambodia," Ho Center for Buddhist Studies, Stanford University, October 2010.

  6. “Smot: Songs of Healing” for the series Khmer Arts Salon, Khmer Arts Academy, Long Beach, April 2009. [video]

Conference Papers:

  1. Panelist, “Recent Books in the Study of Religion in Southeast Asia,” Religion in Southeast Asia Unit, American Academy of Religion, Denver (Nov 2022).

  2. “Indic-Siamese Bitextual Verse: The Poetics of Classical Reading and Vernacular Writing, 1450–1750 CE,” part of “Literary Vernaculars in the Second-Millennium Pāli World” panel, International Association of Buddhist Studies, Korea (Aug 2022).

  3. “Resources for Pali and Vernacular Manuscripts in Southeast Asia,” special panel on Digital Resources for Buddhist Studies, International Association of Buddhist Studies, Korea (Aug 2022).

  4. “Theravada Chant as Musical Performance: Making Meaning through Rhythm, Pitch, and Melody.” Performing Theravada, Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Jun 2022) (divided into one hour each day for three days). [interactive multimedia website]

  5. “Khmer Nuns and Filial Debts: Buddhist Intersections in Contemporary Cambodia,” Gender Asymmetry in Different Buddhist Traditions Through the Prism of Nuns’ Ordination and Education, University of Perugia, Italy (May 2022).

  6. Panelist, “South and Southeast Asia, Hidden Stories: Global History, Local Networks, Institute of Advanced Study/Aga Khan Museum (Feb 2022, online). [video]

  7. “Pali-Vernacular Bitexts in Performance: Language, Phrasing, and Melody,” Performing scripture: Text Meets Art, Music and Drama, UK Association for Buddhist Studies , July 2021.

  8. “Reading Pali in Early Modern Siam: Interlinear Annotations of Curricular Manuscripts,” Current Studies and Research Activities on Pali Manuscripts and Texts, Lumbini International Research Institute, Lumbini, Nepal, February 2020. [slides]

  9. “[Deya]dharma and [Deya]dāna in Cambodian Religion,” Donation in Buddhism: Interpretation of Deyyadhamma and Deyyadāna, Chulalongkorn University, February 2020. [slides]

  10. “The Khmer Manuscript Heritage Project: Reading Cambodian Buddhism in a Global Context,” Second International Conference on New Trends in Buddhist Studies, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, October 2019. [slides]

  11. “Plants on Plants, Tongues on Tongues: A Botanical Metaphor for Pali-Vernacular Bitexts in Southeast Asia,” Of Peninsula and Archipelago: The Landscape of Translation in Southeast Asia, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, August 2019.

  12. “The Oldest Manuscript Example of a Pali-Tai Bitext: Early Lanna Techniques for Vernacular Reading and Exegesis,” Epigraphy in Southeast Asia panel, SEAMEO SPAFA International Conference on Southeast Asian Archaeology, Bangkok, June 2019.

  13. “Absolution and Aspiration: Soteriologies in Chanted Texts and Colophons from Cambodian Leporellos,” New Works in Theravada Studies, Theravada Civilizations Project, Springfield, Missouri, June 2017.

  14. “Liturgical Texts in Khmer Leporello Manuscripts,” Old Manuscripts in the Modern World: Preservation and Technical Challenges, Silpakorn University, Bangkok, July 2016. [slides]

  15. “The Uṇhissavijaya in Khmer Buddhism,” Second International Pali Studies Week, Sorbonne, École practique des hautes études, Paris, June 2016.

  16. “Taxonomies of Chant in Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand,” Buddhist Ritual Music Symposium, University of California, Berkeley, November 2015.

  17. “Wife of the Omniscient One: Yaśodharā Bimbā in Khmer Buddhist Literature,” part of “The Roles of Buddhist Women (Nineteenth to Early Twentieth Centuries): Reflections on Images, Texts, and Rituals” panel, Association of Asian Studies Annual Conference, Chicago, March 2015.

  18. “Listening to ‘Lotus Flower Offering’: Echoes of Buddhist Liturgies in Two Inscriptions from Angkor Wat,” 2014 Chulalongkorn Asian Heritage Forum: Flower Culture in Asia, Bangkok, July 2014.

  19. “Siamese Poetry in Cambodia? Thai Verse Forms in the Khmer Lexicon,” ENITS & ENITAS Scholarship Research Presentation 2014, Empowering Network for International Thai Studies (ENITS), Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University, June 2014.

  20. “A Bilingual Legacy: Rethinking the Relationship Between Khmer and Thai Meters,” Thai-Cambodian Relations: From Conflict to Cooperation, Mahidol University International College, Nakhon Pathom, May 2014.

  21. “Buddhist Painting in the People’s Republic of Kampuchea (1979–89): King Suddhodana’s Illness and Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī’s Gift of the Triple Robe,” Enacting Buddhism: Perspectives on Cambodian Buddhist Painting, Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley, January 2014.

  22. “Southeast Asia through a Buddhist Lens: Region, History and Modernity,” SEA CHANGE: Southeast Asia’s Place in the World, Stanford University, March 2013.

  23. “Buddhist Music in Cambodia? The Religious Rhetoric of kantoam ming” (presented in Khmer), Siem Reap Conference on Special Topics in Khmer Studies, “Religious Studies in Cambodia: Understanding the Old and Tracing the New,” Siem Reap, June 2012.

  24. “Echoes of Buddhist Liturgies in ‘La grande inscription d’Angkor’: Re-thinking the First Poem of Khmer Epigraphy,” Graduate Methods Symposium, Department of South and Southeast Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley, May 2012.

  25. “Recycled Cassettes, Cardboard Manuscripts, and Emerging Digital Forms: The Material Life of Cambodian Dharma Songs since 1979,” Center for Khmer Studies conference, “Transforming Cambodia Studies: Social Change and Cultural Transitions since 1979,” Siem Reap, July 2011.

  26. “The ‘Siamese Dharm yog’: A Khmero-Thai Dharma Song for Inviting Relics,” invited paper for the “Relics of Cambodia” panel of the International Association of Buddhist Studies conference, Taiwan, June 2011.

  27. “Jayanand’s Flower Offering: Echoes of Buddhist Liturgies in ‘La Grande Inscription d’Angkor,’” Ohio University Annual Khmer Studies Forum, April 2011.

  28. “Cambodian Dharma Songs: The Interface of Tradition and Technology,” Paper presented at the Northern California Chapter of the Society for Ethnomusicology 2007 Annual Meeting, University of California, Davis, March 2007.

Organization of Workshops, Exhibits, and Conferences

  1. “Buddhist Bilingualism: Pali-Vernacular Sermons, Exegesis, and Literature in Early Modern Thailand,” half-day online workshop at the Ho Center for Buddhist Studies, Stanford University, featuring three scholars from Thailand (Apr 2002). [link]

    • Summary article in Lekha, newsletter of the Ho Center for Buddhist Studies at Stanford: [PDF]

  2. (with Chenxing Han), “Story and Song: Learning and Living with Buddhist Chant,” a four-day study retreat focused on narrative storytelling and Cambodian Buddhist poetry, hosted by the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, Barre, MA (Feb 2022).

  3. Co-organizer and host, “The Goodman Lectures,” a monthly Buddhist studies lecture series sponsored by Khyentse Foundation (June 2021– present) https://khyentsefoundation.org/the-goodman-lectures/

    • June 2021 Donald S. Lopez, Jr., University of Michigan, “Reason and Revelation in Buddhism” [video]

    • July 2021 Shrikant Bahulkar, Savitribai Phule Pune University, “Vedism and Buddhism” [video]

    • August 2021 Dorji Wangchuk, University of Hamburg, “When Can Buddhism Be Considered Dead and When Living?” [video]

    • September 2021 Jacob Dalton, University of California, Berkeley, “Tibetan Tantra at Dunhuang” [video]

    • October 2021 Sarah H. Jacoby, Northwestern University, “The Relatable and Extraordinary Life of Sera Khandro Dewé Dorjé” [video]

    • November 2021 Imre Hamar, Eötvös Loránd University, “The Role of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva in Buddhist Practice” [video]

    • December 2021 Peter Skilling (Bhadra Rujirathat), Chulalongkorn University, “The Universe of Buddhist Canons” [video]

    • January 2022 Anne C Klein (Rigzin Drolma), Rice University, “Being Human and a Buddha Too: Longchenpa’s Open Secret” [video]

    • February 2022 Eviatar Shulman, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, “On Creating the Early Discourses (Suttas) of the Buddha” [video]

    • March 2022 Naomi Appleton, University of Edinburgh, “Narrative Buddhology: Explorations of Indian Buddhist Literature” [video]

    • June 2022 Jens-Uwe Hartmann, University of Munich, “Out of Town, yet Bound to it: How the Early Buddhists Organized Seclusion and Survival” [video]

  4. Khmer/English conference interpreter, “Traditional Theravada Meditation,” École française d’Extrême-Orient, Siem Reap, July 2016.

  5. Co-organizer (with Mark Blum, Michaela Mross, Sanjyot Mehendale, Kumi Hadler, and Meghan Howard), Buddhist Ritual Music Symposium, University of California, Berkeley (Nov 5–6 2015). https://buddhistritualmusic.weebly.com.

  6. Co-curator (with Janet Carter, Alexander von Rospatt, Virginia Shih, and Bruce Williams), Dharmakośavivaraṇa 法藏開: Revealing the Treasures of Buddhist Studies at Berkeley. Doe Library, Bernice Layne Brown Gallery, University of California, Berkeley (Mar–Aug 2015).

  7. Facilitator, “Philology and Hermeneutics of Khmer Song Lyrics” (conducted in Khmer), Cambodian Living Arts, Phnom Penh and Siem Reap (four days in June and July, 2014)

  8. Convener, “Buddhist Studies Graduate Roundtable,” University of California, Berkeley (biweekly 2013–2015)

  9. Co-organizer (with Kylie Goh, Amanda Manorot, Kim Nguyen, and Quyen Nguyen), SEA CHANGE: Southeast Asia’s Place in the World, Stanford University (Mar 2013).