44. Kate Hartmann | Pilgrimage and Buddhism

In this episode we welcome back Kate Hartmann, former director of
Buddhist Studies Online, to discuss all things pilgrimage and
Buddhism. We discuss how Kate first got into pilgrimage studies
as a grad student at Harvard, whether pilgrimage is a universal
concept across cultures, and question what separates a pilgrim
from a tourist? We then turn to the early history of the Buddhist
pilgrimage tradition in India, going back to accounts of the
words of the Buddha himself to Ānanda and his other close
disciples. We discuss some of the major Buddhist pilgrimage sites
in India and other parts of Asia, what a Buddhist pilgrim sees
and experiences, and question the age-old adage of whether a
Buddhist pilgrimage is more about the journey or the destination.
Leaning into Kate's own research, we look at the Tibetan
pilgrimage tradition, and discuss various types of Tibetan
literature on pilgrimage--from guides and handbooks to the
diaries of pilgrims. We conclude by previewing Kate's upcoming
online course, BS 110 | Buddhism and Pilgrimage.



Speaker Bio
Dr. Kate Hartmann is an Assistant Professor of
Religious Studies in the Department of Philosophy and Religious
Studies at the University of Wyoming. Hartmann’s primary research
focus is on the intellectual history of pilgrimage in Tibet, but
she also researches Buddhist ethics, as well as Buddhist
approaches to addiction and recovery. Her book Making the
Invisible Real: Practices of Seeing in Tibetan Pilgrimage
Literature is forthcoming from Oxford University
Press. 

She received her PhD in Buddhist Studies from Harvard University
in 2020, an MA in the History of Religions from the University of
Chicago in 2013, and a BA in Religious Studies from the
University of Virginia in 2011. 

As part of her training, Hartmann has spent extended periods of
time living in Asia. She has spent summers backpacking across
India, living with Tibetan Buddhist nuns in Ladakh, in Dharamsala
working in the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, studying at
the Dunhuang caves in China, traveling to Lhasa, and conducting
research around Boudha in Nepal. She speaks modern colloquial
Tibetan and conducts research in Classical Tibetan and
Sanskrit.

As a scholar and teacher, Hartmann has long been interested in
the practices religions develop to transform people's experience
of the world. She aims to help students understand Buddhist
traditions through deep engagement with primary sources, a
process that helps illuminate central Buddhist concepts while
embracing the internal diversity of Buddhist traditions. She
balances an irreverent and down-to-earth style with deep respect
for Buddhist texts, traditions, and practitioners. She teaches
both online and in-person courses on the history and philosophy
of Buddhism and other Asian religions, and has presented at
lectures and conferences around the country.



Links


BS 110 | Buddhism and Pilgrimage

https://www.drkatehartmann.com