7. Karen O’Brien-Kop | Pātañjala Yoga, Yogācāra Buddhism, and Re-Thinking the Category of "Classical Yoga"

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Karen O’Brien-Kop (University
of Roehampton) about her intertextual research on Pātañjala and
Buddhist Yoga, rethinking the category of “Classical Yoga,” the
yoga of Yogācāra Buddhism, Buddhist definitions of yoga,
botanical metaphors for liberation, the mysterious Dharmamegha
Samādhi ("the raincloud of Dharma”), her forthcoming co-edited
volume, The Routledge Handbook of Yoga and Meditation Studies
(2020), her upcoming online course YS 109, more.

Speaker Bio
Karen O’Brien-Kop is Lecturer in Asian Religions and
Ethics in the Department of Philosophy, Theology and Religious
Studies at the University of Roehampton, London, UK. She received
her PhD from SOAS University of London, is a specialist in the
historical study of meditation and yoga within Asian religious
traditions, and analyses early Hindu and Buddhist meditation
manuals in Sanskrit.


She has taught on the MA Traditions of Yoga and Meditation at
SOAS University of London, and at the University of Roehampton
she has designed a new BA module 'Yoga, Meditation and Health'.
Since 2018, she has served on the committee for the SOAS Centre
of Yoga Studies, an academic research and teaching centre focused
on public engagement. In the American Academy of Religion, Karen
is a committee member for the Yoga in Theory and Practice Unit
and co-chair of the Indian and Chinese Religions Compared Unit.
She has published peer-reviewed articles in Religions of South
Asia and Journal of Indian Philosophy and is co-editor of The
Routledge Handbook of Yoga and Meditation Studies (2020), an
interdisciplinary volume of 34 chapters from global contributors.
Karen is currently working on a book project on rethinking
classical yoga in relation to Buddhism.



Links


YS 109 | Classical Yoga and Buddhism 

"Classical Discourses of Liberation: Shared Botanical
Metaphors in Sarvāstivāda Buddhism and the Yoga of Patañjali"
(2017)

"Dharmamegha in Yoga and Yogācāra: The Revision of a
Superlative Metaphor" (2020)

https://roehampton-online.academia.edu/KarenOBrienKop