Amanda Brown

I joined Florida State University’s Department of Religion in the History and Ethnography Track in 2017. My main focus is Tibetan Buddhism, and my secondary focus is East Asian Religion. Prior to my studies at FSU, I received a B.S. in Anthropology and Environmental Science at the University of Virginia.

My current research examines Tibetan Buddhist rituals that invoke the wrathful deity Yamāntaka (“The Ender of Death”). My dissertation focuses on the Yamāntaka ritual repertoire of Chökyi Drakpa (1595-1659), a prominent master in the history of the Drigung Kagyü sect of Tibetan Buddhism. In regard to this research, I explore historical and contemporary ritual networks, focusing on narratives of secrecy. My research also concerns the discourse on the categories of “magic” and “sorcery” and the unique material cultural connected to wrathful deities in that context.