Karma Lekshe Tsomo's doctoral research focused on death and identity in China and Tibet. Her primary academic interests include Buddhism and gender, bioethics, Buddhist social ethics, religions of Asia, and Buddhism in diaspora. In addition to her academic work, she is actively involved in interfaith dialogue and in grassroots initiatives for the empowerment of women. She is past president of Sakyadhita: International Association of Buddhist Women (www.sakyadhita.org) and director of Jamyang Foundation (www.jamyang.org), an initiative to provide educational opportunities for women in the Indian Himalayas and Bangladesh.

BA, Japanese, University of California at Berkeley
MA, Asian Studies, University of Hawai`i at Manoa
MA, Religion (Asian) , University of Hawai`i at Manoa
PhD, Comparative Philosophy, University of Hawai`i at Manoa

Books

Into the Jaws of Yama: Buddhism, Bioethics, and Death. Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press, 2006.
(ed.) Out of the Shadows: Socially Engaged Buddhist Women in the Global Community. Delhi: Sri Satguru Publications, 2006.
(ed.) Buddhist Women and Social Justice: Ideals, Challenges, and Achievements. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 2004.
(ed.) Discipline and Practice: Buddhist Women Past and Present, Honolulu: Sakyadita, 2004.
(ed.) Bridging Worlds: Buddhist Women's Voices Across Generations, Taipei: Yuan Chuan Press, 2004.
(ed.) Innovative Women in Buddhism: Swimming Against the Stream. Surrey, England: Curzon Press, 2000.
(ed.) Buddhist Women Across Cultures: Realizations. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1999.
(ed. with David W. Chappell) Living and Dying in Buddhist Cultures. Honolulu: School of Hawaiian, Asian and Pacific Studies, University of Hawai`i, 1997.
Sisters in Solitude: Two Traditions of Buddhist Monastic Ethics for Women, A Comparative Analysis of the Dharmagupta and Mulasarvastivada Bhiksuni Pratimoksa Sutras. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1996.
(ed.) Buddhism Through American Women's Eyes. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 1994.
(ed.) Sakyadhita: Daughters of the Buddha. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 1989.