Chiara MASCARELLO

She earned her PhD in Philosophy from the University of Padua in 2018, with a thesis on the concept of self-awareness or reflexivity (rang rig) in Tibetan Buddhism and its contribution to the contemporary debate on the nature of mind. She furthered her research on Buddhist philosophy and Tibetan language at the Sera Jey Monastic University (India, 2011-2014), the UMA Institute for Tibetan Studies (USA, 2014-2015), the Mind & Life European Summer Research Institute (2015), and the University of Hamburg (2016-2017). Since 2013, she has worked as a Tibetan interpreter in Italy and abroad, translated classical Tibetan texts and conducted translation workshops. She has been a Research Grant Holder for a project on the nature of mind in Indo-Tibetan Buddhist philosophy and an Adjunct Professor at Ca' Foscari University of Venice, teaching Tibetan Language Mod. 2, since 2024 and 2020, respectively. From 2019 to 2023, she has lectured in the Postgraduate program “Neurosciences, Mindfulness, and Contemplative Practices” at the University of Pisa, and since 2021, in the Postgraduate program “Meditation and Neuroscience” at the University of Udine. She is a founding and board member, as well as the Academic Coordinator and a lecturer for the Postgraduate program “Contemplative Studies. The Practice of Meditation from Ancient Traditions to Contemporary Age” at the University of Padua. She serves as the co-Director of the Italian Buddhist Union’s Research Center, which is dedicated to promoting education, research, and the dissemination of scientific knowledge in disciplinary fields such as Buddhist Studies, Contemplative Studies, and Consciousness Studies. Her interests revolve around the possibilities of dialogue between contemplative traditions and current studies on consciousness, as well as the applications of meditation in contemporary societies.

Among her most recent publications and translations:

●      “The Tibetan Mind Training (blo sbyong): An Ancient Exercitium for Our Contemporary Era," in D. Rossi (editor in chief), D. Antonucci, M. Clemente, D. Torri (ed. by), Traditions, Translations and Transitions in the Cultural History of Tibet, the Himalayas and Mongolia, Roma: Serie Orientale 42, 2024, in press

●      “La meditazione nel buddhismo tibetano: cenni introduttivi,” in M. Nicolini-Zani (ed. by), I sentieri della meditazione. Vie cristiane, induiste e buddhiste, Magnano: Qiqajon, 2024, pp. 171–194

●      Gruppo Bhusuku (ed. by), Lojong. L’addestramento mentale. Volume I. Opere di Atiśa, Dromtönpa, Geshe Chekawa Yeshe Dorje, Se Chilbu Chökyi Gyaltsen, Thogme Sangpo, Pomaia: Nalanda Edizioni, 2022 (introductions and translations from Tibetan)

●      “Dalla valle dello Swāt. Testimonianze dell’assenza,” in S. Furlani (ed. by), Di seta, porcellana e carta. Un itinerario nel Civico Museo d’Arte Orientale di Trieste, Udine: Forum Editrice, 2021, pp. 25–38

●      “Il protagonista nell'ombra. L'importanza della riflessione filosofica per la pratica e la psicologia delle tradizioni contemplative,” in M. Ghilardi, A. Palmieri (ed. by), Meditazione, mindfulness e neuroscienze. Percorsi tra teoria e ricerca scientifica, Milano–Udine: Mimesis, 2020, pp. 33–62

●      “La natura dell’esperienza. Considerazioni sulla nozione di svasaṃvedana (rang rig) nel buddismo indo-tibetano, con uno sguardo al dibattito filosofico contemporaneo,” in A. Drocco, L. Galli, C. Letizia, G. Orofino, C. Simioli (ed. by), Wind Horses. Tibetan, Himalayan and Mongolian Studies, Napoli: Series Minor LXXXVIII, 2019, pp. 281–296

●      “Il ruolo dell’immagine nel tantrismo tibetano,” in S. Furlani (ed. by), Immagini differenti. Problema, natura e funzione dell'immagine nelle altre culture, Milano–Udine: Mimesis, 2019, pp. 69–86

●      Dudjom Rinpoche, Cogliere l’essenza della realizzazione. Istruzioni dirette per la pratica del ritiro in montagna esposte in modo accessibile, Torreano: Padmamati Editore, 2019 (translation from Tibetan)

●      “La figura del maestro tra hindūismo e buddhismo: alcune riflessioni tra India e Tibet,” in Convivium assisiense XX, Vol. 1, 2018, pp. 11–35