I Began as a Child

Call me Craig. Some years ago—never mind how long precisely—having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. Thus I came at an early age to enjoy the company of some good-natured pirates. Through their kindness, I was schooled in the essential skills of a privateer: I learned to reef the mainsail and batten down hatches. I could heave ho. Eventually I learned to drink rum on a dead man's chest. Indeed, in later years when I started writing books, my early training proved invaluable. OK, the initial two sentences above were lifted shamelessly (although with great affection) from Moby Dick.

I Returned to Land

When my mentors retired from their life of pillaging and plundering at sea, I thought to broaden my skills by returning to land and learning the ways of a landlubber. I set out to what was to become only the first in a series of schools, wherein I sought to educate myself in the ways of the world. I learned to tie a double windsor and play lacrosse. I developed good taste in tweeds, although you'd never know it to look at me today. I discovered that working in the theater building sets offered an excellent opportunity to enjoy the company of girls. But most of all, I learned to read, thereby opening up the whole world of appropriating the thoughts of those wiser than myself for my own limited ends. I also learned that the sound of Mother English was more fun to sport with than was her sense to labor over. This was to come in handy in later years, both in the classroom and in the courtroom.

How I Got to Buffalo

One thing led to another and I eventually I found myself in Buffalo—crest jewel of western New York— in the MLS program in the Department of Library and Information Studies at the University at Buffalo. What can I say about Buffalo that has not already been said? Mild winters and agreeable climate make Buffalo a favorite vacation destination for the misinformed. I was living in Ithaca (a native America name meaning "land of dismal gray skies"), more or less minding my own business, when Dr. Rebecca French (Director of the Baldy Center for Law and Social Policy) decided to shake up my life. Owing to her extraordinary powers of clairvoyance, Rebecca determined from a great distance both that (1) I am a lawyer and member in good standing of the Virginia Bar, and (2) I can read classical Tibetan well enough to find the verb. Who would ever dream this combination of skills was just what she was looking for?

Tibetan Law Code Project

Dr. French has been working since the 1990s on an ambitious and fiendishly complex project exploring the legal codes of Tibet during a period of rapid change in Tibet's political climate. By examining contrasting codes in use before and after a civil war, Dr. French (herself a seasoned trial attorney with way too many hours to count spent in court) is examining how Buddhist religious principles shaped a civil and criminal code in an almost exclusively Buddhist society.

Somehow R. French, Esquire, put together my extensive experience with loose-animal law, acquired during my many years practicing law in rural Virginia, with my international reputation as someone who never got past identifying syntactic elements in long Tibetan sentences and realized I was just the kind of tireless drudge she needed. Offering a chance to join her in the scholarly examination of an area that was not exactly crowded with more talented competition, I jumped at the opportunity to explore what the fates had in store for me in Buffalo.

A Seamless Transition into LIS

It didn't take Dr. French long to realize that I was virtually unemployable in my present state, so out of her boundless compassion, she cheerfully bullied me into the MLS program here in UB's Graduate School of Education. What can I say? Unbelievable riches await! Limitless opportunity! A better than even chance at a socially responsible life! When was the last time librarians started a war?

Classes I Teach in the Asian Studies Program

Admittedly, my first love (at least academically) is Tibetan Buddhist Studies. I have been teaching Classical Tibetan for about 15 years now. For the past 10 years I have also taught Tibetan language intensives in the summer through the Nagarjuna Language Institute. I am fortunate to be able to continue teaching while I am in the MLS program in UB's excellent Asian Studies Program. These are courses I have taught in both Tibetan language courses and a Tibetan Buddhist philosophy:

• AMS375 PAR, Tibetan Buddhist Thought, T R, 1400-1520
• AS393 PAR, Tibetan Buddhist Thought, T R, 1400-1520
• AS431 PRE, Classical Tibetan 2, TW, 1630-1750
• AS499 PRE, Independent Study, ARR, ARR-ARR
• AS531 PRE, Special Topics, TW, 1630-1750

Publications and Research Interests

I have published three books on Tibetan language and Tibetan Buddhist Studies.

How To Read Classical Tibetan, Volume One. Summary of the General Path. 2003. Ithaca, New York: Snow Lion Publications.

How To Read Classical Tibetan, Volume Two. Buddhist Tenets. 2008. Ithaca, New York: Snow Lion Publications.

Buddhist Philosophy: Losang Gonchok's Short Commentary to Jamyang Shayba's Root Text on Tenets (2003), with Daniel Cozort. 2003. Ithaca, New York: Snow Lion Publications.

Current Research

My current research interests (which is a polite way to describe unfinished books) are in the Other Emptiness tradition of the Jo-nang-ba School of Tibetan Buddhism and Mipam's writings on the Great Completion in the Nying-ma School of Tibetan Buddhism. I also continue to write instructional materials for students of Classical Tibetan.