Mr. Jackson Stephenson is a PhD candidate in Religious Studies at UC Santa Barbara, and his dissertation focuses on Esoteric Buddhist and Hindu poetry. He received his bachelor’s degree from Humboldt State University in Religious Studies, and his master’s degree in International Studies from University of Washington. Mr. Stephenson’s research focuses on the place and use of different Indian languages within Esoteric Buddhist and Hindu texts. While in India, he will be researching the “afterlife” of Esoteric Buddhist poetry in modern day bhakti communities. During this trip Mr. Stephenson plans to study Hindi intensively. He has spent extensive time in India and Nepal to study language, primarily Sanskrit, Bengali, and Tibetan, and also has facility with Prakrit and Apabhraṃśas. In the summer of 2018, he worked as Resident Director for the Critical Language Scholarship program in Kolkata, and he also regularly teaches courses at UC Santa Barbara on Buddhism and Jainism.
Mr. Stephenson has published his research on Esoteric Buddhist poetry in two peer-reviewed articles: “Love me for the Sake of the World” (2020) and “Bliss Beyond All Limit” (2021). In these articles Mr. Stephenson examined the place and use of two different genres of Apabhraṃśa verses within Esoteric Buddhist texts, showing that these verses function as both guideposts and catalysts for key experiences and junctures within Buddhist rituals. Mr. Stephenson is currently working on another article on Apabhraṃśa verses within Kashmir Śaiva texts, where these obscure verses are sung by goddesses to express ineffable and mystical teachings.
Mr. Stephenson is also interested in South Asian writing systems, inscriptions, manuscripts, and calligraphy. He wrote one of his master’s theses’ on the use of the Indic Siddhamatrika script throughout Asia, especially in Japan where it continues to be used for liturgical purposes in Shingon Buddhism. While in India Jackson also plans to take calligraphy lessons, focusing on the Siddhamatrika and Bengali scripts, in addition to ornate styles of Devanagari. Jackson also loves Indian street food.
As a Fulbright-Nehru Scholar, Mr. Stephenson is doing fieldwork for his dissertation, which explores the formal and thematic influences of medieval Buddhist poetry on modern-day bhakti communities. Mr. Stephenson is translating from key texts in Sanskrit and Apabhraṃśa while also travelling to important regions for his dissertation archive, including Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar. Mr. Stephenson is also studying regional vernaculars and consulting manuscript collections in India, in addition to reading with pundits.