Michael Sheehy
UVA's Contemplative Sciences Center Director of Research
Michael R. Sheehy, PhD is a meditation researcher and scholar of Tibetan Buddhism. He is a Research Assistant Professor and Director of Research at the Contemplative Sciences Center at the University of Virginia. At UVA, he directs the CIRCL: Contemplative Innovation + Research Collaborative Lab and is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Contemplative Studies. Michael studies how meditation works – how the generative, dynamic, and ever-evolving processes of contemplative practices advance our experience of being human and enhancing life. For twelve years, he conducted fieldwork with monastic communities across the Tibetan plateau to preserve rare manuscripts, and for three years, he trained in a Buddhist monastery in far eastern Tibet. Over the past decade, he has collaborated with scientists on interdisciplinary research projects to illuminate the operations of distinct contemplative practices. His work translates Tibetan meditation manuals to make these practices relevant to discourses in the humanities, cultural psychology, and cognitive sciences. He has authored more than two dozen articles, co-edited The Other Emptiness: Rethinking the Zhentong Buddhist Discourse in Tibet, and his forthcoming book is on the little-known Jonang tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. His research has been featured in the Buddhistdoor Global and National Geographic.
https://csc.virginia.edu/people/michael-sheehy
