Seongryong Lee

Bhikkhu Dukil (Seongryong Lee)

Ph.D. Focus: The Early Phase of Indian Buddhism

I am a Korean Buddhist monk. I received a B.A. in Statistics from Seoul National University in Korea. I learned Pali language and its literature at the University of Peradeniya in Sri Lanka for about four years. I earned an M.A. in the History of Religion from the University of Virginia. Then, I started my Ph.D. program in the field of Buddhism at UCLA in 2015. My current research interest is in the Atthakavagga of the Sutta Nipata, one of the earliest Buddhist literatures. I am much intrigued by how this doctrinally unsystematized text have been understood by different Buddhist traditions. I mainly compare the Pali version with the Chinese one together with their multilayered commentaries. For the larger picture of my study, I also enjoy reading the early Upanisads, which roughly precedes the institutionalizations of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.