Interest in religious discipline underlies Cole's pursuits
Nora Beck combines art and academia
Interest in religious discipline underlies Cole's literary pursuits
by Angela Nusom
A strong interest in Hinduism and Buddhism as a practical religion underlies professor Alan Cole’s motivations in his upcoming book.
Cole’s book examines the interrelation of the Buddhist belief system and family, drawing on discipline ideals.
“I’m fascinated with the history of Buddhism and I’m interested in how literature presents ideals which people carry out in discipline practices,” he said.
Cole’s interest in learning and examining the subject began in high school. When he attended Middlebury College, he slowly began a transformation from studying physics and geology to philosophy, finally settling on religion, where his fascination with Buddhism grew.
Drawing on his travel to India during his senior year, Cole developed an interest in Tibetan Buddhism. Following his return, he spent six months in a Tibetan monastery in New Jersey.
“I was very serious about finding out the traditions,” he said.
In contrast to the common American misperception of monasteries, Cole told of one monk who had a great sense of humor. He remembers the monk greeting him with the pinch of a cheek one would expect from a grandmother or aunt. One year later, Cole coincidently met him again, this time in a Tibetan monastery during his travel to Tibet.
Following his trip to Tibet, Cole received his master’s degree from the University of Virginia and Ph.D. from University of Michigan in Buddhist Studies.
Cole also spent an extensive amount of time in Taiwan conducting research for his dissertation. During this time he also realized his passion for writing and research.
“I had seen Chinese Buddhism up close and I suddenly realized I loved writing and historical research.”
Cole directs his study of Buddhism and teaching through perspectives that examine the gender implications, power issues and American Buddhism. Though there has recently been a surge of interest and fascination with Eastern culture and religion, Cole believes the American perception and fantasy of Buddhism is not accurate.
“I saw a good deal of American Buddhism from the inside, and I saw it was a sad thing,” he said.
Instead, Cole concentrates on presenting to his students the unmasked version of true Buddhism. He said, “I really try to show people Buddhism from the ground up.” Discussing gender, family, and power are among his class goals.
Cole also supports the idea that the make-up of Christianity and Buddhism are very similar to one another. In examining the connections, the importance of theoretical knowledge and understanding of the disciplines’ practices becomes apparent.
“Buddhism and Protestantism carry a lot of similar ideas of purity and the cleansing of one’s self,” Cole said.
Cole expresses excitement about his book and a continued interest to keep producing. Though he never thought he’d be a writer, or even have a talent for it, he finds himself already with two other ideas for future books.
Among his most important critics is his mother, who reads and comments on his work. Cole said, “My bench mark is: If she can read it and see the value in it, then it must be okay.”
