Graduate Thesis

StudentDegreeGraduation YearThesis title
Amy UmezuM.A.B.S.2023No Faith in Shinjin: An Exploration of the Translation of Shinjin Through the Hermeneutics of Virtue-Transference
Kaitlyn Kongo Mascher-MaceM.Div.2023Eshin as Universal Conversion: a Framework for Movement
Nisha Rajani ShahM.Div.2022Greed as “Dis-Ease”: How the Buddhist Teachings of Suffering Supports the Consideration of Greed as a Determinant of Public Health
Austin Kogen KeithM.A.2022Standing with Moral Injury: What It Is, What Has Been Done, and a Buddhist Prescription for Care
Ellen Hamada CraneM.A.B.S.2022A Brief Overview of Shin Buddhist Education in the West with a Focus on the History and Development of the Orange County Buddhist Church Buddhist Education Center: A Model of Success for Shin Buddhist Education and Propagation in the West
John Aaron MullinsM.A.B.S.2022Building a Brand for the Pure Land: Rennyo and the Marketing of the Nembutsu
Cynthia Keiko YasakiM.A.B.S.2022Fazhao: The Chinese Master of Nianfo Practice and Rituals
Sakurako IwagamiM.A.2021How Japanese Buddhist Communities Attract People Who Are Spiritual But Not Religious
Quang Dai LeM.A.2021Buddhism in Southeast Asia
Jennifer Akiko RogersM.Div.2021Amida's Vow for All Beings: An Analysis of the Historical Development of Universal Acceptance in in Jōdo Shinshū Doctrine
Ungyo Lynn SugiyamaM.B.S.2020The Wasan: Aspects for a Teaching Tool in Shin Buddhism
Cristopher Lee Dunford, Jr.M.A.2020Radical Acceptance as a Shin Buddhist Theology of Liberation for LGBTQ+ Peoples
Todd TsuchiyaM.Div.2020Taiko as “Jishin Kyō Ninshin” in US Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Communities
Harumichi FukayaM.A.2020Across the Sea: A Study of Tenrikyo’s North American Mission before World War II
Ryoze WadaM.A.2020Public and Private Aspects of Seikaku: Tendai Preacher and Pure Land Buddhist
Joseph SchumanM.A.2020Arising, Ceasing: Hegemonic Masculinity, Complicated Grief, and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy
Rhiana Elizabeth H. WigginsM.A.2019The Buddhist Teachings of Impermanence as Heuristic Means: Transforming Fear and Denial of Death and Dying
Brent BeaversM.A.2019No-self, Five Aggregates, and a Fearless Heart in the Interruption of Transgender Othering in Healthcare
Blayne HigaM.Div.2019Becoming an Imperfect Companion: Shin Buddhist Spirituarity and the Art of Pastoral Care
Tadao KoyamaM.B.S.2018Chanting in Buddhism: With a Focus on Chanting in the Jodo Shinshu Tradition
Daigan Vincent GaitherM.A.2017Healing in Oppression: Contributions from Buddhist Teachings and Communities
Meg Doshin GawlerM.A.2017Voices of Early Buddhist Nuns: A Dharmalogical Approach to the Therīgāthaā
Jamie KimmelM.A.2017Buddhist Hospital Chaplaincy at the End of Life: U.S. Healthcare and Challenge of Interdependence
Nicole M. MacArgelM.A.2017Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition: A Contemporary Organization for Transmitting the Dharma
Dawn Patricia NealM.A.2017Discord and its Alternatives in the Atthakavagga of the Pali Canon
Thomas CalobrisiM.A.2016On Mindful Civil Religion: A Study of the Rhetoric of Mindfulness Movement in the United States
Todd T. JordonM.A.2016Narrative and Non-Narrative in Buddhist Pastoral Care
Joanne LaurenceM.A.2016Healing Through Death: Integrating Hospice Chaplaincy with Buddhist Healing Principles
Alistair ShanksM.A.2016An Examination of the Zen Hospice Project Volunteer Training Program: Implication for the Practice of Buddhist Pastoral Care
Pitt Visessuk (Toby)M.A.2016Upeakkha (Equanimity) in Definition of Thai Forest Theravada Buddhist Tradition: Application in Chaplaincy and Pastoral Care
Haruka BeppuM.A.2015The Issue of Buddha-Nature in Shin Buddhism in the West
Cogen BohanecM.A.2015Compassion Between Selfhood in the Upanisad-s and the Pāli Canon
Matthew HamasakiM.B.S.2015The Evolution of Ritual in the Buddhist Churches of America
Kory Hideo QuonM.B.S.2015A Discussion of Rennyo's Fivefold Teaching for a Truly Settled Life: Namu Amida Butsu in Contemporary Living
Candice Tei ShibataM.A.2015The Transformation of Attachment, Loss, and Love through Religious Experience
Diana L. ClarkM.A.2014The Ambattha Sutta of the Buddhist Pali Canon: Its Socio-Historical and Literary Context
Chenxing HanM.A.2014Engaging the Invisible Majority: Conversations with Young Adult Asian American Buddhists
Carole GallucciM.A.2014Lojong for Buddhist Chaplains
Trent J. ThornleyM.A.2014A Literary Analysis of the Ariyapariyesanā Sutta
Alexander KantnerM.A.2013The Invisible Robe: A Comparative Study of Lay and Priest Practice in the American Soto Zen Lineage of Syunryu Suzuki
R. Anthony RodgersM.A.2013Authority in Providing Care: Hospital Chaplaincy from a Theravāda Buddhist Perspective
Kathryn Bilotti-StarkM.A.2012Compassionate Awareness and Transformation: The Relevancy of Mindfulness Teachings and Practices in Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care
Anne Cottrell SpencerM.A.2012Jodo Shinshu in America: A Demographic Survey of the Buddhist Churches of America
Alexander McDermidM.A.2012Gender in Jōdō Shinshu Temple Families
Diana ThompsonM.A.2012Narrative of Evil: A Comparison of the Ajatastru Story and Batman Graphic Novels
Christina Roberta YankoM.A.2012Aspects of Yogācāra in the Discourse on the Pure Land
G. Kenji AkahoshiM.B.S.2011Interpreting the Two Aspects of Deep Mind Utilizing Psychological Metaphors
Linda DorseM.B.S.2011Dōgen in the Kitchen: Expressions of Shikantaza in Instructions for the Cook ( Tenzokyōkun )
Takashi MiyajiM.B.S.2011The Shackles of the Self: An Examination of the Hindrance of Doubt on Shinran's Thought
Victoria Rose PintoM.A.2011Shinnyo-en: an Early History
David Kazuyoshi FujimotoM.B.S.2010A Consideration of Religious Conversion: in Shinra's Thought and from a Modern Perspective
Mutsumi Fujiwara WondraM.B.S.2010Interpreting Shinran's Teaching Within a Contemporary Shin Buddhist Community: How does a person who has attained the stage of the truly settled live in the contemporary world?
Charles DiSimoneM.A.2010The Impact of Forest-Dwelling on Early Mahāyāna Buddhism: Being a Study Focused in this Light and a Translation of the Eleventh Chapter of the Śiksāmuccaya of Śāntideva
Remy SnowM.A.2010Hands on the Elephant - Hands on Our Buddha Nature: An Alternate Perspective of Pastoral/Spiritual Care in Interfaith Healthcare Chaplaincy
Naoyuki OgiM.A.2008The Challenge of Revitalizing Buddhism: Learning from the Engaged Buddhist Movements of Thich Nhat Hanh, Shinran and Takagi Kenmyõ
Daniel G. FriedrichM.A.2006Identity in Difference: Reading Nishida Philosophy Through the Lens of Shin Buddhism
Kiyonobu KuwaharaM.A.2006On the Possibility of the Anonymous Shin Buddhist: A Comparative Study of the Perspective of Karl Rahner, Shinran, and Buddha-Nature
Takuya HinoM.A.2005Dōken Shōnin and the Cult of Kinpusen in the Deification of Sugawara no Michizane
Natalie E. FiskM.A.2005Vietnamese Buddhism, American Buddhism, Modern Buddhism: Conflict in Bay Area Convert Sangha
(Beth) Haru MatsumuneM.B.S.2004A Comparison of Tannishō Chapter 1 and Kyōgyōshinshō Using English Translations
Nobuko MiyoshiM.A.2004The Challenge of Jōdo Shinshū in America: Practicing " No Practice"
Jeanette ShinM.A.2004An Analysis of Sōhei, Japan's Militant Buddhist Monks
Patricia A. Kanaya UsukiM.A.2004Contemporary American Women in Jōdo Shin Buddhism: Tradition, Transition, Transmission
Mary Louise DavidM.B.S.2004The Politics of Colonialism in Territorial Hawai'i: The Case of Bishop Yemyo Imamura and the Alien Language School Laws, 1919-1927
Kanjō AsukaM.A.2003Shinran's View on Karma
Scott A. MitchellM.A.2003Indra's Cyber Net: The Impact of the Internet on the Development of American Buddhism
Naomi Yukiko NakanoM.A.2002The Light of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism in the Dark Days of World War II
Harry Pearlton Bridge IIIM.A.2001Praising the Virtuous Qualities of the True and Transformed Bodies: A Study of Hōnen's Pure Land Buddha-Body Theory
Catherine Adams ShawM.A.2000Vajrapāni in Myth and History: India, Central Asia, and Tibet
Kyung Hee LeeM.A.1998The Evil Person in Jōdoshinshū: A Study of Chaper Three of Tannishō
Akiyo YokotaM.A.1998A Reconsideration of Ryūkan's Life and Thought
Carol J. FujimuraM.A.1997The Politics of Religious Expression: An "Inside/Outside" or "Public/Private" Interpretive Analysis of Religious Texts
M. Angela AndradeM.A.1996A Study of Myōkōnin Asahara Saichi's Eshin
Karen M. AndrewsM.A.1996What Dākinīs Do: In Tibetan Biographical Literature
Ellen RozettM.A.1996Shentong Madhyamaka and Via Negativa, a Buddhist and Christian Approach to the Absolute: With Special Emphasis on the Teachings of the Blessed Angela of Foligno (1248/49-1309) and the Omniscient Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen (1292-1361)
Shoyo TaniguchiPh.D1996A Systematic Structure of Ethics Found on Casual Conditionality (Paticcasamuppāda): Ethics from the Pāli Nikāya Textual Point of View
In Young ChungM.A.1996A Buddhist View of Women: A Comparative Study of the Rules for Bhiksunīs and Bhiksus Bassed on the Chinese Prātimoksa
Maya M. HaraM.A.1995A Sutudy and Translation of Genkū Shõnin Shi Nikki
Kevin Jon GuintherM.A.1995The Hua-Yen Doctorine of Fa-Chieh Yüan-Ch'i: Interdependence and Vairocana's Tower in the Gandavyūha Sūtra
Lisa GrumbachM.A.1995Dying for Your Own Good: The Kaidan Meguri of Zenkōji
Gary L. RayM.A.1995Dōgen's Concept of Enlightenment with Emphasis on Tendai Influences
Yun-Sup KimM.A.1995The Buddhist Notion of Anatta in the Pali Nikayas
Katherine K. VelascoM.A.1993The Transformation of the Pure Land in the Development of Lay Buddhist Practice in China
Daw Yuh ShyhM.A.1991T'ai-Hsü (1890-1947) - A Reformer in Modern Chinese Buddhism
Gregory G. GibbsM.A.1990Concepts of Faith in Three Categories, Their Applicability to the Texts of Shinran and Their Relation to Shinjin
Eisho NasuM.A.1990A Christian Critic of Buddhism in Early Modern Japan: A Study of the First Volume of the Myōtei Mondō
Diane AmesM.A.B.S.1989Buddhist Social Action and Sūnyatā in the Writing of Nāgārjuna
Shoyo TaniguchiM.A.1987A Study of Biomedical Ethics from a Buddhist Perspective
Lynn M. OlsonM.A.1986A Role of Doubt in Jodo Shinshu Buddhism
Lee A. RosenthalM.A.B.S.1986Pure Land Salvation through the Power of Amida's Vow
Dean Akira KoyamaM.A.B.S.1985Shinran's View on the Nature of Man and the Hongam
Jerry Kiyoshi HiranoM.A.B.S.1984Rennyo Shonin (1415-1499) His Contribution to the Development to Honganji
J. Rebecca MacDonaldM.A.B.S.1983A Westerner's Appreciation of the Master of Gyōshin in Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism
Hōzan HardimanM.A.B.S.1983Gyō Shin: Jōdo Shinshū and Sōtō Zen A Comparative Study of Shinran and Dōgen
Galen D. AmstutzM.A.B.S.1981Buddhist Compassion: Passive "Private" Meditation or Active "Social" Effort?
Dennis Shin FujimotoM.A.B.S.1980Merit Transference: The Development of the Concept of Ekō in Pure Land Buddhism
Marvin R. HaradaM.A.B.S.1980Two Varieties of Religious Thought and Experience: Shinran and Dōgen
Carol J. HimakaM.A.B.S.1979A Critical Analysis of Salvation on Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism
Dennis J. ShinsekiM.A.B.S.1979Jigoku
Christopher J. CydersM.A.B.S.1977An Outline and Study of the Shoshikan by Chih-I, in Translation
Kodo UmezuM.A.B.S.1977The Treatise of the Twelve Gates Translation and Introduction
Donald W. CastroM.A.B.S.1976Dying and Religious Insight in Buddhism
Betty Mieko OsakoM.A.B.S.Notes on Walking or by Ship (Bu-Sen-Sho) of Zonkaku
Ronald Ken KobataM.A.B.S.1974Jodo Shinshu: Awaikening of Faith as an End, and as a Means
Ronald MiyamuraM.A.B.S.1973A Translation on and Research of the Ichinen Tanen Mon'i
Kanya Okamoto1973Non-Reason is Reason
Robert Oshita1973Illusions
Kenneth K. TanakaM.A.B.S.1973Man's Existential Unsatisfactoriness and Its Reconciliation in the Teaching of Jodo Shin Buddhism
Kenneth Charles O'NeillThe Awakening of Faith and the Topic of San Shin Is-shin in Shin Teaching
June A. KingThe Myōkōnin as Examples of the True Mind of Faith