Geoffrey Barstow

Geoffrey Francis Barstow is an American religious historian and Buddhist scholar whose research focuses on Tibetan Buddhist ideas about animal ethics and vegetarianism.^[1]

Geoffrey Barstow
Occupation	Buddhist scholar

Biography

Barstow was educated in Buddhist studies at Hampshire College and Kathmandu University where he obtained his B.A.^[2] He obtained his PhD in religious studies from University of Virginia in 2013.^[2] Barstow is assistant professor of religious studies at Oregon State University.^[1] He is a student of Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche.^[3]

In 2017, Barstow authored Food of Sinful Demons: Meat, Vegetarianism and the Limits of Buddhism in Tibet, which has been positively reviewed.^[4][5][6][7] It is the first academic book to significantly explore vegetarianism in Tibet in its cultural and religious context.^[4] James Stewart in the Journal of Buddhist Ethics described it as "a comprehensive study of Tibetan vegetarianism within the context of the pre-communist era. It is a pleasurable read, thoughtfully written, and deploys well supported arguments that draw upon a wealth of Buddhist literature."^[5]

In 2019, Barstow was the editor of The Faults of Meat: Tibetan Buddhist Writings on Vegetarianism.^[8] Barstow has given online courses on Buddhism and animal welfare.^[9]

Selected publications

• Buddhism Between Abstinence and Indulgence: Vegetarianism in the Life and Works of Jigme Lingpa, Journal of Buddhist Ethics, 2013
• Food of Sinful Demons: Meat, Vegetarianism, and the Limits of Buddhism in Tibet, Columbia University Press, 2017^[10]
• The Hidden Vegetarians of Tibet, Tricycle, 2018
• Monastic Meat: The Question of Meat Eating and Vegetarianism in Tibetan Buddhist Monastic Guidelines (bca’ yig), Religions, 2019
• The Faults of Meat: Tibetan Buddhist Writings on Vegetarianism, Wisdom Publications, 2019^[11]