Dr. Dion Peoples grew up as the son of US Air Force parents and later himself became enlisted in the U.S.A.F. for a decade, serving as an Intelligence Analyst, from 1992-2002. He left to become a Theravada Buddhist monk, in the Dhammayutika-Nikaya, ordaining at Wat Patumwanaram, but later spent the rest of his monastic period in a cave-temple in Pakchong, Thailand. He disrobed to attain his higher education in Buddhist Studies, since at the time, Thailand could not provide any international programs. He returned to Thailand in 2004 to complete his MA Thesis from Chulalongkorn University on the morning and evening chanting in Theravada Buddhist temples, and his PhD dissertation on the Sangiti Sutta. Dr. Dion Peoples is the Manager of the International Association of Buddhist Universities, and a former lecturer at Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University, from 2006-2014. He currently teaches online courses for free, on the subject of Buddhist Analytical Thinking Skills. He has been the editor of the UNDV Publications since 2006, but officially since 2007. He is also the General Editor for the 2015 UNDV Academic Conference Publication. He publishes all of his independent work online, on his social-media and academia.edu websites. He is available for teaching anyone interested in Buddhist Studies, and has taught courses at MCU, related to: Buddhism and Ecology; Religions & Professional Development'; Religions and Sociology; Research and Literature in Thai Buddhism; World Religions; Abhidhamma-Pitaka; History of Buddhism; Doctrines in the Suttanta-Pitaka; Selected Topics in Buddhist Scriptures; and Buddhist Critical Thinking Skills (cancelled: not enough students).
Education/Experience:
Victor Valley High School, Victorville, California
1992-2002 Senior Defensive Information Intelligence Analyst, United States Air Force
2002-2002 Thammasat University, Bangkok – 45 Transfer Credits
Awarded: One-Year Certificate in Thai Studies
2002 Monkhood, Phra Passanacitto, at Wat Patumwanaramrajavihara, Bangkok
University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon – 3.5+ GPA
Elected: Co-President, Thai Student Association, University of Oregon
Awarded: Bachelor of Arts, International Studies [Focus Area: “Cross-Cultural Communication, Indigenous Cultural Studies and Ethnic Identity”; minor: Religious Studies – focusing on Theravada Buddhism and Islam in Thailand]
Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand – 3.75 GPA
Thesis: “A Study of Morning and Evening Monastic Chanting Ceremony in Thai Buddhist Temples”
Awarded: Master of Arts, Thai Studies [March 2006]
2006-2009: Ph.D. Candidate, Buddhist Studies (PhD Awarded in 2009)
Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University, Bangkok, Thailand [Dissertation: “Utilization and Application of the Sangiti Sutta”]; Course Papers: A Representation of Meditations from the Sangiti Sutta; The Role of the Sangiti Sutta in the Formation of the Abhidhamma; A Hermeneutical Investigation into the Sangiti Sutta
2006-2007: Buddhism and Social Studies Teacher in the English Program at Yothinburana School and assembled five textbooks for M1-M5 levels at Yothinburana School
2006-Present: Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University - Special English Class for Graduate Students in 2006; Part-time Special Lecturer – Faculty of Buddhist Studies since 2007 - Courses: Intro to World Religions; Abhidhamma-pitaka Course; History of Buddhism; Research and Literature in Thai Buddhism; Religions and Professional Development; and for the International Masters of Arts Program, in 2010: Doctrines of the Suttanta-Pitaka; Selected Topics in Buddhist Scriptures
2007-Present: International Association of Buddhist Universities, Secretariat Manager
2007-Present: United Nations Day of Vesak International Organizing Committee Member
2008: Chief Editor and Academic Seminar Organizer, IABU Conference on Buddhist Ethics; and panelist
2009: Chief Editor and Academic Seminar Organizer, UNDV 2009 Editorial Committee, Conference on Buddhist Approach to Global Crisis; and panelist
2010: Chief Editor and Academic Seminar Organizer, UNDV 2010 Editorial Committee, Conference on Global Recovery: The Buddhist Perspective; and panelist
2011: Chief Editor and Academic Seminar Organizer, UNDV 2011 Editorial Committee, Conference on Buddhist Virtues for Socio-Economic Development; and panelist
2012: Chief Editor and Academic Seminar Organizer, 2nd IABU Conference & Editorial Committee, Buddhist Philosophy & Praxis, and panelist in two sessions: Buddhist Psychotherapy & Unifying Buddhist Philosophical Views
2013: Chief Editor, 4th Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Universities, Special Edition on Buddhist Critical Thinking Skills
2013-2014: Chief Editor and Academic Seminar Organizer, UNDV 2014 at Bai Dinh Temple, Vietnam – “Buddhist Perspective Towards Achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals”, and the five subthemes associated with the conference. Quit, after host-agent engaged in unprofessionalism.
2014-2015: Chief Editor and Academic Seminar Organizer, UNDV 2015 at MCU – Theme: Buddhism and World Crisis, and panels on: Buddhist Response to Social Conflict; Buddhist Response to Environmental Degradation; Buddhism and ASEAN Community; Buddhist Response to Educational Crisis
Special Projects:
2003-2004: Weekly Temple Volunteer at Wat Buddha Oregon, in Turner (Salem), Oregon
May 2006: Edited the website script and pamphlet for attendees to the UN’s Observation of Vesak Day 2006 – held at Buddhamonthon, Nakorn Pathom, Thailand
April 2007: Edited six books for publication:
Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University for presentation to dignitaries for the UN’s Observation of the International Day of Vesak 2007 and the 4th International Buddhist Conference. The texts: “Selected Papers on Visakha Puja and Vinaya”; “Selected Papers on Buddhist Contributions to Good Governance and Development”; “Program”; “Exhibition”; “Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University”; and “Commemorative Book: Buddhist Contributions to World Peace and Sustainable Development 2006”.
January 2008: Panelist: the Contested Reforms of King Mongkut – for the 10th International Thai Studies Conference, paper topic: Buddhist Education Reforms through Chanting Revisions
2008: Edited 2008 UN Day of Vesak: Commemorative Book 2007, for presentation to delegates attending Thailand’s international celebrations at Buddhamonthon, Thailand.
Sept. 2008: 1st International Association of Buddhist Universities Conference and Symposium: main academic seminar organizer and Chief Editor: IABU Conference on Buddhism and Ethics – Symposium Volume. 653 pages
2009: Prize Winner for article: “Buddhism and Scientific Attraction & Repulsion” – see: Buddhism and Scientific Attraction & Repulsion – at: http://big5.fjnet.com/pty/xqsd/200903/t20090304_111225.htm
May 2009: 6th United Nations Day of Vesak Celebration – Chief Editor:
Buddhist Approach to Economic Crisis – 237 pages
Buddhist Approach to Environmental Crisis – 290 pages
Buddhist Approach to Political Crisis – 333pages
May 2010: 7th United Nations Day of Vesak Celebrations – Chief Editor
Global Recovery: The Buddhist Perspective – 720 pages
May 2011: 8th United Nations Day of Vesak Celebrations – Chief Editor
Buddhist Virtues for Socio-Economic Development – 764 pages
June 2011: Academic Advisor: Hispanic Institute of Buddhist Studies, Mexico
June 2011: Member, Editorial Staff: Present Magazine (Alliance for Bhikkhunis)
May-June 2012: 2nd IABU Conference Academic Organizer, Chief Editor & Panelists
June 2012: World Buddhist University Academic Conference: Teaching Buddhism at the University Level
May 2013: Moderator& Secretary for the Workshop to create the ASEAN Buddhist Studies Curriculum, at Mahamakut University for the Association of Theravada Buddhist Universities Conference.
July 2014: Interviewed by the Swiss Embassy on the topic of the ‘Political Crisis and Buddhism’ that recently affected Thailand.
2014: Common Buddhist Text project, contributions as an editor/reviewer, to: “A Common Buddhist Text” – which features important passages from Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism.
2013-2014 Member of the Editorial Board: “Southeast Asian Diaspora in the United States: Memories and Visions, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow” Written By: Lee, Jonathan H. X., Published By: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2014; MIL EAN/ISBN: 9781322216669, Pub e-EAN/ISBN:
9781443869799, Paper EAN/ISBN: 9781443863643
Interfaith Dialogues:
August 2010: Conference sponsored by the World Council of Churches and the Lutheran World Federation – a Dialogue with Buddhists on a Common Word addressing Structural Greed, hosted by Payap University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Personal Publications:
Dion Peoples: Attraction and Repulsion from a Scientific Buddhist Perspective, inside: The Chulalongkorn Journal of Buddhist Studies, Vol. 4, 2010 (Bangkok: Chulalongkorn University Press, 2010)
Dion Peoples: Chanting the Sangiti Sutta (Wangnoi: Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University Press, 2012)
Dion Peoples: The Yodhajiva Suttas, inside: The Chulalongkorn Journal of Buddhist Studies, [Volume 6, 2012] (Bangkok: Chulalongkorn University Press, 2012)
Dion Peoples: Buddhist Critical Thinking Skills (Wangnoi, MCU University Press, forthcoming, 2015?)
Courses taught at Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University:
BA: Buddhism and Ecology
BA: Religions & Professional Development
BA: Religions and Sociology
BA: Research and Literature in Buddhism
BA: World Religions
BA: Abhidhamma-Pitaka
BA: History of Buddhism
MA: Doctrines in the Suttanta-Pitaka
MA: Selected Topics in Buddhist Scriptures
LIMCU: Buddhist Critical Thinking Skills (cancelled: not enough students)
Articles in Print or Electronically Available:
Dion Peoples: “A Buddhist Perspective on Externalization and Movements” for IABU Symposium on Buddhism and Ethics,
http://www.iabuconference.com/seminar_detail.php?smt_id=106
Dion Peoples: “Attraction and Repulsion from a Scientific Buddhist Perspective”, for IABU Symposium on Buddhism and Ethics,
http://www.iabuconference.com/seminar_detail.php?smt_id=81 - Later revised and won Award for 2nd World Buddhist Forum, Buddhism and Science Category [see above]. [Article is under revision again, and will be contributed to the Chulalongkorn University Journal of Buddhist Studies – in 2010.]
Dion Peoples: “Reflections on Social Ethics in Buddhist Old-World Stories”
panelist, and published inside: 1st IABU Conference and Symposium on Buddhism and Ethics, September 2008 website:
http://www.iabuconference.com/seminar_detail.php?smt_id=17;
later published inside: The Document of International Research Seminar – Buddhism: Truthful Knowledge and Quality of Life. Buddhist Research Institute, Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University, 8-10 January 2009, pp. 178-201
Dion Peoples: “Representation of Meditations from the Sa?g?ti Sutta”, inside: Buddhist Contributions to Good Governance and Development; and the Introduction, see:
http://www.vesakday.net/vesak50/books_Buddhist_Contributions.php ?trnslang=en-us
Dion Peoples: “The Religious Aspects of Socialistic Viewpoints on Justice and Buddhism” at
http://www.vesakday2008.com/tranghoithao/tieng_anh/subtheme_2/th e_religious %20aspects_of_socialistic_viewpoints_on_justice.html
Dion Oliver Peoples: The Role We Play as Buddhist Educators for Global Recovery (2010 UNDV Conference on Global Recovery – The Buddhist Perspective) Dion Peoples [editor] (Wangnoi: Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University Press, 2010), pp. 124-150 available also online:
www.icundv.com/vesak2010
Dion Peoples: A Buddhist Perspective on Externalization and Movements towards Defining Mind Culture – inside Dion Peoples [editor]: Buddhism and Ethics: Symposium Volume. Academic Papers presented at the IABU Conference on Buddhism and Ethics, held in conjunction with the 1st IABU Summit at Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University Main Campus, Wangnoi, Ayutthaya, Thailand, 13-15 September 2008. pp. 343-349
Dion Peoples [editor]: Buddhist Approach to Economic Crisis: 6th UNDV Conference Volume. Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University Main Campus, Wangnoi, Ayutthaya, Thailand, 4-6 May 2009
Dion Peoples [editor]: Buddhist Approach to Environmental Crisis: 6th UNDV Conference Volume. Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University Main Campus, Wangnoi, Ayutthaya, Thailand, 4-6 May 2009
Dion Peoples: Discipline is Required for Resolving Any Crisis, inside: Dion Peoples [editor]: Buddhist Approach to Political Conflict and Peace Development: 6th UNDV Conference Volume. Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University Main Campus, Wangnoi, Ayutthaya, Thailand, 4-6 May 2009, pp. 119-131
Dion Peoples [editor]: Buddhist Contributions to World Peace and Sustainable Development 2006 Commemorative Book, 3rd International Buddhist Conference on the United Nations Day of Vesak Celebrations and the 60th Anniversary of the Accession to the Throne of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, at Buddhamonthon, Nakhon Pathom and United Nations Convention Center, Bangkok, Thailand, 7-10 May2006.
Dion Peoples [editor]: Global Recovery – The Buddhist Perspective: 7th UNDV Conference Volume Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University Main Campus, Wangnoi, Ayutthaya, Thailand, 23-25 May 2010
Dion Peoples: Representation of Meditations from the Sa?g?ti Sutta – inside: Dion Peoples [editor]: Selected Papers on Buddhist Contributions to Good Governance and Development. The 4th International Buddhist Conference on the United Nations Day of Vesak and the Auspicious Occasion of His Majesty the King’s 80th Birthday Anniversary at Buddhamonthon, Nakhon Pathom and the United Nations Conference Center, Bangkok, Thailand 26-29 May 2007, pp. 136-139
Dion Peoples: A Study of Morning and Evening Monastic Chanting Ceremony in Thai Buddhist Temples (Master Degree Thesis - ISBN 974-53-2611-9. Chulalongkorn University, Faculty of Arts, 2006)
Dion Peoples: Utilization and Application of the Sa?g?ti Sutta (unpublished PhD Dissertation, Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University, Bangkok, 2009)
Dion Peoples: Progress through Buddhist Intelligence: An Analysis of Selections from The Tipi?aka – inside: The Document of the 2nd International Buddhist Research Institute Research Seminar – Buddhism: Truthful Knowledge and Quality of Life. Buddhist Research Institute, Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University, 8-10 January 2010. See: pp. 8-14
Dion Oliver Peoples: Possibilities for the Dissemination of Theravada Buddhism in Islamic Nations (paper presented at the 3rd Association of Theravada Buddhist Universities conference on the Dissemination of Buddhism in the 21st Century) 29 September – 01 October 2010, to be published after the conference.
Dion Oliver Peoples: An African Presence in Early Buddhism to Good Luck Dolls in Bangkok – a paper presented at the 3rd International Seminar for the Buddhist Research Institute, Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University, in January 2011.
Dion Oliver Peoples: Buddhist Education: The History and Background of the Sa?g?ti -Sutta. The Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Universities (JIABU) 2009 Volume Two (Wangnoi: The Secretariat of the International Association of Buddhist Universities, 2009) [released in 2011]
Dion Oliver Peoples: Buddhist-Marxist Perspective of Thai Sufficiency Economics, inside: Buddhist Virtues for Socio-Economic Development, presented at the 8th United Nations Day of Vesak Conference (Wangnoi: Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University Press, 2011)
Dion Oliver Peoples: Attraction and Repulsion from a Scientific Buddhist Perspective, inside: The Chulalongkorn Journal of Buddhist Studies, Volume 4, 2010 (Bangkok: Chulalongkorn University Center for Buddhist Studies, 2010)
Additional Collaboration Work:
Phra Dharmakosajarn: Dhamma and Environmental Preservation (Revised and Edited by Dion Peoples), Bangkok: Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University Press, 2009 (now known as: The Most Venerable Phra Dr. Brahmapandit, the Rector of Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University, and Chairman of the International Committee for the United Nations Day of Vesak and also the Chairman of the International Association of Buddhist Universities)
Phra Brahmagunabhorn [P.A. Payutto]: The Path to Peace (edited the translation and improved the scholastic value of the book through improving the language): published by Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University Press, 2011
“Outlook for Buddhism in the Next Decade” – Ghostwriter for a speech given by a knowledgeable Bhikkhu from MCU, as the guest-speaker on Sunday, 21 February 2010, at Deeksha Bhoomi, Nagpur, Maharashtra State, India – the speech emphasized how ‘we’ can ensure the continuity of Buddhism. Organizers of the “World Maghapuja Day, B.E. 2553” expect 10,000 Participants from largely: Tibet, Thailand, Japan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and the host-nation of India.
Dr. Dion Oliver Peoples: BTS Red-Line Expansion and the Communities to be Evicted (Paper submitted to the Conference sponsored by the World Council of Churches and the Lutheran World Federation – a Dialogue with Buddhists on a Common Word addressing Structural Greed – during August of 2010)
Dr. Somparn Promta: The View of Buddhism on Other Religions With Special Reference to Islam, inside, The Muslim World, Volume 100, Numbers 2 and 3, April/July 2010, pp. 302-320
Dr. Somparn Promta [ed.: Dr. Dion Peoples]: A Critical Introduction to Hindu Philosophy (Bangkok: Chulalongkorn University Press, 2011)
Social-Media Sites:
Academia:
https://mcu.academia.edu/DionPeoples
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Dr.DionPeoples