Alexander von Rospatt

Dr. Alexander von Rospatt is a Professor of Buddhist and South Asian Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, and serves as the Program Director for the Group in Buddhist Studies. His research focuses on the doctrinal history of Indian Buddhism and the living Newar Buddhist tradition in the Kathmandu Valley, the only Indic Mahayana tradition persisting in its original South Asian context.

• Specializes in Buddhist doctrinal history, Newar Mahayana traditions, and ritual studies
• Author of two major works: a foundational book on Buddhist momentariness and The Svayambhu Caitya and its Renovations
• Current projects include visual analysis of Svayambhupurana murals, Newar life-cycle rituals, and Nepalese manuscript colophons

He has held teaching positions at the Universities of Leipzig, Oxford, Vienna, and Munich, and at the International College for Postgraduate Buddhist Studies in Tokyo. His work integrates manuscript analysis with extensive fieldwork in Nepal.