Spotlight Detail
2021 Buddhist Studies Essay Prize (Betsy Tang and Kent W. Ho Award)
Congratulations to Jessica Aylen Hermosillo Pena for winning the 2021 Buddhist Studies Essay Prize (Betsy Tang and Kent W. Ho Award)! Click to view the full essay.
Jessica Aylen Hermosillo Pena was awarded the 2021 Buddhist Studies Essay Prize (Betsy Tang and Kent W. Ho Award) for her work on childbirth and Buddhism, a final research project in the class “The Buddhist Body” (EAS 190). Hermosillo tackled the paradox of reproduction within a religious tradition that seeks liberation from the world, and combines Indian sutras with notes by Japanese monk-scholars, texts of aristocratic birth rituals, and teachings from Tibet to explore the topic and present a surprising resolution to the problem.