Faculty
Our faculty is comprised of expert scholars and educators in the fields of Yoga Studies, Indology, Religious Studies, and South Asian Studies.
Dr. Giacomella Orofino
Professor of Tibetan Language and Civilization at the University of Naples "L'Orientale" and the Director of the University's Centre for Buddhist Studies
Dr. Giacomella Orofino is a Full Professor at the University of Naples "LâOrientale", where she holds the Chair of Tibetan Language and Literature and the History and Cultures of Tibet and Himalayan Countries. Her research focuses on the history of Indo-Tibetan religious traditions, employing philology, textual criticism, and the history of religions as her primary methodological frameworks. A leading figure in the promotion of Tibetan studies in Italy, she is the co-founder and current President of AISTHiM (the Italian Association of Tibetan, Himalayan, and Mongolian Studies) and the founder and Director of the Center for Buddhist Studies at the University of Naples "LâOrientale".
Her scholarly work is primarily dedicated to the study of the KÄlacakratantra, the Chöd tradition, Dzogchen, and the Bön religion, with a recent focus on the origins of physical yoga.
Courses taught:Â
Selected Publications:Â
- (2025)Â The Dawn of Physical Yoga: Dispelling the Hindrances to Immortality (UniorPress)
- (1994) Sekoddesa: A critical edition of the Tibetan translations (IsMEO)
- (2000) "The Great Wisdom Mother and the Gcod Tradition" in Tantra in Practice, ed. David Gordon White (Princeton University Press)
- (2022) "Empty Iridescent Spheres: Notes on the Metaphysics of Light in Indian and Tibetan Buddhist Tantric Sources" (Revue dâEtudes TibĂ©taines)Â
- (2025) "From Metaphors to Metaphysics: The Triad of Metaphor, Meaning, and Sign in Bön Dzogchen Philosophy" (Metaphor Papers)
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