He received a Ph.D. in the Study of Religion from Harvard in 1980, focusing on the Buddhist traditions of India, Tibet and Southeast Asia.
[4] He then moved on to Boston University, where he received Metcalf Award for Teaching Excellence in 1998.
His publications include Bhāviveka and His Buddhist Opponents (Harvard); Buddhism: Origins, Beliefs, Practices, Holy Texts, Sacred Places (Oxford); To See the Buddha: A Philosopher's Quest for the Meaning of Emptiness (Princeton);[5] Jnanagarbha's Commentary on the Distinction Between the Two Truths: An Eighth-Century Handbook of Madhyamaka Philosophy (State University of New York); and "Is There a Buddhist Philosophy of Nature?"
in Theoretical and Methodological Issues in Buddhism and Ecology (Harvard Center for the Study of World Religions).
[6] He is the editor of two volumes of essays: India and The West: The Problem of Understanding (Harvard Center for the Study of World Religions) and Deliver Us from Evil (Continuum).