About me
My name is Amod Lele. (Pronunciation: “uh-MODE” or “ah-MODE,” like a mode of transportation; “LAY-lay.”) I grew up in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. When it comes to “religious” tradition I’m something of a mutt: my mother was raised a Christian and became a Buddhist, while my father was raised a Hindu and became a Marxist. For most of my life I’ve moved around various points in the middle between these; but what’s allowed me to draw connections between them is philosophy, rational thought about the big questions.
I began reading Western philosophy in high school, but my real philosophical awakening came on a trip to Thailand in 1997, coming to learn more and more about Buddhism. I found myself wishing for many things, getting them in turn, and still not being happy. I eventually realized it was all about the Second Noble Truth: suffering comes from craving. The problem wasn’t with whether or not I got what I wanted. The problem was with me. Philosophy was no longer just about abstractions or even social issues; it spoke directly to me. If you’re interested in more details of this story, I’ve discussed them in two posts on the blog.
In the following decade I did a PhD from the Committee on the Study of Religion at Harvard University, studying cross-cultural philosophy with a focus on the Buddhist thinker Śāntideva. I started the blog in 2009 while working as a visiting assistant professor at Stonehill College, looking to blogs as a new kind of venue for exploring philosophical questions. Since then I have left the faculty job market for a variety of reasons, some of which I have discussed or alluded to in these posts, and have never regretted the decision. I have found blogging a far more congenial environment for the kinds of questions that inspire me.
In late 2011 I began a full-time job as an educational technologist at Boston University. This blog is not part of my job – I do it for free and I expect I always will – but the two are closely related. I view the blog as my avocation; it allows me to express and share the scholarly ideas that are my life’s passion, in a way that emerging information technologies make far more effective. And my job involves helping others to do the same – to teach them new technologies that express the learning they are passionate about.
If you’d like to know more about me, you can look at my autobiographical posts. You can contact me via alele at gmail dot com
