Louise Roche
This year’s Khyentse Foundation Award for Outstanding PhD Dissertation in Buddhist Studies for Europe goes to Louise Roche of the École Pratique des Hautes Études – PSL / Centre Asie du Sud-Est (CASE/UMR 8170) in Paris, France.
The world of Khmer Buddhism is vast, ancient, and little known. Some may have glimpsed its refined subtlety in one of the many Khmer Hevajra statues housed in museums around the world. The tradition spans several languages (Khmer, Sanskrit, Pali, etc.) and various modes of Buddhist practice, and has flourished in dharma songs still sung today and in marvels of Buddhist architecture that extend far beyond a handful of iconic sites.
“It is a great honor for me to have been awarded this year’s Award for Outstanding PhD Dissertation in Buddhist Studies by Khyentse Foundation. I am extremely grateful that my work has been recognized by such a prestigious foundation. This award is all the more significant to me that it shines a spotlight on medieval Cambodia, a field that has long remained on the margins within international Buddhist studies.” — Louise Roche