David Gray received his B.A. in Religious Studies from Wesleyan University and his M.A. and Ph.D. in the History of Religion from Columbia University. His research explores the development of tantric Buddhist traditions in South Asia, and their dissemination in Tibet and East Asia, with a focus on the Yogin?tantras, a genre of Buddhist tantric literature that focused on female deities and yogic practices involving the subtle body. He focuses particularly on the Cakrasamvara Tantra, an esoteric Indian Buddhist scripture that serves as the basis for a number of important Nepali and Tibetan Buddhist practice traditions.
The Cakrasamvara Tantra: A Study and Annotated Translation. New York: AIBS/CBS/THUS [Columbia University Press], 2007.
The Cakrasamvara Tantra: Editions of the Sanskrit and Tibetan Texts. New York: AIBS/CBS/THUS [Columbia University Press], 2012.
Tsong Khapa’s Illumination of the Hidden Meaning: Maṇḍala, Mantra, and the Cult of the Yoginīs (An Annotated Translation of Chapters 1-24). New York: AIBS/CBS/THUS [Columbia University Press], 2015.
“Imprints of the “Great Seal” – On the expanding semantic range of the term of mudrā in eighth through eleventh century Indian Buddhist literature.” Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 34.1-2 (2011; published in 2013): 421-481.
“On the Very Idea of a Tantric Canon: Myth, Politics, and the Formation of the Bka’ ’gyur.” Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, no. 5 (December 2009; published in October 2010): 1-37.