gloria chien

Gloria (I-Ling) Chien is an Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Gonzaga University. She grew up in Taiwan and majored in finance in college. Then, she studied Tibetan Buddhism at Chung-Hwa Institute of Buddhist Studies in Taiwan and completed her Ph.D. at the University of Virginia. Chien conducts bibliographic analysis of the Tibetan Buddhist master Tokmé Zangpo's (1295–1369) biographies and Collected Works to examine the cultural legacy of the Tibetan Buddhist Lojong (mind training) meditation tradition. Her research inspired her to become a certified instructor in the Cognitively-Based Compassion Training® contemplation program developed at Emory University.

After joining Gonzaga University in 2017, Chien grew her research in The Spiritual Exercises and the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm. Her teaching and publications explore how an integration of Ignatian and contemplation pedagogies support a Buddhist studies classroom and the Jesuit educational goal concerning whole person development. To promote scholarly discussion on teaching Buddhism, Chien established the Buddhist Pedagogy Seminar at the American Academy of Religion and co-chaired it from 2019 to 2023.

Chien’s publications also delve into Tokmé Zangpo’s life and Collected Works, teaching Buddhism in higher education, and, most recently, Chinese religions in film. In line with her current book project in Buddhism and film, Chien will explore a comparison between Māra and Satan as they are portrayed in film.