Curriculum Vitaes
Profile Information
- Affiliation
- Specially Appointed Assistant Professor, Institute of Buddhist Culture; Liberal Arts Education; Faculty of Business Administration, Musashino University
- Degree
- Doctor of Philosophy(2021, University of Toronto)
- Contact information
- oneill
musashino-u.ac.jp - Other name(s) (e.g. nickname)
- Alexander James O'Neill
- ORCID ID
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9982-2589- J-GLOBAL ID
- 202401009609091595
- researchmap Member ID
- R000065327
- External link
Research Interests
5Research Areas
3Research History
3Education
3Awards
11Papers
11-
Emerson’s Affinities: Father of the American Mind, Nov, 2025 Peer-reviewed
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Asian Literature and Translation, 12(1) 30-79, Aug, 2025 Peer-reviewedLead author
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Buddhism and Neoplatonism, 1 229-248, Jul, 2025 Peer-reviewedLead authorThis is a comparative study of the Ghanavyūha Sūtra, a Mahāyāna scripture, and Plotinus’ Enneads, the foundational text of Neoplatonism. It focuses on their presentation of contemplative paths toward an ultimate, unconditioned reality, which for the Ghanavyūha Sūtra is buddha-nature (tathāgatagarbha) and for Plotinus is the One (τὸ ἕν). Each text shares metaphysical concerns about the nature of delusion and multiplicity, soteriological practices of purification, and the realisation of a primordial unity. While the Ghanavyūha emphasises yogic transformation and the compassionate, dynamic activity of the Buddha’s Pure Land, the Enneads prioritise dialectic and a transcendent, impersonal absolute. Each approach to praxis also differs in its conceptions of the body, spiritual ascent, and the role of the ultimate in the affairs of humans.
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Pacific World, 4(6) 1-17, Apr, 2025 Peer-reviewedLead author
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Musashino Journal, 40 24, Mar, 2025 Peer-reviewedLead author
Misc.
8-
OCR/HTR for Under Researched and Under Represented Languages in DH, Oct, 2025 Invited
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Jul 28, 2024 Lead authorThis is part two of the Classical Newar Annotation Manual for the Diachronic Annotated Corpus of Newar (DACON) detailing segementation and part-of-speech tagging procedures for corpus annotation. For full details, please see:O'Neill & Meelen, "The Diachronic Annotated Corpus of Newar: from Manuscript to Morphosyntax," Cahiers de Linguistique Asie Orientale (2024). See also: Part I (Preprocessing) Tools for the Diachronic Annotated Corpus of Newar (DACON)
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Jul 28, 2024This is part one of the Classical Newar Annotation Manual for the Diachronic Annotated Corpus of Newar (DACON) detailing preprocessing procedures for corpus annotation. For full details, please see:O'Neill & Meelen, "The Diachronic Annotated Corpus of Newar: from Manuscript to Morphosyntax," Cahiers de Linguistique Asie Orientale (2024). See also: Part II (Segmentation and POS Tagging) Tools for the Diachronic Annotated Corpus of Newar (DACON)
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Jul 26, 2024 Lead authorThis dataset contains segmented and part-of-speech-tagged files that comprise the ongoing Diachronic Annotated Corpus of Newar (DACON). Files are provided in .txt format. File names are explained as follows: cnew (Classical Newar)century (e.g. 12)short text name (and other information such as manuscript name (e.g., MSB) and line number completed for incomplete texts (e.g. 10000))SEG or POS (segmented or part-of-speech-tagged e.g. cnew19-manicuda-10000_SEG.txt For full details, including text citations with discussion, please see: O'Neill & Meelen, "The Diachronic Annotated Corpus of Newar: from Manuscript to Morphosyntax," Cahiers de Linguistique Asie Orientale (2024). Annotation Manual Part I (Preprocessing) Annotation Manual Part II (Segmentation and POS Tagging) Tools for the Diachronic Annotated Corpus of Newar (DACON)
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Cambridge Language Sciences Annual Symposium, 2023 Peer-reviewedLead author
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Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 84(2) 399-400, 2021 Peer-reviewedInvitedLead author
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Himalaya: The Journal of the Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies, 39(1) 254-256, 2019 Peer-reviewedInvitedLead author
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Himalaya, the Journal of the Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies, 38(2) 129-131, 2018 Peer-reviewedInvitedLead author
Books and Other Publications
9-
Dharmakāya Books, Nov, 2025 (ISBN: 1739472535)
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Chisokudō Publications, Jul, 2025 (ISBN: 9798290236322) RefereedThis pioneering volume lays the basis for a full-scale dialogue between two traditions long kept apart: Buddhism and Neoplatonism. The fourteen authors, all seasoned specialists, course through questions of metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, religion, and history. Both scholars and enthusiasts will find much here that is intellectually gripping, presented in nuanced, sophisticated, but accessible language and with vivid examples. Each contributor brings seasoned scholarship and years of intensive reflection to their chosen theme, producing an unprecedented and indispensable vademecum for a dialogue between Buddhism and Neoplatonism.
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Dharmakāya Books, Jan, 2025 (ISBN: 9781739472528) RefereedThe Essence of the Determination of the Settled Mind is a new, accessible translation of the Anjin Ketsujō Shō, an underexplored text within the Pure Land Buddhist tradition. This translation by Alexander James O'Neill provides a valuable entry point for English-speaking audiences into the heart of Japanese Pure Land Buddhism, particularly the Jōdo Shū and Jōdo Shinshū traditions.
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Dharmakāya Books, 2023 (ISBN: 9781739472504)
Presentations
39-
OCR/HTR for Under Researched and Under Represented Languages in DH, Oct 3, 2025, Central European University Invited
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XXth Congress of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, Aug 12, 2025
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The Buddhist Newars and Their Neighbours: A Numata Colloquium, May 24, 2025, University of Toronto Invited
Teaching Experience
4-
Apr, 2024 - PresentBuddhist Studies (Musashino University)
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2023 - 2025Sanskrit (Private)
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2016 - 2024Reading Mahāyāna Buddhist Literature (Private)
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Sep, 2015 - Mar, 2022Religious Studies (University of Toronto)
Professional Memberships
10-
2022 - Present
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2022 - Present
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2016 - Present
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2016 - Present
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2016 - Present
Works
4-
2022 - Present Database
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Feb, 2024 SoftwareA model for end-to-end speech recognition for endangered languages of Nepal
Research Projects
4-
Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) (UK), 2022 - 2026
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Social Sciencs and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) (Canada), 2019 - 2024
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Social Sciencs and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) (Canada), 2019
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Social Sciencs and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) (Canada), 2012 - 2016
Academic Activities
10-
Planning, Management, etc., Panel moderator, Session chair, etc., Planning/Implementing academic researchMusashino University, Oct 4, 2024 - Oct 6, 2024
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Peer reviewHualin International Journal of Buddhist Studies, the University of British Columbia, 2024
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Planning, Management, etc., Planning/Implementing academic researchTrinity Centre for Asian Studies, Trinity College Dublin, Jan, 2024
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Planning, Management, etc.SOAS University of London & University of Cambridge, May, 2023