Reginald Ray (born 1942), also known as Reggie Ray, is an American Buddhist academic and teacher. He is a co-founder and the spiritual director of the Dharma Ocean Foundation and a retired university professor at Naropa University.
Academic Training
Ray earned a B.A. in religion from Williams College (1965), followed by an M.A. (1967) and Ph.D. (1973) in the History of Religions from the University of Chicago Divinity School, where he focused on Buddhism and Indian religions. Among his academic mentors was the Romanian historian of religion Mircea Eliade.
Career
Ray first encountered his primary Buddhist teacher, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, in 1970 and studied with him until Trungpa's death in 1987. In 1974, at Trungpa's invitation, Ray left a tenure-track position at Indiana University and moved to Boulder, Colorado, to become the first full-time faculty member and chair of the Buddhist Studies Department at Naropa University. He taught there until his retirement in July 2009. He also held a half-time appointment in the Religious Studies department at the University of Colorado.
From 1996 to 2004, Ray served as teacher-in-residence at the Rocky Mountain Shambhala Center (later renamed Shambhala Mountain Center). He left the Shambhala organization in 2005 to found the Dharma Ocean Foundation, a non-profit organization "dedicated to the practice, study and preservation of the teachings of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche."
Publications
Ray has authored several books on Tibetan Buddhism, including:
- Buddhist Saints in India: A Study in Buddhist Values & Orientations (1994)
- Indestructible Truth (2000), covering the exoteric traditions of Tibetan Buddhism
- Secret of the Vajra World (2001), exploring esoteric and tantric aspects of Tibetan Buddhism
- In the Presence of Masters: Wisdom from 30 Contemporary Tibetan Buddhist Teachers (2004)
- Touching Enlightenment: Finding Realization in the Body (2008)
- The Awakening Body: Somatic Meditation for Discovering our Deepest Life (2016)
- The Wisdom of Tibetan Buddhism (2017)
He has also produced numerous audio programs on somatic meditation and Buddhist practice.
Controversy
Ray has faced allegations of abusive conduct from former students and staff, including reports of narcissistic abuse, coercive practices during meditation retreats, and other misconduct. These allegations have been reported in independent media outlets and have been the subject of public discussion within the Buddhist community.
