Dr. Lyudmila Klasanova is a lecturer in Asian religious traditions and a scholar specializing in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Women in Buddhism, and Buddhist art. She is currently based in Bergen, Norway. She holds a Ph.D. in Indian and Tibetan Literature and Culture, as well as a Master’s degree in East Asian Cultures from Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski,” where she has been teaching since 2008. In addition, she serves as a research assistant in Religious Studies at the University of Bergen, where she also completed a Master’s degree in Religious Studies. She further specialized in Buddhist Philology at the MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society. Her first book, Female Figure in Buddhism of India and Tibet (East West Indological Foundation, 2018), offers a comprehensive examination of the development of female figures in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism—from Early Buddhism to the contemporary period—with particular emphasis on their symbolism, iconography, and roles within textual and ritual traditions. Her second book, currently in press with Equinox Publishing, investigates the concept of femininity in Vajrayāna Buddhism, with particular emphasis on its sacred and esoteric dimensions. Klasanova has published on a range of topics including women in Tantric Buddhism of India and Tibet, comparative studies of the ḍākinī in Hindu and Buddhist Tantrism, Buddhism in Bulgaria, as well as Buddhist art and literature.
Profile details
Period of affiliation:
2025 - 2026
Organisation:
University of Bergen