#  Graduate Profile: Yisi Liu, MTS '23  

 





May 15, 2023

 

 

     ![Yisi Liu](/sites/g/files/omnuum5526/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/hds2/files/6x4_yisiliu.png?itok=DRQllq1X) 

Photo courtesy of Yisi Liu

 



 

**How I've Changed**

I grew up in a small border town. Since my first Buddhist art history class in junior year, studying religion and art history has taken me across China and halfway around the globe to Harvard. Since starting at HDS, I have undergone a significant personal and academic transformation.

As someone who used to be introverted, shy, and anxious, I have found a sense of community at HDS that has helped me open up and understand others better. My emotions were low at one point, but with the help of my professors and classmates, I regained my confidence and learned to love myself and those around me. Studying at HDS has given me a deeper understanding of religion and its significance to people. HDS makes me a better person.

**Memorable Moment**

My most memorable moment at HDS was sitting with my friends under the shade of two large trees on the HDS campus.

**Favorite Class or Professor**

My favorite classes are two back-to-back Lotus Sūtra seminars taught respectively by Professor Ryūichi Abé and Professor Charles Hallisey. In Professor Abé’s seminar, the close text reading reveals the infinite universe in the narrative, which echoes and interlocutions among different chapters and episodes hiding in details, shedding light on a better understanding of this essential scripture in Mahayana Buddhism.

Engaging the Lotus Sūtra adverbially in Prof. Hallisey’s seminar, I attained a revised conception of scripture, which is still confusing but in a good way. He showed me the richness of scripture. Putting scripture in a context that can be approached, entered, and understood, he helped me understand how to read texts’ breadth, diversity, and continuity in context leads to something “good to think with.”

**Message of Thanks**

I thank Professor James Robson for his encouragement and tremendous support during my academic pursuits. Despite his busy schedule, he always found time to talk with me and edit my papers. His passion for teaching and helping students achieve their academic goals was genuinely inspiring. His seminars were invaluable in broadening my research horizon on locality study and everyday religious practice.

I would also like to thank Professor Janet Gyatso, Professor Kimberley Patton, Professor Charles Hallisey, and Professor Eugene Wang for their wisdom and guidance. Their words always brimmed with knowledge, and even brief conversations with them filled me with happiness. I learned so much from their selfless help and support.

Lastly, I want to thank my friends at HDS. The times we spent together hiking, visiting botanical gardens, going to parks, cycling, celebrating Thanksgiving, Spring Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Songkran, going to Communitees, visiting museums, going to the ball, studying in the library, playing bowling, walking by the river, gardening, drinking coffee, watching movies, and attending Buddhist Studies Forum were the happiest moments.

I am grateful for their friendship and support throughout my time at HDS. Their kindness, encouragement, and laughter have been a source of inspiration and motivation for me. I am thankful for the memories we created and the lessons I learned from them. They have been integral to my academic and personal growth, and I am grateful for their presence in my life.

**Future Plans**

This year, I plan to pursue a doctoral degree in art history at the University of Chicago, where I aim to investigate cave temples in Sichuan, China, from the Tang-Song period. This period and location are under-investigated, and I hope my research can contribute to a better understanding of these sites and their significance.



 

 

 



 

 See also:- [ Student Activities and Interviews ](/discover-stories-about/student-activities-and-interviews)
- [ Commencement ](/topic-tags/commencement)
- [ Commencement 2023 ](/topic-tags/commencement-2023)