Steven Collins was trained at Oxford University, where he took
Honour Moderations in Literae Humaniores (Greek and Latin
Literature, 1972); and Final Honours in P.P.P. (Psychology and
Philosophy, 1974) at Christ Church; he was a Graduate Student
(1975-77) and Graduate Scholar (1977-79) at Wolfson College and
Junior Research Fellow in Oriental Languages at Exeter College
(1979-80). He taught at Bristol University (England, 1980-87),
Indiana University (Bloomington, 1987-89), and Concordia University
(Montreal, 1989-91) before joining the University of Chicago. He is
Council Member of the Pali Text Society (London).
Selfless Persons: imagery and thought in Theravada
Buddhism, Cambridge University Press, 1982 (paperback edition,
1990).
Nirvana and other Buddhist Felicities:
Utopias of the Pali imaginaire, Cambridge University Press, 1998.
A Pali Grammar for Students (Silkworm Press,
2006).
“Oral Aspects of Pali Literature,” The
Indo-Iranian Journal, vol. 35, 1992, pp. 121-35.
“The Discourse on What is Primary
(Aggañña Sutta)”: an annotated
translation, Journal of Indian Philosophy, vol.
21 (4) 1993, pp. 301-93.
“What are Buddhists doing when they deny
the self?”, in Religion and Practical
Reason, edited by Frank Reynolds and David Tracy,
SUNY Press, 1994, pp. 59-86.
“What is Literature in Pali?”, in S. Pollock (ed.),
Literary Cultures in History (University of California Press,
2003), pp. 649-88.
“On the Third Precept: Adultery and Prostitution in Pali
Texts,” Journal of the Pali Text Society, vol. XXVIII
(Festschrift for K. R. Norman), 2007.
