A brief
(but perhaps still too long)
autobiography of Richard P. Hayes

My life began in 1945 in New Mexico. About a year after I was born in Santa Fe, my family moved to Albuquerque, which was our home base until 1958. When my father's US Geological Service office was transfered to the Denver Federal Center in Lakewood, Colorado, I went to Lakewood High School and then attended Beloit College in southern Wisconsin from 1963 until 1966, majoring in creative writing.

After moving to Canada in 1967, I completed a BA in Religion with a minor in philosophy at Carleton University (1972) in Ottawa, and then went to University of Toronto for an MA in Sanskrit and Indian Studies (1974) and a Ph.D. in South Asian Studies (1982). While doing research towards the doctorate, I studied in the Department of Indian Philosophy at Hiroshima University from November 1977 until May 1979.

After teaching Indian philosophy, Buddhist philosophy and comparative religions at the University of Toronto, I went to McGill University in Montreal in 1988, where I taught Sanskrit language and several courses in Indian Buddhism, which were cross-listed in the Department of Philosophy, of which I was an associate member.

During the 2001-02 academic year, I took sabbatical leave from McGill and taught and did research in the Department of Philosophy at the University of New Mexico. It felt so good to be home again that my wife Judy and I decided to come back for an indefinite stay after completing a final year at McGill in May 2003. Both my parents, several uncles and a couple of cousins graduated from UNM, and my father's office for many years was located in what is now called Northrop Hall. A map in the foyer shows some of his contributions to making a geological survey of the state of New Mexico. Given these ties, I have an emotional connection to this campus.