10.11.13

THE EMORY WHEEL The Dalai Lama Issue

The Independent Student Newspaper of Emory University Since 1919

Friday, October 11, 2013

www.emorywheel.com

Designed by Arianna Skibell and Jordan Friedman

Dalai Lama Arrives for Third Visit to Emory Opening Events Explore Ethics, Compassion

By Nicholas Sommariva Associate Editor

James Crissman/Editor

His Holiness XIV the Dalai Lama discussed the ethics of religion at the Glenn Memorial Auditorium on Wednesday. The event marked the third in the series of lectures that the Dalai Lama participated in when he arrived at Emory.

Dalai Lama Examines Ethics of Major Religions

By Dustin Slade News Co-Editor His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama explored the fundamental ethical values that are a part of every major religion during the third in a series of lectures in front of a packed audience in Glenn Memorial Auditorium on Wednesday.

Following the lecture, University President James W. Wagner, Emory Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Claire Sterk and Student Government Association President and College senior Raj Patel joined the Dalai Lama on stage

for a question-and answer-session.

The topics ranged from the rehabilitation of prisoners to the ethics of firing employees in regard to the department changes announced last fall.

After a welcome on behalf of the faculty from Sterk, an opening on behalf of students from Patel and an introduction by Wagner, the Dalai Lama began his 20-minute lecture titled “Secular Ethics 101.”

“Brothers and sisters, of course I feel great honor to come to this famous university,” the Dalai Lama said in opening his speech.

He jokingly prefaced the lecture

by explaining he had never actually done homework.

“If you expect some marvelous teaching or something … then nothing,” he quipped.

During his lecture, the Dalai Lama said humanity is currently facing “some sort of moral crisis.”

He said all human activities come with sincere motivation, including the activity of teaching religion.

The moral crisis is clear, he added, given that religious institutions that normally promote morals have become a means of corruption in many cases, the Dalai Lama said.

“Why do these things happen?”

he asked. “I think the society; I think basically, lack of conviction. Moral principles are [the] ultimate source of inner strength.”

During the question-and-answer session, Wagner brought up the topic of institutions and organizations that are forced to cut back and institute employee layoffs.

“There are groups of people who are told they no longer have a job …

It does not feel good for anyone I can assure you,” Wagner said. “Is it not possible to show compassion?”

After a clarification from the Dalai

See HIS, Page 3

His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama, Presidential Distinguished Professor at Emory University, began his visit to campus at the Arena at Gwinnett Center on Tuesday where he spoke about the need for compassion and education in the 21st century.

The first part of the day entailed a talk from the Dalai Lama titled “The Pillars of Responsible Citizenship in the 21st Century Global Village,” which focused on love, compassion and emotion shared by all mammals and the importance of dialogue.

The Dalai Lama stood in his maroon robes behind an Emory backdrop with a hint of the globe as seen from space.

The crowd broke into applause when, during his speech, the Dalai Lama said, “I think action is more important than faith, than prayers.”

With the help of his translator, the Dalai Lama addressed the crowd of more than 8,000 attendees for a little over an hour.

He emphasized the need to not repeat the violence and horrors witnessed in the 20th century and challenged the world to turn the 21st century into a peaceful one with a “oneness with humanity.”

College senior Benjamin KramerRoach, who saw the Dalai Lama speak at Emory in 2010, said he was encouraged to see his light-hearted and loving presence again.

“As a senior, I was far more prepared to understand and think critically about the complex themes he brought up in his talk,” KramerRoach said.

College senior Sydney Archer, who has seen the Dalai Lama three times, including twice during her summer abroad in India, said she feels the Dalai Lama was more focused on his

Thomas Han/Staff

His Holiness XIV the Dalai Lama began his visit Tuesday at the Arena at Gwinnett Center.

SEE INSIDE PAGE 2: A photo collage of the week’s events.

PAGE 4: The history of the EmoryTibet partnership.

PAGE 5: Feature stories on Tenzin Gyatso Science Scholars. secular ethics this time around.

“I definitely agree that the world needs secular ethics — secular in the sense of respecting all religions including non-believers,” she said.

“I really enjoyed a metaphor he gave us: anger is like swallowing poison and expecting the other person to die. I think that resonated with a lot of people.”

Toward the end of his talk, the Dalai Lama answered selected questions from the audience, including one about his childhood.

The Dalai Lama recalled fondly growing up very poor in a village

See PANEL, Page 3

Visit to Campus Concludes Profs, Dalai Lama Compare Religious, Secular Ethics With Buddhist Teaching

By Rupsha Basu Asst. News Editor

By Stephen Fowler Staff Writer His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama gave a Buddhist teaching Thursday to close out the three-day event as part of The Visit 2013 in a packed Glenn Memorial Auditorium yesterday morning.

The Dalai Lama’s teaching drew from the root text of the Mahamudra, or “Great Seal,” by the first Panchen Lama, Losang Choekyi Gyaltsen. The event was coordinated by Atlanta’s Tibetan Buddhist center, Drepung Loseling Monastery (DLM).

Monks from DLM began the morning with preliminary prayers and chants that aimed to purify the space and prepare for the teaching, according to Paran Pordell, DLM member and usher for the event.

After the Dalai Lama entered, the monks on stage began with a mandala offering, which symbolizes offering the universe and all things in existence, Pordell said.

Gary Hauk, vice president and deputy to the president, welcomed attendees to the morning’s proceedings and introduced the Dalai Lama.

The Dalai Lama spoke to the crowd in English for his opening remarks on spirituality and tradition, and switched into Tibetan for his teaching.

“I don’t want to make my interpreter jobless,” the Dalai Lama joked.

The topic of the morning’s teaching was based on several Buddhist texts, including the first Panchen Lama’s Mahamudra, works by Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna and

DALAI LAMA EVENTS Tuesday, Oct. 8 Public talk: “The Pillars of Responsible Citizenship in the 21st Century Global Village”

Tuesday, Oct. 8 Panel session: “Secular Ethics in Education”

Wednesday, Oct. 9 Lectures: “Secular Ethics 101” and “Can a ‘Secular Ethic’ Unite Us?”

Thursday, Oct. 10 Dalai Lama’s traditional Buddhist teaching other anecdotal teachings.

The Dalai Lama spoke on the importance of the connection between the mind, body and soul.

“Wherever wisdom is present, the Buddha’s body is present,” he said.

“To understand the nature of the mind is to guard against mispractice.”

The spiritual leader also touched on the concept of self, explaining that self is merely a label humanity ascribes as part of a “naïve perspective.”

“Such an inner self cannot be independent of mind and body,” he said.

PHOTOS OF HIS HOLINESS THE XIV DALAI LAMA’S VISIT TO EMORY..

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See THE, Page 3

His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama participated in a dialogue Wednesday with Emory professors about uniting religious and secular principles in a collective set of morals which His Holiness refers to as “secular ethics.”

The conversation, the fourth in a series of lectures, was held in the Schwartz Center for Performing Arts and moderated by the Director for the Center for Ethics and Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Bioethics Paul Wolpe.

The Emory faculty panelists include Professor of Religion Wendy Farley, Professor of Psychology Philippe Rochat and Edward Queen, director of the D. Abbott Turner Program in Ethics and Servant Leadership and coordinator of Undergraduate Studies at the Center for Ethics.

The discussion began with Wolpe providing a synopsis of the Dalai Lama’s book Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World, which discusses the subject of morality through the Buddhist ideas of compassion and discernment.

“All human problems are ultimately related to ethics,” Wolpe said, explaining an underlying premise of the book. “True ethics must be about both behavior and motivation.”

The discussion followed a question-and-answer format in which the Dalai Lama responded to questions posed by the panelists, sometimes with the assistance of a translator.

The Dalai Lama explained that secular ethics diverges from religious ethics in that it does not mandate adherence to scripture or doctrine in the same way. In other words, secular

Michael Fier/Contributor

His Holiness XIV the Dalai Lama sat down with three Emory faculty members Wednesday afternoon to discuss religious and secular ethics. ethics does not reject scripture but rather tests its ethical maxims with personal experience and evidence.

“Try to understand those positions that have less inconsistencies, those positions that have greater evidence that would support it,” the translator said, on behalf of the Dalai Lama.

The Dalai Lama added that Buddha himself discouraged people from blindly accepting his teachings through faith but rather through research and experimentation.

Some faculty members asked him about ways that secular ethics reconciles scripture with science given that it holds importance in evidence.

“We have a very narrow conception of what science is – classical science. And of course, much of the whole internal domain of experience lies outside that paradigm,” the trans-

THE CHINA-TIBET INITIATIVE

EXPLORING THE HISTORY OF

HAS EXPANDED IN THE LAST

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN

FEW YEARS

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EMORY, TIBET ...

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lator said, on behalf of the Dalai Lama.

The Dalai Lama said science does not have any limitations in its exploration of the mind in the context of ethics, but its motivations are self-centered.

“But I don’t know,” he added at the end, eliciting laughter from the audience. The Dalai Lama said this a few times throughout the afternoon when faced with questions with answers that are not black and white.

“That’s the safest answer,” he said, again met with the audience’s laughter.

The subject of whether religion and secular ethics can be reconciled was a common theme throughout the afternoon.

According to Wolpe’s interpretation of “secular ethics,” the Dalai

A TIMELINE HIGHLIGHTING THE HISTORY OF THE EMORY-TIBET PARTNERSHIP ...

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Lama uses the word “secular” in a different context from Westerners – meaning not devoid of religious doctrine but inclusive of both religious and non-religious ethics.

An observing faculty member asked whether secular ethics could be considered pan-religious.

The Dalai Lama explained that most religions have similar goals.

“All religions mention [the] practice of tolerance, [the] practice of forgiveness,” he said. “And then all religions also accept weakness, whether that weakness is created by God or not.”

According to him, where religious practice is concerned, most faiths are the same, but the differences come in philosophical views. Secular ethics

See PANELISTS, Page 3

TWO MONKS’ JOURNEYS TO EMORY FROM TIBET AND INDIA ...

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THE EMORY WHEEL Volume 95, Number 12 © 2013 The Emory Wheel Dobbs University Center, Room 540 605 Asbury Circle, Atlanta, GA 30322 Business (404) 727-6178 Editor-in-Chief Arianna Skibell (404) 727-0279 Founded in 1919, The Emory Wheel is the financially and editorially independent, student-run newspaper of Emory University in Atlanta. The Wheel is a member publication of Media Council, Emory’s organization of student publications. The Wheel reserves the rights to all content as it appears in these pages, and permission to reproduce material must be granted by the editor in chief.

The Wheel is published twice weekly on Tuesdays and Fridays during the academic year, except during University holidays and scheduled publication intermissions. A single copy of the Wheel is free of charge. To purchase additional copies, please call (404) 727-6178.

The statements and opinions expressed in the Wheel are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Wheel Editorial Board or of Emory University, its faculty, staff or administration.

The Wheel is also available online at www.emorywheel.com.

1 Transcending Moral Differences: Can a ‘Secular Ethic’ Unite Us? Oct. 9, Photo by Michael Fier/Contributor 2

Transcending Moral Differences: Can a ‘Secular Ethic’ Unite Us? Oct. 9, Photo by Michael Fier/Contributor

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The Pillars of Responsible Citizenship in the 21st Century Global Village. Oct. 8, Photo by Thomas Han/Staff

4 Secular Ethics 101, Oct. 9, Photo by James Crissman/Photography Editor 5 Secular Ethics in Education, Oct. 8, Photo by Erin Baker/Staff 6 Secular Ethics 101, Oct. 9, Photo by James Crissman/Photography Editor

THE EMORY WHEEL

THE DALAI LAMA ISSUE

Friday, October 11, 2013

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Panelists Discuss Dalai Lama’s Book; His Holiness the Dalai Lama Responds to Wagner’s Question About Faculty Cuts Students React Positively to Speech Continued from Page 1

Continued from Page 1 simply uses bonds of experience and common sense.

Farley, whose specialty lies in Christianity in Emory’s Department of Religion, asked the Dalai Lama about what to do when human compassion results in awareness about an overwhelming amount of suffering.

She said she wanted to know how the heart is able to bear the knowledge of suffering.

“In the Buddhist conceptualization of compassion, we make disMichael Fier/Contributor tinctions between different strengths and degrees and types of compas- His Holiness the XIV Dalai sion,” the translator said, speaking Lama was one of three panelists on behalf of the Dalai Lama. “The at an event Wednesday. awareness of the possibility of some kind of solution will give you much thing, they seek God. I think such more courage.” an environment makes less lies, less The discussion of suffering natu- cheating.” rally brought up questions about the The afternoon ended on a humortrue moral nature of ous note, with the humanity.

Dalai Lama teasing Vernon Robbins, Rochat for admit“Anything can be a professor of ting that he is not New Testament changed. Even the worst religious. and Comparative “After seeing his kind of thing can be Sacred Texts in interaction with the positively changed.” the Department of professors and the Religion, asked the faculty, he’s very — His Holiness the XIV humble. It’s refreshDalai Lama why Dalai Lama ing to see that,” his book does not explore the subject College sophomore of good and evil and Anna Rose Austria why people can never agree on what said. is objectively good.

Some students in the audience The translator said on behalf of the said that they learned a lot from the Dalai Lama that one of the problems discussion. with the term “evil” in the way it is “I just feel so blessed to be an used in English is that it indicates Emory student,” College sophomore absoluteness.

MacKenzie Wyatt said. “All of [the “Anything can be changed,” the Dalai Lama’s] philosophy is just so Dalai Lama said. “Even the worst interesting.” kind of thing can be positively Tibetan Buddhist monk Jampa changed.”

Khechok, who began at Emory this Rochat, who researches child fall as a part of the Emory-Tibet development, similarly asked the Science Initiative, said that while he Dalai Lama to shed light on why chil- thinks it is important keep one’s relidren seem to develop moral princi- gious faith, secular ethics does have ples and the concept of equity around its place in the world. the same time they learn to be selfish “When we use this kind of scienand deceitful. tific finding as evidence and common The Dalai Lama posited that this sense, then we can make a better could have something to do with a understand of anything, any subject,” child’s environment. he said. “[Secular ethics] means you “I think people in [the] big city respect all religions. I know that – busy life and too much competi- [with] this kind of thinking, we really tion – I think [there is] more chance can solve world problems.” of telling lie[s],” he said. “I think in — Contact Rupsha Basu at rural areas, when they need somerupsha.basu@emory.edu

Lama’s translator, Wagner rephrased the question, asking how an organization can rationalize trying to exercise an ethic of compassion when it finds itself forced to have employees make a sacrifice.

“As a capitalist country, only because of profit, then I don’t know,” the Dalai Lama responded. “That’s why when it comes to socioeconomics, I am Marxist, I am not capitalist ... The main concept there is equal distribution. There are more ethics there. Whereas capitalists only think for profit, profit. But again, no matter what the system, the individual really should take care of their workers, their employees.”

Dalai Lama also focused his speech on education systems in many countries, which he said are very much oriented toward “material matters,” in that they focus on preparing students for careers to make money rather than ethics, for example.

The Dalai Lama pointed to India’s education system as an example of a more “complete form” of education because it allows education and spirituality to go hand in hand.

The difficulty arises, he said, when individuals attempt to teach moral principles that come from a specific religion. Thus, he said, teaching secular ethics in schools and universities would be “the appropriate method for today.”

“The education institution has, I think, a very important role to experiment, to [conduct] more research work,” he said. “Then we can introduce [a more complete form of education] … therefore, I hope [Emory] can

James Crissman/Editor

His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama (left) and University President James W. Wagner greet each other in a traditional Tibetan Buddhist manner during Wednesday’s event. play an important role like that.”

Following the lecture, a group of select students were allowed to ask questions of the Dalai Lama, who was joined by a panel of Wagner, Sterk and Patel for the second part of the event.

Wagner, who kicked off that part of the event, asked the Dalai Lama for his thoughts on the common teachings of the world’s religions.

“I believe secular ethics is the basis of all religions,” the Dalai Lama said. “So once you have full conviction about these secular ethics, then … religion itself becomes truly genuine, positive [and] spiritual.”

During the session, Wagner tossed a question to Patel, asking how prepared Patel and his fellow students at Emory would be to embrace or question what the Dalai Lama suggested

to be a more “complete education.”

“One of the things that Emory does is it helps [students] criticize not only what [was] thought but how we think of ourselves and what we think of the world,” Patel answered.

College junior Scott Parent, an economics major, asked the Dalai Lama, “What constitutes an ethical economic system?”

The Dalai Lama replied jokingly, “I am the wrong person to ask that question, I really don’t know. If I was involved in the economic decision of a company, I think within two weeks, collapse. I really don’t know.”

“Thank you your Holiness,” Parent said amid laughter from the crowd.

Although many students enjoyed the Dalai Lama’s lecture, some pointed out that at times it was hard to understand what he was saying.

“I really enjoyed the lecture,” College sophomore Eli Goodman said. “It had me thinking about concepts and ideas I haven’t really considered. Although at some points, it was difficult to understand [the Dalai Lama] which is understandable given the language barrier, but I wish I could have better comprehended his lecture.”

Some students also said they felt that the Dalai Lama was down-toearth during the lecture.

“What stood out to me was how he presented himself,” College sophomore Katie Boice said. “He’s a world renowned man. Yet, he’s so humble and genuine. I thought the way he put everyone at ease was very impressive.”

— Contact Dustin Slade at dpslade@emory.edu

The Dalai Lama Provides Insight Into Buddhism Panel of Scientists Share Findings During Event

Continued from Page 1

“It is neither within nor outside our selves.”

In addition to the official program, audience members of Thursday’s event received a booklet with an English translation of the Mahamudra.

In the translation, the Dalai Lama highlighted several key verses, encouraging the audience to “set up the watch post of unwavering mindfulness.”

In order to break the cyclic nature of life, the Dalai Lama said we must

practice in order to strive closer and closer to nirvana, or enlightenment.

Audience members included DLM congregation members, Emory students and faculty that purchased tickets from the monastery.

Some Emory students and DLM congregants expressed amazement at the Dalai Lama and the message he presented.

“Seeing the Dalai Lama was truly a surreal experience,” College sophomore Emily Lance said. “It reminded me how fortunate I am to attend a university that can give me these opportunities.”

Pordell said he felt a similar sentiment.

“To see the Dalai Lama speak is so rare,” Pordell said. “His teaching today is some of the best I’ve ever heard.”

The two hour and forty-five minute teaching ended with a blessing of the monks, and a cheerful quip from the Dalai Lama.

“Since I am a professor, I guess this is the part where I wave my hands and say ‘Done,’” the Dalai Lama said.

— Contact Stephen Fowler at smfowle@emory.edu

Student-Founded China-Tibet Initiative Expands at Emory

By Loli Lucaciu Contributing Writer Emory University has another reason to be proud: it is the home of the first student-run group in the country founded to promote friendship among Chinese and Tibetan students. The relations between the People’s Republic of China and the Tibetan Government-in-Exile have been rocky since the former group overtook the latter in 1950.

Such political tensions led to social restraint in the relations between Chinese and Tibetan people.

The China-Tibet Initiative, cofounded by College seniors Bart Qian from China and Dawa Tsering from Tibet in February 2011, works to alleviate these tensions. The two decided to start an unofficial group after meeting and developing a friendship in the Few and Evans (Fevans) Residence Hall their freshman year. The club has grown from having only a few members to boasting meeting audiences of more than 60, and even students from the Oxford campus have commuted for events.

“At the beginning, students were reticent to join our club because of the misconceptions and the social and political stigma surrounding China and Tibet,” Qian said. “But, on the lines of Dooley’s famous saying, governments may come, governments may go; but people remain forever.”

The club’s purpose is to bring people together through the removal of political barriers. They hope to accomplish this by focusing on open and unlimited people-to-people conversations, according to Tsering.

“We just enjoy the time we spend with each other,” said Jampa Khechok, a Tibetan Buddhist monk on campus and a member of the club. “We talk about meditation, about life-styles, about things we have in common and also about our different experiences.”

Sonam Choephel, also a Tibetan Buddhist monk and an active member of the group, stressed the importance of the fact that membership is not limited to only Chinese and Tibetan students. The club is open to anyone interested.

This year, the non-political group

received an official charter from the university. Furthermore, Lobsang Nyandak, the official representative of His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama in North America, offered the group the chance to become a governmental organization with headquarters at his office in New York. However, the club decided to first build a solid basis and to try to maximize its impact on campus before trying to expand outside the university’s boundaries. The club organizes two types of gatherings: China-Tibet Initiative meetings and meditation meetings.

The first type is mainly discussion-based and is a friendly forum for gathering together and sharing stories. The meditation sessions are more personal and are classified into breathing, compassion and lovingkindness meditations.

In addition, the club hosts several special events, including a Thanksgiving celebration, a Tibetthemed Wonderful Wednesday and a lecture about Chinese and Tibetan medicine held by two Tibetan doctors. The visit of His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama is an event that brings much excitement to the group. “[Last Wednesday we had] the chance to have a personal audience with the Dalai Lama where we [had] the opportunity to talk about what we have been doing and to ask His Holiness questions,” Qian said.

For the future, the club is focusing on strengthening membership and keeping friendships alive. Qian and Tsering are optimistic about the growth of the group, pointing out that people seem to become more and more interested in Tibetan culture and the China-Tibet situation.

According to Qian, an example of this growing interest is illustrated by the high percentages of Chinese students taking Tibetan language classes. Approximately 60-70 percent of the students taking these courses are of Chinese origins.

“We can see a general trend toward people wanting to come together and learning from each other,” Qian said.

— Contact Loli Lucaciu at florina.lucaciu@emory.edu

Continued from Page 1 with his mother.

“I learned from my mother,” he said. “She was uneducated and ordinary but very warm-hearted. I never saw my mother’s angry face.”

He chuckled heartily and said he had no toys growing up but would climb onto his mothers back in the field and pull her ears. He said it was as if she was a horse and he was steering her into different directions.

Before he left the stage President James W. Wagner thanked him and told the audience a story about a time the Dalai Lama confessed to Wagner that he did not believe he would make a good professor. After Wagner publicly disagreed, the Dalai Lama then asked Wagner for a salary.

Wagner joked and said he wasn’t that good.

After a break for lunch, the afternoon session continued with a guest appearance by Richard Moore, whom the Dalai Lama considers to be his hero.

Moore was blinded as a boy living in war-stricken Northern Ireland when he was hit by a rubber bullet.

Later in his life, Moore found the soldier who had shot him and made peace with the soldier who goes by Charles.

After Moore spoke, the Dalai Lama returned to the stage this time accompanied by five scientists in a panel session titled, “Secular Ethics in Education.”

Each scientist discussed their findings, which ranged from primate to infant research.

“I specifically enjoyed watching the scientists explain their research and His Holiness connecting their findings to his moral teachings,” Kramer-Roach said.

One highlight of the discussion came when Frans de Waal, Charles Howard Candler professor of Psychology and director of the Living Links Center at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, shared with the audience his research with Bonobo monkeys.

In one of his experiments, he demonstrated that Bonobo monkeys have a sense of fairness and showed a video. The experiment involved giving one monkey a piece of cucumber in return for a rock and another monkey a grape — considerably better liked by monkeys. The monkey given the cucumber was furious and threw the cucumber back as he watched his peer be rewarded much better for the same work.

This sparked a discussion between the panel about whether all mammals share the same emotions like empathy, compassion and reconciliation.

After the scientists presented their work and the panel concluded their discussion, the Dalai Lama noted that this was just the beginning of fostering the relationship between faith and science and begged the young scientists in the audience to continue their work.

— Contact Nicholas Sommariva at nsommar@emory.edu

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THE EMORY WHEEL

THE DALAI LAMA ISSUE

Friday, October 11, 2013

1991: Sent by Dalai Lama to set up a Tibetan center in Atlanta, current director of the partnership Lobsang Tenzin Negi enrolls in Emory's Institute of Liberal Arts Ph.D. program.

timeline: the emory-tibet partnership 2001: Study abroad in Dharamsala, India launched.

SEPTEMBER 1995: Emory committee meets with Dalai Lama to formally discuss proposal of an affilliation. Dalai Lama gives his blessing.

MAY 2006: Emory gives two full scholarships to Tibetan students to pursue a degree at any Emory undergraduate or graduate school.

First student graduates in May.

FALL 2010: Dalai Lama’s second visit; first six Tenzin Gyatso Science Scholars enroll.

1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 MARCH 1994: Negi presents idea of paternship to Dalai Lama, who voices support.

MAY 1998: EmoryTibet Partnership formally inaugurated.

2005: College Dean Robert Paul signs agreement with Dalai Lama, establishing direct link with the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics.

SUMMER 1998: Negi directs a six-week summer course at Emory on Tibetan culture, Buddhism and language.

FALL 2013: Dalai Lama's third visit. After graduation of first group of Tenzin Gyatso Science Scholars in May 2013, another six new monks enroll.

JANUARY 2007: Dalai Lama accepts Presidential Distinguished Professorship, which coincided with launch of Emory-Tibet Science Initiative the same year.

OCTOBER 2007: Dalai Lama’s first multi-day visit to Emory University.

Compiled by Vincent Xu/Associate Editor Graphic Designed by Jordan Friedman/Executive Editor

Exploring the History of Emory’s Relationship With Tibet This article was originally written by Vincent Xu on Oct. 8, 2013.

His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama’s participation has become the face of the Emory-Tibet Partnership (ETP), an initiative that has far exceeded its modest origins.

The senior religious leader of Tibetan Buddhism returns to Atlanta today as part of “The Visit 2013,” a three-day series of public and campus events.

This is the Dalai Lama’s third visit to Emory since his appointment as presidential distinguished professor in October 2007. He last visited in October 2010.

The Dalai Lama’s campus visits are but one aspect of a partnership that has established course offerings in Tibetan Buddhism, culture and language. The partnership has also provided Emory students the opportunity to study in Dharamsala at the Buddhist Institute of Dialectics.

Every two years, a select number of Tibetan monks study at Emory as part of the Emory-Tibet Science Initiative to train future teachers of modern science within the monastic community.

Emory faculty and Tibetan translators are also collaborating on the design and implementation of a comprehensive science program into the monastic curriculum. Other ETP programs feature research involving Tibetan medicine and the effects of compassion-based meditation.

The Emory-Tibet Partnership began in 1998 as an affiliation between Emory and the Drepung Loseling Monastery, Inc. Center for Tibetan Studies.

Located in Atlanta, Drepung Loseling is the American seat of Drepung Monastery, one of the three main Tibetan Buddhist monasteries.

The origin of this partnership, as well as its subsequent develop-

ment, traces back to two current Emory faculty members, Robert Paul and Lobsang Tenzin Negi.

Paul is the Charles Howard Candler Professor of Anthropology and Interdisciplinary Studies within Emory’s Institute of Liberal Arts and former Dean of the College, while Negi is the ETP Director and Senior Lecturer in the Religion Department.

Negi left the Himalayan valley at a young age to begin his monastic training in Dharamsala.

“If [Negi] hadn’t been here, this wouldn’t have happened.”

— Robert Paul, Charles Howard Candler Professor of Anthropology and Interdisciplinary Studies

In the early 1990s, Negi relocated to Atlanta, and he pursued his graduate studies at Emory with Paul as his advisor. The two discussed Emory’s lack of Tibetan-related academic opportunities. The conversation eventually led to an idea for a partnership.

“If [Negi] hadn’t been here this wouldn’t have happened,” Paul said.

“Since he had direct access to the Dalai Lama and had been sent here by the Dalai Lama, we have had a direct line of communication.”

Paul recalled receiving a phone call from a colleague, John Fenton, a professor of religion, informing him that a Tibetan monk was in town.

Paul, who had worked with Sherpa people in Nepal as an anthropologist, has a “deep affinity” for many aspects of Tibetan culture, and he agreed to a meeting.

The monk, Negi, came to Atlanta in 1991 with the assignment to start and develop a teaching center, what would eventually become Drepung Loseling Monastery, Inc. Paul and Negi met for lunch at Jagger’s Café in Emory Village, where Ink & Elm currently operates.

“I was very impressed with him and delighted that there was going to be a Tibetan Center here,” Paul said.

In addition to establishing a teaching center, the Dalai Lama had asked Negi to study the western sciences, in particular psychology and cognitive science.

According to Negi, the Dalai Lama has long been interested in integrating eastern and western academic traditions, in particular scientifically understanding the various contemplative aspects of the mind that are represented in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.

Once Paul learned of Negi’s intention to study while setting up the teaching center, he arranged for Negi to apply to the ILA. Negi was accepted as a graduate student and began his graduate studies at Emory in 1991.

Negi studied the interface of Tibetan Buddhism and modern science, with a focus in the field of emotions.

Emory offered a single survey course in Buddhism in the early 90s.

Advisor and advisee discussed this lack of academic opportunity for students to study Tibetan Buddhism and different meditations. The first ideas of a partnership began to take root.

“At the time, the thought I had was we probably would never have a Tibetan Studies program here at Emory, but wouldn’t it be great if some of the people connected at Loseling? If students could go over there and take Tibetan language and

study Tibetan philosophy, Buddhist philosophy or something?” Paul said. “I had an idea that maybe we can have a study abroad in town, where you can go and get credit for doing something in Loseling.”

In March 1994, Negi presented the idea of some form of EmoryDrepung Loseing affiliation to the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala. Negi founded the Drepung Loseling monastery in Atlanta, but he needed the Dalai Lama’s approval before an affiliation or partnership could move forward.

The Dalai Lama thought it was a great idea, according to Negi. He and a fellow monk drafted a letter from the Office of the Dalai Lama voicing support for an affiliation.

Despite having the Dalai Lama’s approval, no progress was made until the summer of the next year. It was 1995, and in early September, the Dalai Lama was scheduled to kick off a 12-day U.S. tour in Atlanta. A few months before the Dalai Lama’s visit, Negi received a call from Lodi Gyari, the Dalai Lama’s special envoy in Washington and chairman of the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT), a D.C.based advocacy group.

ICT was coordinating the Dalai Lama’s visit to Atlanta to meet with former President Jimmy Carter, when Lodi Gyari asked if Emory would be interested in hosting a Dalai Lama visit. Negi, still a graduate student at the time, referred the first request to Vice President and Deputy to the President Gary Hauk, then the Secretary to the University, who said yes. Anticipating that the Dalai Lama would follow up and inquire on the partnership idea, Negi met with Paul, who advised Negi to write a proposal to the University for an affiliation.

Hauk spoke with then University President William Chace, who liked

the proposal idea. Hauk then organized a committee, comprised of administrators, senior professors (including Paul) and Negi, to meet with the Dalai Lama.

The committee’s principal goal was to propose to the Dalai Lama the possibility of exploring ways that Emory may collaborate with Tibetan institutions of learning, Hauk wrote in an email to the Wheel.

“At the time, the thought I had was we probably would never have a Tibetan Studies program here.”

— Robert Paul, Charles Howard Candler Professor of Anthropology and Interdisciplinary Studies

According to Negi, the Emory delegation met the Dalai Lama at the Ritz Carlton, where His Holiness was staying.

“His Holiness asked the Deans and the committee there: ‘do you really see some value in this kind of partnership relationship?’ And all of them said ‘yes,’” Negi said.

“His Holiness said, ‘then, we should do it, but let’s start small. If it’s beneficial, if it’s meaningful, then it will grow.’”

After this first meeting, the idea of a partnership was again put on the backburner. The idea did not move forward until late 1996, Negi said, when Hauk contacted him for assistance in securing the Dalai Lama for the 1998 Commencement address.

“If we were to invite His Holiness

to do the Commencement speech, then we have to also have something about this conversation we started with him in ’95,” Negi said.

After securing the Dalai Lama for the 1998 Commencement, Emory began formulating an affiliation with nearby Drepung Loseling.

The agreement was broad and made room for the possibility that a number of schools and colleges at Emory could become involved in programs with the Dalai Lama, Hauk wrote in an email to the Wheel.

The affiliation between Emory and Drepung Loseling Monastery was formally inaugurated on May 12, 1998. In the presence of the Dalai Lama, Abbot Konchok of Drepung Loseling and Chace were the document signees.

Drepung Loseling was ultimately deemed too small to host students for credit courses, Negi said, so Tibet-related courses were instead offered on campus.

Professor Wendy Farley and Negi directed a six-week summer program on Tibetan Buddhism, culture and language that summer.

Today, with study abroad and cross-cultural research, ETP broadly aims to integrate the western scientific tradition and its focus on the material universe with Tibetan Buddhism.

“The aim was to put those things together and create generations of students and later teachers who would have been exposed to both systems of thought and hopefully come up new and creative ways of putting these things together,” Paul said.

While the Dalai Lama’s high profile campus visit will keep Emory abuzz this week, some say the real excitement lies in ETP and its initiatives, which will strive to cross-fertilize future generations of students and future reincarnations alike.

THE EMORY WHEEL

THE DALAI LAMA ISSUE

Friday, October 11, 2013

5

FEATURES: The journeys of Tenzin Gyatso Science Scholars to Emory

Sonam Choephel: A Monk’s Challenging Journey to Education This article was originally written

by Arianna Skibell on Oct. 1, 2013.

If the price of an Emory education was not approximately $200,000, but rather the cost was running away from your family, embarking on a treacherous hike through the Himalayas and braving numerous encounters with Chinese and Nepalese police, it’s hard to imagine many students would find it worthwhile. This is not the case for Tibetan Buddhist monk Sonam Choephel.

Sonam is one of the six Tenzin Gyatso Science Scholars beginning his studies at Emory University as part of the Emory-Tibet Science Initiative.

After completing work in various courses, Sonam and the other monks will return to India to further the Tibetan Buddhist community’s understanding of modern science.

Slight of stature, Sonam speaks slowly and deliberately. He has a shaved head, as is custom for Tibetan Buddhist monks, and wears the traditional deep-red colored robes.

The prevalent idea of strict unrelenting monks and nuns quickly fades away as soon as Sonam begins to speak. He makes jokes and laughs easily and frequently.

Sonam was born in a small village in eastern Tibet called Wri. One of seven children, he spent his days leisurely.

“My childhood was not very interesting,” he said. “I just spent the whole time in that small village just doing nothing at all … just playing with my friends. No schooling or education.”

As an adult, Sonam understands that the Chinese government’s control of Tibet led to the oppression of his family.

But as a young boy, he was less aware of Tibet’s precarious situation.

He recalls that his parents did have a photograph of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, but that it was hidden away.

Less concerned with politics, Soman longed for an education; he was 14 and illiterate.

“At that time we had many people leaving for India,” Sonam said. “We had heard that the Dalai Lama was in India and that there was education there.”

Sonam’s uncle Yonten, to whom

Sonam felt very close, was a monk in a local monastery.

Although the monastery provided some education — in the form of Buddhist prayers and teachings — neither Sonam’s parents nor Yonten advocated that he join.

“My uncle sometimes used to tell me that it is good to join a monastery in India because they have these education systems,” Sonam explained.

The only way to receive a decent education, Sonam decided, was to travel to India, where he could join a monastery.

One fateful day in 1992 Soman was visiting his uncle Yonten at the local monastery when Yonten had to leave unexpectedly.

“I don’t remember where he was,” Sonam said. “[But] I was alone in his monastic house.”

At that moment, Sonam and his friend decided they should leave for India immediately.

“My friend who was running away [with] me could write a little bit in Tibetan,” he said. “So when we left, I left a short note for my parents that I was leaving … and then I ran away.”

Sonam and his friend embarked on what would become a treacherous journey to India.

First stop: Lhasa, the capital of Tibet.

The trip to Lhasa was made primarily by bus and sometimes walking, Sonam said.

Once they arrived in Lhasa, the two spent a couple months roaming around. When Sonam’s parents discovered he was in Lhasa, they sent a letter asking him to come home.

“My father wrote in the … letter, if you don’t come back to home mother is very worried,” he said.

“And she has already fallen sick worrying about you.”

Although Sonam felt conflicted and saddened by this news, he was determined to find a way to India.

Fortunately, the tide turned in his favor when his father sent a second letter.

Not only was Sonam’s mother feeling better, but she and his father had also found a guide to assist Sonam on his journey to India.

“So my father sent some money with [the guide] and also a letter saying I should go to India with him,” Sonam said. “I wanted to see His

Holiness, I wanted to join a monastery [to] get some education.”

Sonam and a group of 20 Tibetans began their journey by each paying the guide 500 Chinese dollars and boarding a bus to Shigatse.

After six long hours, the group arrived in the city and spent the night.

The next morning, they hopped into the back of a truck, which took them to a large forest.

“It was still day time, so we stayed in the forest waiting for it to get dark,” Sonam said. “When it was dark we started our long journey walking.”

The trek from the forest, through the Himalayas, to Katmandu, Nepal, took about a month on foot, Sonam said.

And as they approached the border between China and Nepal, almost free, Sonam heard the sound of gunshots and dogs barking.

The Chinese military personnel — security guards — had spotted them and were pursuing them with guns and dogs.

Frightened, the group ran as fast as they could, hoping to escape.

Luckily, the security guards were not as determined as the group.

“We just ran and ran and finally got away,” Sonam said. “It was very scary.”

“We reached there in the morning and the monks were very helpful. We were tired and hungry. They cooked us food and gave us some fresh new clothes.”

— Sonam Choephel, Tenzin Gyatso Science Scholar at Emory University

This was not the last of the group’s run-ins with military officials.

Once they arrived in Katmandu, the group came across a Tibetan monastery in the outskirts of the city.

“We reached there in the morning and the monks were very helpful,” Sonam said. “We were tired and hungry. They cooked us food and gave us some fresh new clothes.”

A few nights later, Sonam and his traveling companions were dining in

Courtesy of Sonam Choephel

Sonam Choephel, a Tenzin Gyatso Science Scholar at Emory University, escaped from Tibet — trekking across the Himalayas — and came to Emory to study science. a very small town in a dark restaurant when of group of five to six men in uniforms appeared.

The men said they were Nepal police and had come to send the group back to China. “[I was] very scared,” Sonam said.

The police started to converse with each other, arguing between themselves about what to do with the Tibetan refugees.

Sonam’s guide noticed that the men did not carry guns – a clear signal that these men were not police, but instead charlatans looking to be bought off.

While the fake police were speaking amongst themselves, Sonam’s guide gathered his group to explain his realization.

“Now get ready,” the guide said.

“When I say run, everyone should run.”

One of the fake police approached the group of Tibetans, saying that he took pity on them. If they paid the police, he would let them go.

“Run!” the guide cried, and Sonam and his friends scattered.

“We kind of shouted at these people [and ran],” Sonam explained.

“They were just hoping to get some money.”

However, the last time Sonam was stopped, he was not so lucky.

“The third time we were … caught by real Nepal police,” Sonam said.

They were walking on a small road along the bank of a river. The river was on one side and a large

rock wall on the other. When the police came upon the group, there was nowhere to run.

“They had their guns and actually showed us their badges,” he said.

“They were real.”

Sonam laughed and said, “That time we had to pay them.”

The Nepal police took what little money Sonam and his friends had, as well as their watches and some nice jackets.

“Luckily, some money we hid in our shoes, so they didn’t find it,” Sonam explained. “Somehow they let us go.”

It was not long after that Sonam arrived at the Tibetan reception center in Nepal. He was soon on his way to Delhi, India, where freedom was waiting.

Immediately upon his arrival, Sonam traveled to Drepung Loseling Monastery in southern India, where he took his vows to become a monk and began his life-long pursuit of education.

“My grandparents really wanted me to join a monastery,” he said. “My uncle, he had much influence on me I think. I just wanted to become a monk. So I did it.”

In the monastery, Sonam learned to read and write. He also became interested in science, participating in two science programs (Science Meets Dharma and Science for Monks), which prepared him for Emory.

Many monks in Sonam’s monastery, and other monasteries across

India, were eager to attend Emory as part of the University’s Emory-Tibet Partnership. Sonam was one of six selected.

“I’m not sure how I was chosen,” he said. “I just got lucky.”

Since arriving at Emory, Sonam has expanded his scientific knowledge base, as well as his understanding of American culture.

“Here people keep a planner,” he said. “This is really interesting for me. We don’t do that. Personally I don’t have this habit to keep a planner or, you know, do things on time. So this is really very helpful.”

There are many differences between Tibetan Buddhism and modern science, Sonam maintains, but also many similarities.

“In one of the scriptures the Buddha said his followers shouldn’t just follow his concepts just because he is Buddha, because he is the teacher,” Sonam said. “His followers should analyze and examine his concepts. So this is, I think, a big similarity, which I find interesting.”

In the next few years, Sonam and his fellow monks will continue studying modern science, examining the intersection of eastern and western thought.

Although Emory’s environment is very different than what Sonam is normally used to, he is excited to delve more deeply and continue his education.

“We are busy, but in a good way,” he said. “We are learning science.”

A Monk’s Quest for Knowledge in Science This article was originally written

by Naomi Maisel on Oct. 7, 2013.

Tibetan Buddhist monk James Lama: an Emory student who is excited to have a schedule consisting of Biology, Chemistry, Math and English.

One of six Tenzin Gyatso Science Scholars who started at Emory this fall, James Lama will be attending Emory for the next two years as part of the Emory-Tibet Science Initiative.

The initiative is a result of His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama’s attempt to integrate science into Tibetan Buddhist education and promote the collaboration of science and spirituality, according to the EmoryTibet Partnership’s website.

James will take various courses — with a focus in the sciences — and at the end of his time here, he will return to India to teach science in various monasteries.

“I am really excited to teach not only my monastery,” James said, but also to “share with anyone who is interested in my knowledge.”

James’s presence is warm and comforting. Dressed in the deep-red and gold robes traditional of Tibetan Buddhist monks, James sits patiently and thoughtfully. And unlike most of the other Tibetan Buddhist monks, his head is not shaved.

Fond of jokes, James’s smile is infectious as he is always looking for a good laugh.

“I felt regret not growing up in a modern educational environment,” James said.

Although James comes off quite scholarly, his background doesn’t necessarily show it.

James’s parents were originally from Tibet and moved to India due to oppression caused by the ChinaTibet conflict before James was born, he said. The conflict took root in 1949 when the People’s Liberation Army of China invaded Tibet and established their own rules and regulations, according to a link found on the Partnership’s website. The site adds that since the invasion, many Tibetans have died “through starvation, torture and execution.”

James said his parents experienced severe “trauma” when he was growing up, as they had given up their entire lives in Tibet when they moved to India. Back in Tibet, they were shepherds but transitioned to a

nomadic lifestyle in India.

James said the China-Tibet conflict makes him “sad”, mostly because he has never been able to see Tibet because of it.

His number-one dream and “bucket-list” item is to travel to Tibet someday and hopefully around the world as well, he said.

James said his parents didn’t think much about knowledge or education while he was growing up. They were too busy trying to deal with their new lifestyles, James said.

This is why, at age six, James was excited to head off to school.

He attended school in South India in Karnataka until he transitioned to the monastics at age 12, he said.

When his monastery received the letter calling for monks to engage in the Emory-Tibet Partnership, James said he was excited and applied first thing.

“I was very ecstatic to hear that I was accepted into the Emory-Tibet Science Initiative program,” James said.

James attended the Sarah Institute in Dharamsala, India, for one month each year for five years before finally coming to Emory.

James said it was difficult for him to jump into Emory’s new curriculum since “there is a huge gap between English knowledge and science background” that he has, versus what is expected at the University.

That being the case, James has a keen sense for learning and improving. He said he finds “all the classes interesting.”

He added that “people are very friendly” and that he feels “free to speak” in all of his classes, making it easier to learn.

All six monks live in an apartment together in Highland Lake Apartments and “have many laughs,” teasing one another and causing mischief as they become accustomed to living life in the United States.

James shared a story in which he and the other monks were cooking bread and accidentally set off the smoke alarm in their apartment.

The monks were very scared because they thought that, like in the movies, a whole squad of police cars would appear at their door.

The monks rushed outside but found no police officers.

This is now a great joke among them, as James described it.

Besides cooking, James and his friends spend time playing basketball, tennis and going swimming, he said.

James also said he likes to “hang around Atlanta” and really enjoyed visiting the aquarium for the first time.

But with all of these new experiences, James said the monastic lifestyle is very different here.

“I was surprised and confused to change my monastic life here,” he said.

Though they still practice their meditation, they no longer do so in groups but rather independently when they find time.

He added that it is new to him to use all of this technology as in India everything was made or done by hand.

James also said he has found a rift between his scientific and philosophical teachings. He said that in biology class they learn that humans come from bacteria, where in Buddhist philosophy, humans come from Buddhist deities based on Karma.

Although there are a lot of differences, James is finding ways to balance out his life in India and his life here. For example, he said that in Buddhist philosophy, they do not simply believe what is told to them but rather they test and analyze and if “the results match,” then you do it. Similarly in biology, James explained, “you make hypotheses and prediction and then you do the process and what you get in the result, that’s the truth.”

James is also involved with student organizations such as the ChinaTibet Initiative and Students for a Free Tibet on Emory’s campus.

These groups allow him to maintain the connection to his home and origins while living in America, he said.

Although he has already taken in so much, James said he is excited to learn new things each day.

His favorite aspect of Emory, however, is talking to students, especially because it gives him more opportunities to improve his English, he said.

“I have only one request: I want to improve my English. I want to talk to everyone,” he said.

With a thirst for knowledge and experience, James Lama is living his days out at Emory and enjoying every minute of it.