Video Available! "Buddhist Meditation and Higher Education"

"Buddhist Meditation and Higher Education: Suffering, Flourishing, and Contemplative Literacy in Modern Universities"

Buddhist meditation's long history is intertwined with complex educational institutions in the form of monasteries, just as medieval Europe itself was dominated by Christian monasteries and their contemplative lifestyles. In recent decades, there has been a surge of interest in the American academy in exploring such Buddhist practices, including scientific research on their efficacy and mechanism, their possible secularized adaptation for new pedagogical approaches in the classroom, and inspiration for fresh perspectives on cocurricular programming for students. Drawing upon Tibetan Buddhism and the University of Virginia as an example, this talk will consider both the promise and peril of modern academics revisiting the fault lines of the ancient emergence of universities out of monastic institutions and their contemplative lifestyles. We will look at the contemporary crisis of well-being amongst our nation's youth, the possibility of innovations in education to better facilitate student flourishing, and the notion of contemplative literacy as a possible bridge between the two.

Bio:

DAVID GERMANO, Professor of Religious Studies, University of Virginia; Executive Director of the Contemplative Sciences Center

David Germano teaches and researches Tibetan and Buddhist Studies at the University of Virginia, where he is a professor in the Department of Religious Studies as well as directs the Contemplative Sciences Center and the Tibet Center.  He has lived for many years in Tibetan communities in Tibet, where he has studied Buddhist philosophy and contemplation, as well as worked extensively on programs of scholarly engagement, community service, participatory knowledge, digital technology initiatives, and entrepreneurship. Since 2011, he has focused on exploring contemplative ideas, values, and practices in relationship to scientific methodologies and new applications in diverse fields with a particular focus on higher education overall.

This talk is part of the Buddhism and Science Series

This series explores the many facets of the encounter between Buddhism and science through discussion and debate of relevant scientific papers, traditional Buddhist literature, science and technology studies (STS), and anthropological literature.

Link for the Lecture