His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama has made a gift of $50,000 to the Emory-Tibet Science Initiative, a historic and ambitious undertaking to develop and implement a comprehensive science education curriculum for Tibetan monastics. A collaboration between Emory and the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, the science initiative grew from a shared vision of the Dalai Lama and Emory. The initiative aims to bridge the best of modern science education with the wisdom and insights of the ancient monastic tradition.
“In just three years, the Emory-Tibet Science Initiative has made notable progress,” wrote the Dalai Lama. “However, it is a large and far-sighted project that will require significant resources to ensure its success and sustainability. I am therefore happy to make a contribution…towards this important work at Emory.”
In acknowledging the gift, President Jim Wagner said, “This extraordinary and entirely unexpected gesture bespeaks the remarkable generosity of spirit in a great human being like His Holiness. The ‘Professor’ has taught us another lesson from afar—the truth that people, when we are at our best, invest our treasure and our hearts in the same place. We at Emory are very grateful not only for his recent gracious gift but also for the heart he has long invested in the Emory-Tibet Partnership.”
The science initiative addresses the interface between religion and science. As part of a five-year pilot program, Emory faculty have traveled to Dharamsala, India to teach a western science curriculum to more than 100 monks and nuns, and have worked with Tibetan Buddhist scholars to produce science textbooks printed in English and Tibetan.
Both the science initiative and the Dalai Lama’s 2007 appointment are outgrowths of the Emory-Tibet Partnership, which was founded in 1998 to bring together the best of Western and Tibetan Buddhist intellectual traditions. As Presidential Distinguished Professor, the Dalai Lama provides private teaching sessions with students and faculty during Emory study-abroad programs in Dharamsala, as well as opportunities for Emory community members to attend his annual teachings. He makes periodic visits to Emory to participate in programs, most recently in 2007 when he delivered his inaugural lecture. Emory has established a fellowship in the Dalai Lama’s name to fund annual scholarships for Tibetan students attending Emory undergraduate and graduate schools.
September 2009
