JAN 406 - A Portal into Tibetan Buddhism: A Dispersed People Impacting the World

Dates: 

Preceding fall: (dates to be confirmed by each Center)

Visit Buddhist centers in the Bay Area:
● Saturday, Oct. …: Zen Center of San Francisco
● Sunday, Oct./Nov. …: Dharmata Foundation, Point Richmond
● Sunday, Nov. …: Nyingma Institute, in Berkeley

January Term: (flight details to be confirmed by airline)
Dec. 31: departure SFO to Pokhara (with layovers in tbd and Kathmandu)
Jan. 1-3: Kathmandu, including:

● Stay on the grounds of Shechen Monastery and School; tour and learn about Shechen, in the Boudhanath neighborhood, settled by Tibetan refugees and connected with the refugee community in Pokhara

● Talks by Buddhist lamas, teachings by instructors, optional meditation

● Optional morning and evening circumambulations around Boudhanath stupa; monks, families, and friends chant and walk slowly around the stupa twice daily

● Visit the sacred site of Swayambhu, in another Kathmandu neighborhood

Jan. 3-17: Pokhara, including:
● Engagement with the schoolchildren of Tashiling settlement, 3 hours x 10 days of direct service
● Talks by Buddhist lamas, teachings by instructors, optional meditation
● Daily reflective discussions incorporating what we’re studying and experiencing
● Visit to Shree Urgen Choling Monastery
● Free day of exploration

Jan. 17-22: Kathmandu, including:
● Stay on the grounds of Shechen Monastery & School
● Talks by Buddhist lamas, teachings by instructors, optional meditation
● Optional morning and evening circumambulations around Boudhanath stupa; monks, families, and friends chant and walk slowly around the stupa twice daily
● Daily reflective discussions incorporating what we’re studying and experiencing
● Visit the arts and crafts area in Kathmandu
● Free day of exploration

Jan. 22: departure Kathmandu to SFO (with layover in tbd)

Jan. 24-26: Engagement with local Tibetan leaders in the Bay Area

Instructors:Tereza Joy Kramer & Larry Mermelstein

Email:  tjk2@stmarys-ca.edu

Course Fee: $3560 *All expenses included: airfare, lodging, transportation, food, excursions, etc. Only remaining expenses will be souvenirs and food in airports. Travel shot costs will depend on individual insurance coverage.

Course Description: 

This course offers a portal into the community of Tibetan Buddhists exiled in Nepal - particularly schoolchildren and young monks and nuns. We will study their socio-political realities, community structure, and religious education through readings and daily engagement with them - serving young Tibetan refugees in their school. 

We will learn how and why, after China devastated Tibet in the 1950s, the once-closed country was burst open as thousands of Tibetans escaped to the greater Himalayan region and many subsequently migrated to the West - ultimately spreading Tibetan Buddhism worldwide. We will consider how the Tibetan refugees’ new settlements impacted the cultures in their adopted countries, including Nepal and the United States. We will read and reflect on texts written by political and cultural experts and by the spiritual leaders whose temples we will come to know in Nepal. We will be living in the local community and serving in the refugee school every day, teaching the children English and study skills while getting to know them and understanding how their religion infuses everything about their daily lives and perspectives. Through meta-reflection, we will bring together our experiences and what we’re learning about the Buddhist viewpoints of “Impermanence,” “Bodhicitta,” and “Loving-kindness” - how our actions and thoughts impact those we engage with.

During the fall before traveling, we will study and visit three Bay-area Buddhist centers, offering insight into how Tibetan Buddhism has been adapted to Western culture. Then, while in Nepal, we will experience the political, social, and religious foundations of the community of Tibetan exiles in Nepal’s small city of Pokhara, as well as the Boudhnath neighborhood in the capital city, Kathmandu, which has been settled by Tibetan refugees. Through our Bay Area explorations and particularly our immersion in Nepal, we will consider how the dispersion of Tibetans and the subsequent spread of Buddhism has impacted the world. At the same time, we will be reflecting upon our own cultural, political, and spiritual backgrounds and obligations within the context of the global community.

*This course fulfills the Engaged Learning core requirement.

 

Prerequisites & Notes

• Attendance at pre-registration meeting; 
• Permission of the instructor

Information Sessions:

 *Failure to attend Health & Safety Orientations will result in immediate drop from the course, and once registered all course fees are non-refundable. 

 

Credits: 3+1 Core Unit