“Both science and the teachings of the Buddha tell us of the fundamental unity of all things.”
~ His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama
SCIENCE FOR MONKS & NUNS
Buddhism poses questions that challenge Western scientific thinking. The different perspectives that monastics and academics bring to learning grow spiritual awareness and scientific progress in a two-way dialogue based on open-minded exploration. Through this program, monks and nuns take what they’ve learned out into the world. Science for Monks and Nuns is the first program in the 1,500-year history of Tibetan Buddhism to teach Western science as part of monastic curriculum.
Websites:
Science for Monks and Nuns | Library of Tibetan Works and Archives
SCIENCE FOR MONKS & NUNS
It wasn’t my idea to teach science to monks.Science for Monks and Nuns is the brainchild of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. My family foundation, the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, and the Dalai Lama have been partners in this initiative since 2000. Our program has evolved over 20 years: the first decade was spent teaching modern science; the second decade was spent teaching monks and nuns to become science teachers themselves.
“With the ever-growing impact of science on our lives, religion and spirituality have a greater role to play reminding us of our humanity. There is no contradiction between the two. Each gives us valuable insights into the other.” ~ His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama
Program Highlights
SAGER SCIENCE CENTER
On March 16, 2022, the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives (LTWA) and the Sager Foundation celebrated the 20th anniversary of our joint Monastic Science Education program at the Sager Science Center located in the LTWA in Dharamsala. Chemi Rinzin, general secretary ofHis Holiness the Dalai Lama’s office, attended the event and expressed deep gratitude for all efforts to engage monastics in science education. He also inaugurated the Sager Long Distance Learning Center.
LEADERSHIP COHORTS
From 2000-2007, SFMN offered nine Science Workshops as the first formal teachings of science in the 1,500-year history of Tibetan Buddhism. Since 2008, the Sager ScienceLeadership Institute has offered four Leadership Cohorts, providing a forum for monastics to share previous work, identify best practices, and generate ideas for future work. To date, more than 115 monastics have been trained as science educators, as entrepreneurs of new science centers, as community leaders, and as participants in the global dialogue between monastics and scientists.
NUNS LEADERSHIP WORKSHOPS
Nuns desire the same leadership training as monks. Buddhist nuns play an essential role in helping to strengthen and modernize this vibrant thousand-year-old learning community. SFMN has an enduring vision of a growing and energetic network of nun science leaders who will actively shape activities that infuse scientific inquiry while simultaneously leveraging the wisdom and practices of their learning tradition. Of note, most new SFMN science centers will likely emerge within nunneries and other monastic traditions.
TRAVELING EXHIBITS
Educational exhibitions are created by monastic science leaders working with museum professionals from the Smithsonian Institution and the Exploratorium. They are intended to create awareness in surrounding communities of the collaborative efforts between monastic sand scientists, and to engage everyday citizens in both understanding their world and in making it a better place. In March 2022, the 3rd Leadership Cohort presented The Secrets of Particles exhibition.
LONG DISTANCE LEARNING CENTER
The Sager Long Distance Learning Center (LDLC) opened in Dharamsala in 2021, allowing monastics to participate in virtual and on-demand classes in between in-person workshop programs. One of the advantages of LDLC classes taught by LTWA science staff is that they do not need translation services, which reduces the cost of delivery significantly. Through both the science centers and the LDLC, the SFMN program is helping to build a critical mass of monastics and laity deeply engaged as cross-cultural science leaders and educators.
CONFERENCES
SFMN hosts cross-cultural conferences, bringing together international scientists with Buddhist monastic scholars. These extended two-way exchanges probed the interface of spiritual value sand scientific understanding. Building upon His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s long-term interest in engaging scientists in deeper dialogue, each public conference extends the conversation betweenBuddhism and science to new audiences within the Tibetan monastic community.
SCIENCE CENTER NETWORK
His Holiness the Dalai Lama inspired a network of science centers across monastic institutions in India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Tibet to foster contemplation, research, discovery, and new domains of inquiry. The Sager Science Leadership Institute has been instrumental in developing and expanding this network to offer in-person and remote training and mentoring programs, teacher fellowships, community engagement, and micro-grants.
