Explore the intersection of Buddhism and medicine, tracing ancient practices to their modern applications. Delve into traditional healing methods, responses to global health crises like COVID-19, and the relationship between Buddhist and contemporary biomedicine. Engage in readings and discussions to understand this dynamic field, no prior knowledge required.

Visitors can attend all three weeks or each individual week

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Teachers | Course Description | Schedule & Activities | Learning Outcomes | Suggested Donation | Book Now

Teachers

• Dr. Asit James Gentry
• Dr. Ana C. Lopes
• Prof. John Dunne
• Guest lectures: To be announced

Course Description

Historical Context: The course explores Buddhism’s long-standing connection with medicine, tracing its development from ancient practices to modern applications. It covers a wide range of healing methods within Buddhist traditions, including meditation, exercise, diagnosis, pharmacology, and surgery.

Modern Global Perspectives: The course examines how Buddhists globally adapt traditional methods to tackle modern health issues like cancer, pandemics, pain management, depression, and anxiety.

Complexity and Relevance: Studying Buddhist medicine unveils its complexity beyond being seen as traditional alternatives to biomedicine. Globalized Buddhist healers adapt to biomedical systems, shaping new healing modalities and altering traditions.

Key Topics: This course will cover various critical topics including:

• The roles of medicine in different Buddhist traditions (Nikāya, Mahāyāna, Tantra)
• Sex, gender, and the body in Buddhist medicine
• Buddhist medical approaches to the mind-body relationship
• Colonialism and the modernization of Buddhist medicine
• The compatibility of Buddhist medicine and contemporary biomedicine
• Meditation, mental health, and the “mindful revolution”
• Buddhist responses to the COVID-19 pandemic

Approach and Learning: The course involves studying traditional and contemporary Buddhist texts, religious studies analysis, ethnographic case studies, and visits to Buddhist healing centers. It emphasizes discussions, reflective readings, group presentations, and a final project investigating a specific aspect of Buddhism and medicine. Additionally, it aims to facilitate discussions on power dynamics in knowledge systems and historical challenges in the interaction between Buddhism and biomedicine, considering their implications for contemporary society.

Outcome: By course completion, students will develop a critical understanding of medicine’s role in Buddhist traditions and analyze interactions between Buddhism and biomedicine. They will apply research methods from religious studies, anthropology, and history to explore this intersection. Questions explored include the promotion of ancient Buddhist practices like mindfulness for mental and physical wellbeing today, the compatibility of Buddhist healing approaches with contemporary biomedicine, and how Buddhist practices claim to heal and promote health.

Required reading: “A Global History of Buddhism & Medicine” Pierce Salguero (New York: Columbia University Press, 2022)

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Schedule & Activities

• 7:00 to 8:00 Morning Meditation
  Emphasizing the experiential aspect of Buddhism, the course integrates daily meditation sessions. These sessions cover various techniques, including mindfulness, breath awareness, and analytical meditation. Through guided practices, students learn to cultivate mindfulness, compassion, and clarity of mind—a foundational aspect of Buddhist practice.
• 9:30 to 10:30 Khenpo class
  Under the guidance of a Khenpo, students embark on in-depth explorations of classical Buddhist philosophy and teachings. These sessions delve into core texts, fundamental principles, and philosophical underpinnings of Buddhism. The Khenpo’s expertise ensures students gain a profound understanding of classical Buddhist thought.
• 11 to 12:30 Professors class
  Esteemed professors complement traditional teachings by leading classes focused on modern aspects of Buddhism. These sessions explore contemporary applications of Buddhist principles and examine how ancient wisdom interacts with present-day issues. Topics include mindfulness in healthcare, the intersection of Buddhism and psychology, responses to societal challenges, and the relevance of Buddhist ethics in the modern world.
• Afternoons
  Time for reading, reflection, meditation, and embodied practices.

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Learning outcomes

Upon successfully completing this course, students will be able to:

• Demonstrate a critical understanding of the various roles of medicine and healing in Buddhist traditions within their diverse socio-historical contexts
• Recognize the frameworks for thought and action implicit in different systems of knowledge and analyze their modes of interaction with sensitivity to the power dynamics (social, political, economic, racial, gendered, and cultural) that inform them
• Assess the challenges that have surfaced historically and in the present in interactions between Buddhism and biomedicine and their worldviews, and how new social and political contexts have exacerbated, reduced, or complicated these challenges
• Apply the methods of research and inquiry from religious studies, anthropology, and history to examine key topics in the study of Buddhism and medicine
• Critically evaluate primary and secondary source materials about Buddhism and medicine and combine these with ethnographic fieldwork to understand and explain the nexus of Buddhism and medicine socially and historically

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Your contribution- Suggested donation

We want to enable all interested parties to participate in our seminars. Therefore, we provide a suggested donation value to cover our fixed costs. If you are financially able to do so, we kindly ask you to contribute this amount to allow others with fewer resources to participate. If you are unable to pay this amount, please contact us in advance at nanda@gomde.eu.

For people under 26 with financial difficulties:

• Accommodation in a multi-bed room for a suggested donation value of 30 euros per day
• Total price for three weeks: 600 euros
• Required: Daily assistance of two hours

Participants with average financial means:

• Single room for a suggested donation value of 80 euros per day
• Total price for three weeks: 1600 euros

Special price for supporters:

• 100 euros per day as a suggested donation value
• Total price for three weeks: 2100 euros

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