2 research outputs found
Found in Translation: Collaborative Contemplations of Tibetan Buddhism and Western Science
Development of an inclusive scientific community necessitates doing more than simply bringing science to diverse groups of people. Ideally, the sciences evolve through incorporation of diverse backgrounds, experiences, and worldviews. Efforts to promote inclusion of historically underrepresented racial, ethnic, cultural, religious, gender, and socioeconomic groups among science scholars are currently underway. Examination of these efforts yields valuable lessons to inform next steps in engaging diverse audiences with science. The Emory-Tibet Science Initiative may serve as one example of such efforts. The Dalai Lama invited Emory University to develop and teach a curriculum in Western science to Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns. As the science curriculum has been taught and refined over the past decade, monastic scholars increasingly have taken ownership of the material. As Western scientific ideas and practices take hold in this setting, the experiences of monks and nuns offer unique insights into the process of translation, modes of communication, and long-term impacts of integrating diverse systems of knowledge. Given that the dominant language of science is English, Tibetan interpreters have been essential throughout the implementation of this project. Through the process of translating scientific terms, interpreters have considered differences in how words categorize, and therefore how people conceptualize, the world. Through comprehensive, culturally-responsive communication, scientific language is used as a tool to build and strengthen connections between monastics and their local and global communities. The intertwining of these complementary systems of knowledge iteratively informs translation, modes of communication, and broader impacts in the community
Recommended from our members
Cultural consensus modeling of Tibetan Buddhist concepts in cognitive science: Enhancing cross-cultural science education through mutual understanding
The Emory-Tibet Science Initiative (ETSI), a two-way exchange betweenWestern science and Tibetan Buddhism, is
a partnership between Emory University, the Dalai Lama, and the Library of TibetanWorks and Archives in Dharamsala, India.
ETSI is a comprehensive 6-year science curriculum being implemented at Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in India, representing
the most significant change in 600 years for the Tibetan Buddhist monastic curriculum. This two-way exchange between science
and Buddhism offers potential for mutual enrichment leading to new discoveries. Yet a cross-cultural challenge exists between
science faculty and monastic students in teaching and learning science, as both traditions can hold quite different understandings
of fundamental concepts, including sentience, awareness, attention, and perception. Using cultural consensus modeling, we
estimate Tibetan Buddhist concepts of core cognitive science constructs and compare them with Western scientific definitions.
Results can enhance cross-cultural science education by supporting faculty in understanding students’ cultural concepts, and
vice versa