"In Our Own Voices - Dharma Education in North America"
Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA
September 30th to October 2nd, 2011
Co-sponsored by
Loyola Marymount University and Nalanda International
Vision
The 2011 Uberoi Foundation Experts' Meeting, "In Our Own Voices: Dharma Education in North America," seeks to facilitate the emergence of innovative / creative theories, approaches, methods to education / scholarship in Hindu, Jain, Buddhist and Sikh Dharma traditions.
Objectives
- Identify the principal elements of "Dharma," both in terms of an overall paradigm and in regard to the distinct ideas and ideals that characterize these Dharma traditions
- Provide a supportive, nurturing, and facilitative forum to uncover ways and means to promote innovative and intersubjective scholarship in Dharma traditions
- Distinguish those elements of Dharma thought and practice that are relevant for and may be applied to the pressing concerns of our time
- Determine how the intellectual traditions of the Dharma systems of thought and practice such as theories of knowledge, methods of interpretation and understanding, and philosophies of teaching innate to Dharma frameworks of thought, can be integrated and brought to bear in Dharma education
- Survey the current contexts—in terms of both problems and solutions—of education in these traditions, from the elementary to the university levels, in order to determine helpful strategies for the future expansion and deepening of Dharma education
- Explore methods of communication between the academy and the Dharma heritage communities that address the needs and sensibilities of both, and create bridges of understanding between the two
- Ascertain specific approaches to support endowments, publications, curricula, syllabi, programs, and other forms of assistance for scholarship in, and teaching of Dharma traditions
- Examine ways in which the voice of Dharma can be accorded a legitimate and respected place in global intellectual discourse
- Support collaborations among the different institutions that are working towards the promotion of Dharma education
"In Our Own Voices" draws our attention to the fact that Dharma traditions are not at the center of the dominant global discourse on contemporary issues and challenges. The voices (wisdom and discernment) of the Dharma traditions are currently on the margins. Yet they are of great significance and relevance to the crises that face humanity. We seek to position the insights of Dharma as integral to addressing these challenges. The term "In Our Own Voices" does not refer to who is talking or writing but rather refers to which lens is being used to define and understand the Dharma traditions.
