People & Culture of Tibet
Summer Workshop 2008
(Now in its 4th year)
May 13 to June 7, 2008
This program will allow students to visit Dharamsala, the home the Dalai Lama, seat of the Central Tibetan Administration (Government in Exile), and the cultural and intellectual capital of the Tibetan exile community. Workshop participants will learn about Tibetan culture, religion, and
philosophy as well as gain an understanding of a community in exile and issues associated with Tibetan refugees.
Students will become immersed in Tibetan culture and religion by taking short formal courses in Tibetan philosophy and culture from instructors at Institute of Buddhist Dialectics in Dharamsala. Guided meditation classes will be held each morning at the meditation hall. Lectures on the Tibetan community's efforts to preserve it cultural as well as introduction to Tibetan performing arts and traditional medical system will be part of the topics to be covered.
Students will receive an orientation (Spring Sprint Course) at Miami prior to departure to Delhi, India. From there the group will travel to Dharamsala. Formal instructions will begin the day after arrival at the Sarah Institute for Buddhist Studies. Part of the learning experience will include interactions with the large community of Tibetan monks engaged in traditional and contemporary study at this location. Following formal lectures student will take daily field trips to Upper Dharamsala to visit various governmental organizations, as well as interact with the wider Tibetan community and participate in special events. Guest speakers and performing arts events will highlight the time at the Sarah Institute. Students will also visit Tibetan villages, monasteries, and pilgrimage sites.
The workshop offers unique opportunities for pre-med students and those interested in medical anthropology and indigenious healthcare systems to learn about Tibetan medicine, mind-body healing, and the role of deep meditative states on health and illness as a contrasting model to the western biomedical scientific model. Students will also learn about efforts by doctors to incorporate the Tibetan holistic approach to health and illness with scientific biomedicine. In addition, there are opportunities to learn about the manufacture and use of Tibetan herbal medicines. With the assistance of the Tibetan Ministry of Health, workshop participants are able to conduct research on various health issues within the Tibetan community in exile, including diabetes, coronary disease, hypertension, and other illnesses. Alternatively, there are opportunities for students to work with NGOs engaged in health related projects.
The program provides a wonderful opportunity for students to gain international experience, cross-cultural understanding, as well as the opportunity to travel to Thailand and India and fulfills a number of Miami University requirements (check with your departmental CDA).
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