Many people asked if I did much meditation at the monastery last year... no, not at all. I hadn't even been aware of any opportunities, and I do not believe there was any. This year, it looks like I will be able to do a morning meditation every day!
The Emory-Tibet program has a number of facets, and teaching science to the monks in India is only one part. There is also a student program that brings students (mostly from Emory, but open to others) to India to visit the different monasteries and learn about Tibetan Buddhism. Last year, I left Drepung before the students arrived. This year, they were already here.
The students have a meditation session, but it is when we are teaching. Geshe Lobsang Negi, who runs the Drepung Loseling Center in Atlanta, runs their meditation session and has agreed to run one for the faculty. Of course, ours needs to be before breakfast, at 6 AM.
I've been to meditation sessions at the Drepung Loseling Center that he has run, so there were many similarities. However, he has a small number of monks come up to do chants at the beginning and end of the meditation. While the center in Atlanta is beautiful, it does not compare to being in the meditation room on the roof of the monastery!
I'm looking forward to continuing the morning meditations, even if it does require getting up before 5:30. I'm still a little jet lagged, so I actually woke up at 3 AM last night. While I am still spending all of my time working on class prep (and not much time sleeping), I can't pass up on the opportunity to meditate here. I actually didn't have my notes finished for class today, but the lecture still went fine. That hour was certainly well spent.
The Emory-Tibet program has a number of facets, and teaching science to the monks in India is only one part. There is also a student program that brings students (mostly from Emory, but open to others) to India to visit the different monasteries and learn about Tibetan Buddhism. Last year, I left Drepung before the students arrived. This year, they were already here.
The students have a meditation session, but it is when we are teaching. Geshe Lobsang Negi, who runs the Drepung Loseling Center in Atlanta, runs their meditation session and has agreed to run one for the faculty. Of course, ours needs to be before breakfast, at 6 AM.
I've been to meditation sessions at the Drepung Loseling Center that he has run, so there were many similarities. However, he has a small number of monks come up to do chants at the beginning and end of the meditation. While the center in Atlanta is beautiful, it does not compare to being in the meditation room on the roof of the monastery!
I'm looking forward to continuing the morning meditations, even if it does require getting up before 5:30. I'm still a little jet lagged, so I actually woke up at 3 AM last night. While I am still spending all of my time working on class prep (and not much time sleeping), I can't pass up on the opportunity to meditate here. I actually didn't have my notes finished for class today, but the lecture still went fine. That hour was certainly well spent.
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