Project Background & Science Workshops (2000 – 2007)
The Library of Tibetan Works & Archives (Tibetan Library) monastic science initiative began in 1999 through the instruction of His Holiness the Dalai Lama View to former director, Achok Rinpoche. Although the Tibetan Library had almost no expertise in science at the time, their capacity as a center of learning serving all the major Tibetan Buddhist traditions was well suited for launching the initiative.
In the first year of the project, the Tibetan Library set-up a team of 3 translators to translate various educational scientific writing into Tibetan and at the same time planed a 4-week science course for a select group of scholarly monks. In 2000, a group of 50 monk scholars with a deep understanding of Buddhist philosophy were selected to participate in the first 4-week science workshop.
In 2001, the Sager Family Foundation created a partnership with the Tibetan Library to grow and sustain the Library’s historic undertaking – Science for Monks. Since 2001, Science for Monks has brought Western scientists to India to implement workshops designed to share salient concepts of Western science with Tibetan monastics in exile. Sparked by the interests and directives of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the program has sought to introduce science education and dialogue to major Buddhist monastic centers of higher learning within the exiled community.
The Science Workshops were an historic pilot program and represent the first formal teachings of science within the history of Tibetan Buddhism. Overcoming a multitude of challenges of finding qualified teachers, translators and the daunting but vital task of coordinating participants from several monasteries and teachers from around the world, nine 4-week intensive science workshops were successfully implemented between 2000 and 2007. A major outcome of these workshops was an overwhelming demand for science education within the monastic institutions.
2000 Sera Monastery
Bylakuppe, India
February 15 to March 3, 2000
Western Faculty:
Earl Carlyon
David Crismond, Ph.D.
2001 Gaden Monastery
Mundgod, India
March 7 to March 30, 2001
Western Faculty:
David Crismond, Ph.D.
Avery Solomon, Ph.D.
Bryce Johnson
Library Staff:
Achok Rinpoche, Director
Sangey Tendar, Translator
Dechen Dorjee, Translator
Tenzin Yangchen, Translator
Tibetan Children’s Village:
Palmo, Teacher/Translator
Tenzin Gyalpo, Teacher/Translator
Tsewang Gyurmey, Teacher/Translator
Jampa Ngodup, Teacher/Translator
2002 Drepung Monastery
Mundgod, India
February 19 to March 12, 2002
Western Faculty:
Avery Solomon, Ph.D.
Stamatis Vokos, Ph.D.
Mel Sabela, Ph.D.
Torgny Greveby, M.S.
Rachel von Roeschlaub, M.S.
Library Staff:
Achok Rinpoche, Director
Bryce Johnson, Coordinator
Sangey Tendar, Translator
Tibetan Children’s Village:
Nyima Tsering, Teacher/Translator
Jampa, Teacher/Translator
2003 TCV-Upper
Dharamshala, India
December 17, 2002, to January 10, 2003
Western Faculty:
Stamatis Vokos, Ph.D.
Avery Solomon, Ph.D.
Hunter Close, Ph.D.
Rachel von Roeschlaub, M.S.
Library Staff:
Achok Rinpoche, Director
Bryce Johnson, Coordinator
Tibetan Children’s Village:
Nyima Tsering, Teacher/Translator
Duke Tsering, Teacher/Translator
Pema Wangyal, Teacher/Translator
Pema’s Brother, Teacher/Translator
Palmo
2004 TCV Golapur
Dharamshala, India
December 15, 2003, to January 10, 2004
Western Faculty:
Ursula Goodenough, Ph.D.
David Finkelstein, Ph.D.
David Susuki, Ph.D.
Avery Solomon, Ph.D.
Library Staff:
Achok Rinpoche, Director
Bryce Johnson, Coordinator
Tibetan Children’s Village:
Nyima Tsering, Teacher/Translator
Duke Tsering, Teacher/Translator
Pema Wangyal, Teacher/Translator
Palmo, Teacher/Translator
2005 TCV – Selakui
Dehradun, India
December 21, 2004 to January 14, 2005
Western Faculty:
Dewey Dykstra, Ph.D.
Andy Johnson, Ph.D.
Avery Solomon, Ph.D.
David Finkelstein, Ph.D.
Shlomit Finkelstein, Ph.D.
David Presti, Ph.D.
Alan Wallace, Ph.D.
Vesna Wallace, Ph.D.
Library Staff:
Achok Rinpoche, Director
Bryce Johnson, Coordinator
Tenzin Sonam, Translator
Tibetan Children’s Village:
Nyima Tsering, Teacher/Translator
Duke Tsering, Teacher/Translator
Pema Wangyal, Teacher/Translator
Pelmo, Teacher/Translator
Tsering Rabgyal, Teacher/Translator
2006 TCV – Selakui
Dehradun, India
December 19, 2005 to January 6, 2006
Western Faculty:
Dewey Dykstra, Ph.D.
Andy Johnson, Ph.D.
Hunter Close, Ph.D.
Avery Solomon, Ph.D.
David Finkelstein, Ph.D.
David Presti, Ph.D.
Library Staff:
Geshe Lhakdor
Bryce Johnson, Coordinator
Tenzin Sonam, Translator
Tibetan Children’s Village:
Nyima Tsering, Teacher/Translator
Duke Tsering, Teacher/Translator
Pema Wangyal, Teacher/Translator
Pelmo, Teacher/Translator
Tsering Rabgyal, Teacher/Translator
2007 Sera Monastery
Bylakuppe, India
January 14 to February 3, 2007
Western Faculty:
David Finkelstein, Ph.D.
Andy Johnson, Ph.D.
Mel Sabella, Ph.D.
Avery Solomon, Ph.D.
William Bates, Ph.D.
Library Staff:
Geshe Lhakdor, Director
Bryce Johnson, Coordinator
Tenzin Sonam, Translator
Karma Thupten, Translator
Tibetan Children’s Village:
Nyima Tsering, Teacher/Translator
Pema Wangyal, Teacher/Translator
Pelmo, Teacher/Translator
Tsering Rabgyal, Teacher/Translator
2007 Deer Park Institute
Bylakuppe, India
June 14 to July 5, 2007
Western Faculty:
David Finkelstein, Ph.D.
Hunter Close, Ph.D.
Eleanor Close, Ph.D.
Ed Prather, Ph.D.
David Presti, Ph.D.
P.V. Rao, Ph.D.
Paul Lennard, Ph.D.
William Bates, Ph.D.
Library Staff:
Geshe Lhakdor, Director
Bryce Johnson, Coordinator
Tenzin Sonam, Translator
Karma Thupten, Translator
Tenzin Palden, Translator
Tibetan Children’s Village:
Nyima Tsering, Teacher/Translator
Pema Wangyal, Teacher/Translator
Pelmo, Teacher/Translator
Tsering Rabgyal, Teacher/Translator