Warm greetings from Emory Buddhist Chaplaincy and the Office of Spiritual and Religious Life. I hope you are in good health and good community.

We have had some wonderful programs and initiatives take place this Fall semester, and I’d love to take this moment to highlight some of them for you. The Emory Buddhist Club (EBC) continues its weekly meditation gatherings facilitated by current EBC student leaders. The gatherings are engaging in meaningful dharma practices and discussions guided by distinguished Buddhist teachers. Our guest teachers this semester include Geshe Dadul, Geshe Phende, Venerable Deepankara, Sensei Elliston, GuoGu, Venerable Jian Gan Shifu.

In October, EBC organized a meaningful event in collaboration with Plant-Based Emory to discuss the benefits and ways of leading a vegetarian lifestyle. It was a beautiful discussion that connected essential practices of mindfulness, understanding, care, and community.

This semester, we have also started a new program celebrating the full moons. Full moons are special occasions for celebration and deeper spiritual engagement in many Buddhist communities, particularly in the Theravada traditions. Each full moon celebrates and signifies special events in the life of Buddha or in Buddhist history, and thus is an opportunity for education as well as contemplation. We celebrated the September full moon (Madhu Purnima) reflecting on the virtues of generosity, unity, and joy. We celebrated the October full moon with alumni and families of our students during Emory Homecoming and Family Weekend. Our full moon celebrations are also occasions for cultivation and care, and they offer the opportunity of sponsoring a full moon puja and the meal that follows. At the end of the spiritual gathering, we dedicate the merits to the sponsor(s) and participants.

For Indigenous Peoples' Day on October 11, we organized a special program on Indigenous Storytelling: Language, Culture, and Nature with Dr. Maung Nyeu who is a Buddhist from the Marma Indigenous community in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. The discussion provided important education about the importance of preserving indigenous languages, cultures, and stories and how they can enrich our emotional and spiritual well-being.

In addition, our Emory Buddhist Chaplaincy has organized a first Buddhist retreat for Emory students. It took place just last weekend at The Mountain Retreat and Learning Center in North Carolina. This overnight retreat was another opportunity for some 15 students to deepen in Buddhist practices and to build community and friendships before the semester comes to an end.

As the Buddhist community at Emory grows and expands in its engagement, the Emory Buddhist Chaplaincy will continue to offer meaningful support through creative Buddhist programming. Your suggestions and contributions for the growth of our Buddhist community are always welcome.

The Buddhist tradition has always emphasized the virtue of giving and sharing not only as an important way to earn individual merits, but also as an essential basis for the sustenance of our communities. The saying in Pali “dānam tānam manussānam” translates into “generosity is the refuge, the protection of/for people.” In the Velāma sutta, Buddha emphasizes that a gift given with proper intention and care brings great result for the giver and the receiver. There is, perhaps, no better alternative to generosity for creating continuous support to sustain the growth of the community. This is one meaningful way for you to stay connected to the Emory Buddhist community, by sustaining the community as new members continue to join.

If you wish, this year’s Giving Tuesday on November 30 is a great opportunity for giving to the Emory Buddhist Life Fund. However, we also welcome  donations throughout the year. These donations will directly support Buddhist programs and activities for our Buddhist students at Emory.

You will remain a part of our community always. As we continue weekly meditations via Zoom on Thursdays at 6 pm ET as well as monthly full moon celebrations, you are welcome to join whenever you are available.

I am honored to have made this connection with you. I hope that you will continue to stay in touch with Emory, with OSRL, and with the Buddhist community here.

Much metta (loving-kindness) to you,
Venerable Priya

Buddhist Chaplain
Emory University Office of Spiritual and Religious Life