Spring greetings from the Emory Buddhist Chaplaincy, in the Office of Spiritual and Religious Life (OSRL).

We hope the new year has added more joy and blessings to you and yours. Here at Emory, we are grateful to see our students as our in-person programs resume for the spring semester.

For this semester, Emory Buddhist Chaplaincy is glad to add a few new programs while continuing to support existing ones. The regular Emory Buddhist Club Meditation continues every Thursday at 6:00 p.m. with meaningful Dharma sessions facilitated by Buddhist teachers from Atlanta Buddhist centers as usual. Although we will continue the Zoom access to the meditations, our plan is to encourage in-person gatherings to strengthen our community.

On February 17, we had a special guest talk titled “Emory’s Living Mandala: Infusing Sacred Art into Eco-Awareness” by Dr. Geshe Lobsang Negi. This event was relevant as we prepare to resume our replanting of the Living Mandala Garden this spring. You are welcome to join the replanting of the garden.

In March, we will host a second Emory Buddhist Life Retreat for students at The Mountain Retreat and Learning Center in North Carolina. This is a great opportunity for students from Atlanta campus as well as Oxford campus to engage in Dharma, practices of wellbeing, and intentional community.

We will also celebrate the Annual Buddha Day Celebration on April 7. This year, as the university regulations allow, we will celebrate this special event in person. Again, if you are in the area, please join us.

OSRL continues to support Emory’s interfaith community through various meaningful programs such as the Welcoming Interfaith Spiritual Exploration (WISE) pre-orientation program and the Inter-Religious Council (IRC). We are glad to share that the design of the new Emory Interfaith Center is already underway. If all goes well, we hope to have it open in March 2023. We are grateful to everyone, including our alumni and friends, who are contributing toward the making of the Interfaith Center.

As alumni, friends, and well-wishers of Emory Buddhist Club, the Emory Buddhist Chaplaincy, and OSRL, your continuous support, blessings, and constructive feedback mean a great deal to us. The religious and spiritual life and wellbeing of our community are enriched greatly by your kindness. As such, we would like to draw your attention to Emory Day of Giving which is on March 30th and 31st as another opportunity to support our community. We hope that you will consider supporting our communities and programs on this special day.

We hope to see you in person or on Zoom at our events. May you continue to stay safe and happy.

With metta (loving-kindness)
Venerable Priya

Buddhist Chaplain

Emory Office of Spiritual and Religious Life