Warm greetings from the Emory University Office of Spiritual and Religious Life. The end of the semester has arrived – we made it! A special congratulations to all of our graduates of the Class of 2021 who are now part of our incredible Emory alumni community.
We had some wonderful events and initiatives take place this spring semester, and I’d love to take this moment to highlight some of them for you.
Weekly Programs
The Emory Buddhist Club (EBC) continued its weekly meditation gatherings virtually, facilitated by Meha Srivastava, current president of EBC. The gatherings were engaging with meaningful dharma practice and discussions guided by distinguished Buddhist teachers. Our guest teachers this semester included Geshe Dadul, Geshe Phende, Venerable Deepankara, Sensei Elliston, GuoGu, and Venerable Jian Gan Shifu.
The weekly Friday
“Community and Reflection” session that I facilitated shared some engaging reflections and discussions about spirituality, creativity, and life. With students from different spiritual backgrounds and readings from across the world, it was another opportunity to learn from and with each other.
Responding to Anti-Asian Discrimination and Violence
March was an especially difficult time for all due to the racial violence that took place in Atlanta and in other parts of the country. The Office of Spiritual and Religious Life partnered with the Office for Racial and Cultural Engagement (RACE), Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), Faculty and Staff Assistance Program (FSAP), and International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) to
offer two support sessions for the university community. I represented the OSRL as a panelist in both events and shared practices and resources for individual and community responses to the situation.
Living Mandala Garden Restoration
In April, we started the
Living Mandala restoration Project. With the help from EBC members and colleagues from our interfaith community, we have restored the mandala garden by weeding and planting fresh plants. The whole process allowed us to enjoy some much-needed community time outdoors.