The exchange of ideas, scholars and students through the Emory-Tibet Partnership leads to new ideas and interdisciplinary research agendas that push the boundaries of current knowledge

Research

Compassion Meditation Study

The range of avenues of exploration in the area of meditation as it relates to various aspects of science and health is nearly unlimited. Similarly, the need for preventative practices that catalyzes improved overall health has never been greater.

Based on an appeal by Emory undergraduate Molly Harrington (C '05), who recognized the need for preventative ways of addressing stress and depression at Emory, the Emory-Tibet Partnership forged an innovative study in 2005 to examine the impact of compassion meditation in treating depression among undergraduates involving both the College and the Medical School.

The results of the study showed an unequivocal correlation between the practice of compassion meditation and the prevention and reduction of depression levels in students.

As a result of this promising outcome, the project led to the formation of the Emory Collaborative for Contemplative Studies, one of the university's key strategic initiatives. It has also led to the initiation of a Meditation Program for Preventive Health at Emory University, which will offer this tested method of compassion meditation back to the Emory community as a preventive health service—an example of the Emory-Tibet Partnership's commitment to linking teaching, exchange across traditions, research, and service for the augmentation of world knowledge and overall well-being.

"I believe that spirituality and science are complementary but different investigative approaches with the same goal of seeking the truth. In this, there is much each may learn from the other, and together they may contribute to expanding the horizon of human knowledge and wisdom."
-H.H. the Dalai Lama

Philosophy and Contemplative Practice

Widely recognized as unique and transformative, Tibetan philosophy emphasizes interdependence and its implications for notions of identity and ethics. In Tibetan culture, philosophy is embodied through a vast array of contemplative practices that enhance human flourishing on the basis of detailed theories of mind-body interaction. In both these areas—the philosophical and the contemplative—the Partnership has created a unique research agenda that highlights its outstanding faculty.

Student Research Projects

Students on Emory's study abroad program in Dharamsala pursue original research projects ranging from studies in Tibetan political and public policy issues to childhood trauma and recovery among refugee families, from performing arts, education to Tibetan intellectual traditions.