Keynote Lecture: Prof. Jay L. Garfield, “Buddhism and Nonviolence in the Contemporary World”

We are delighted to welcome Professor Jay L. Garfield (Smith College and the Harvard Divinity School), who will give a guest lecture entitled:

Buddhism and Nonviolence in the Contemporary World

About this Event
Buddhism and ahiṃsā today: Buddhist ethical thought aims at a life of ahiṃsā, usually translated as nonviolence or non-harming. Like all Buddhist ethical categories, this is a way of experiencing oneself in the world with implications for motivation and action. Contemporary Engaged Buddhists, such as Thich Nhat Hanh, the Dalai Lama, and Sulak Sivaraksa, have emphasized the importance of structural violence in contemporary society and the danger of its implications in our ordinary lives. I will explore how to conceive structural violence, and ahiṃsā as response to it, from the standpoint of the bodhisattva path as articulated by Śāntideva in How to Lead an Awakened Life (Bodhicāryāvatāra).

About the Speaker
Professor Jay L. Garfield (Smith College and the Harvard Divinity School)
Jay L. Garfield chairs the Philosophy Department at Smith College and directs the Tibetan Studies in India program. He is also visiting professor of Buddhist philosophy at Harvard Divinity School, professor of philosophy at Melbourne University and adjunct professor of philosophy at the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies. Academicinfluence.com has identified him as one of the 50 most influential philosophers in the world over the past decade.