Dharamsala is in the northeastern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, a state known for its mountains and valleys, hill stations, old princely states, local village cultures, and centers of Tibetan culture in exile.

This program will take students to a corner of India which has few study abroad programs, at present. It will provide students the opportunity to experience the energy of Tibet’s Buddhist teaching and artistic life as it adapts its traditions to the challenges of exile.

Norbulingka Institute for teaching and preserving Tibet’s artistic culture is our collaborator in the project, and will be the site of our classes.

Students from any major will learn about Buddhism and Tibetan culture, both theoretically and practically. They will read widely and critically in Tibetan Buddhist philosophical literature. They will have active exchanges with the Tibetan population.

Students will have an extraordinary opportunity to become acquainted with a distinctive landscape and material culture. Students will also benefit from the opportunity to contribute to this culture through service learning and active dialog.

Students will take 6 credits on the program - 2 SOA credits of Tibetan arts taught by Norbulingka Institute artists and 4 PHI or SOC credits of an elective taught by Purchase College professors.

For Summer 2016, the following courses will be offered:

TIBETAN STUDIO ARTS (2 credits)
The Tibetan studio arts classes begin with foundational drawing of figures, images and symbols belonging to the Tibetan iconographic tradition. Students learn to prepare traditional materials and work with traditional tools in the process of completing a thangka painting, woodcarving or woodpainting project under the supervision of a Tibetan master artist.

TIBETAN BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY AND CULTURE (4 credits)
As brought to global notice by the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan scholars, teachers and practitioners in exile from their homeland, Tibetan Buddhist philosophy is a living tradition featuring a distinctive world view, rigorous analytic argumentation, ethical psychology, a deep commitment to non-violence, and a spiritual technology involving meditation and visualization practice. In the context of our experiential setting in India, we will examine its unique development from its Indian roots , its present role in Tibetan cultural survival, and its practical application to perennial questions of identity, moral choice and human purpose and to current ethical, social and psychological issues. Class time will include meditation practice.