How can Secular Buddhist Values and Practices foster a healthier democracy?

 

This research, done with the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives and documented on camera by Moonpeak Films, is comparative education based. It focuses on the civics and mindfulness curriculum of the Tibetan diaspora’s school system, as compared to the Indian, British, and American counterparts. It sought to answer the question: What makes the Tibetan diaspora’s burgeoning democracy so effective while its counterparts —bulwarks of western democracies—are facing a backward slide?

The field research was conducted with seven schools across India, the United States, and the United Kingdom, using qualitative and quantitative data, comparative law and regulations, site visits and interviews with officials, faculty and students. It found the key feature of the Tibetan diaspora’s democratic success was its various mindfulness practices and Buddhist philosophy inherent within Tibetan culture and in the schools.

The research revealed a bigger question:

How can secular Buddhist values and practices foster a healthier democracy?

How can mindfulness and Buddhist philosophy foster a healthier democracy?

This current field research, done with the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives and documented on camera by Moonpeak Films, is comparative curriculum based. It focuses on the civics and mindfulness curriculum of the Tibetan diaspora’s school system, as compared to the Indian, British, and American counterparts. It sought to answer the question: What makes the Tibetan diaspora’s burgeoning democracy so effective while its counterparts —bulwarks of western democracies—are facing a backward slide?

The field research was conducted with seven schools across India, the United States, and the United Kingdom, using qualitative and quantitive data, comparative law, site visits and interviews with officials, faculty and students. It found the key feature of the Tibetan diaspora’s democratic success was its various mindfulness practices and Buddhist philosophy inherent within the Tibetan culture.

The research revealed a bigger question: How can mindfulness and secular Buddhist philosophy foster a healthier democracy?

Research articles and a documentary film are set to be released in spring, 2024, with publications in Tibet Journal and several other publications.

My future research will focus on the comparative democratization in the Himalayan region.

Functions of an Exiled ‘Government’

This paper explores the evolution and role of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile as it seeks to administer the Tibetan diaspora, preserve Tibetan identity, and vie for Tibet’s self-determination. 

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Two Nations, One Path?

A constitutional comparison of the Bhutanese and Tibetan diaspora instruments, this paper explores the influence of Buddhism in each and charts the constitutional process from their inceptions into the future. As a final thesis for Albany Law School, it was presented in December 2021, to University of Oxford’s Oriental Institute, as part of their Tibetan Graduate Student Seminar Series. It is set to be published in Tibet Journal in December 2023.

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