Suffering: Buddhism, Mindfulness, and Transformation
On February 11, eighteen undergraduate students and six faculty gathered for the second Religous Studies Conversations event of the 2018-2019 academic year, "A New View of Suffering: Buddhism, Mindfulness, and Transformation." Led by Profs. David Gray and Sarita Tamayo-Moraga and moderated by Prof. Paul Schutz, the conversation explored theoretical foundations of Buddhist thought and led participants through several mini-meditation practices. After introducing varieties of Buddhism, Prof. Gray discussed the meaning and the application of the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, which stand at the center of the Buddhist teachings on suffering and mindfulness. Then, Prof. Tamayo-Moraga invited participants into a series of meditative exercises aimed at illustrating how meditation and mindfulness practices embody the theory described by Prof. Gray. After these presentations, participants asked numerous questions about Buddhism and its practice.