Explore Our Work!
Below, you’ll find a living archive of our work from spring 2022, including Buddhist temple profiles, blog posts, a social media takeover, and more. At the end of the term, we hosted an online conference and an in-person symposium based on our experiences at local temples and further research.
Pluralism Project
The Pluralism Project at Harvard University, founded by Dr. Diana Eck, studies and interprets the religious diversity of the United States. The Project conducts research with the help of students and in partnership with religious communities and interfaith organizations. One of their current initiatives is exploring world religions, including Buddhism, in Greater Boston that Workshoppers contributed work toward.
The Workshoppers contributed to the project by adding profiles for the American Wisdom Association and Chùa Tường Vân Lowell, two temples in the Merrimack Valley.
Written by Lesley Tan and Haruka So
Written by Loulou Sloss and Melissa Damasceno
Buddhistdoor Global Blog Posts
Buddhistdoor Global (BDG) is an online Buddhist journal founded in 1995 that freely offers a diverse range of English-language Buddhist content to the world. Special thanks to BDG senior editor Craig Lewis, as well as Beginner’s Mind editors Susanne Ryuyin Kerekes and Jessica Xiaomin Zu, for helping to inaugurate the Young Voices project that features our writing.
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What Should We Do with Impermanence?
“Engaging with Buddhism through physical, bodied experiences has helped me to reimagine what it means to be a Buddhist in a world that is constantly being rewritten.”
by Olivia Yang ‘22
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Dana: The Power of Communal Living
“My previous understanding of dana—the practice of gifting—was incomplete: the shape of dana can range from giving a simple orange to offering a genuine wish for another’s security and well-being.”
by Haruka So ‘22
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Unraveling from Expectations
“At the Vietnamese Tinh Vien Quan Am Pagoda, a nun emphasized to us: “No one has to do anything.” She went on to explain that she never imposes the Buddhist teachings on anyone, nor does she try to force others to visit the temple.”
by Lesley Tan ’22
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Buddhism and Self-Reliance: Learning for Growth
“My perspective changed the moment we stepped into our first Buddhist temple and spoke with the youth group coordinator about how people have changed and benefited from being part of this community.”
by Melissa Damasceno ‘22
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Finding Comfort in Not-Knowing
“When we entered the main hall of Boston Buddha Vararam, a Thai temple in Bedford, Massachusetts, and walked up to the statue of the Buddha, everyone but me knew how to prostrate.“
by Loulou Sloss ‘22
Pluralism Project:
Social Media Takeover
Click the photos below to check out these posts on Instagram!
Workshoppers with the Venerable at the Lumbini Buddhist Temple - Chua Lam Ty Ni in Lawrence, Massachusetts.
Workshoppers with Venerable Thích Tâm Hy at Chua Tuong Van in Lowell, Massachusetts.
Workshoppers listening to Venerable Manzhong speak at the American Wisdom Association in Billerica, Massachusetts.
Workshoppers with layperson Amy at the Boston Buddha Vararam Temple in Bedford, Massachusetts.
Tang Institute Blog Posts
The Tang Institute is a center for teaching, learning, and innovation at Phillips Academy. It supports the Workshop and other projects to improve teaching and learning. The Tang Institute blog features regular reflections from students and teachers.
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The Beauty of Interdependence
“The opportunity to be in community, without underlying tones of competition or loneliness, has brought much warmth to my heartmind and has greatly expanded what I envisioned learning to be.”
by Olivia Yang ‘22
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The Deepest End
“The Workshop changed my point of view. I am both interested in every resource we've been given and, for the first time in my school career, inspired to seize every experience we've had throughout the term. Is this uncool? Or has school just become cool?”
Loulou Sloss ‘22
Photo Gallery
The Ven. Thích Tâm Hỷ chants beneath a statue of the Buddha at Chùa Tường Vân in Lowell.
Lesley arranges oranges to offer as Dana at the American Wisdom Association in Billerica.
Melissa, Haruka, and Amy over lunch at Wat Boston Buddha Vararam.
Inside the original temple at Trairatanaram Temple in North Chelmsford.
Listening to Jataka tales at Trairatanaram Temple.
The newly constructed Trairatanaram Temple in North Chelmsford.
The entrance to Wat Samaki Santikaram in North Chelmsford.
Altar at Tinh Vien Quan Am Pagoda in Haverhill.
Workshop students meet with graduate students at Harvard Divinity School.
Meditation room at Cambridge Insight Mediation Center.
Lumbini Buddhist Temple in Lawrence.
The altar at Lumbini Buddhist Temple.
Outside Kurukulla Center for Tibetan Buddhist Studies in Medford.
Exploring the backyard at Kurukulla Center For Tibetan Buddhist Studies.
Mr. Housiaux translates Tibetan prayer wheels at Kurukulla.