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Where wisdom grows. And compassion flourishes
Our Mission
Forest of Wisdom supports a thriving Buddhist monastic community - with the four requisites of food, clothing, shelter, and medicine- who educate and inspire people of all cultures and backgrounds to create lasting happiness and peace within themselves and in the world, through learning, research, and practice grounded in the experience and example of the Buddha.
is based on the Four Commitments of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Everything we do is meant to be an expression of the Four Commitments. Read about them below:
Our Vision
Promoting Human Values
Compassion. Lovingkindness. Gratitude. Training of attention. Emotional awareness. Mental wellbeing. Emotional balance.
Based in a secular approach to ethics that is perfectly suited for the people of the 21st century, the Dalai Lama is committed to helping the world's population develop a deeper awareness of the importance of the mind and the internal world of emotion and thought. Programs such as SEE Learning and CBCT (Cognitively-Based Compassion Training) help to imbue these basic human values and skills in individuals and society.
Religious Harmony
Compassion is like water - we all need it. Religion is like tea - some people enjoy it, but it's not absolutely necessary for a good life. And at that, there are many different types of tea that are the preferred taste of different people. Religions are likewise tailored for different personality types and different preferences. His Holiness consistently works to promote understanding across religious divides, where we can respect people of all faiths or none while still securely holding our own preferred religion as true for us as an individual.
Preservation of Tibetan Culture and Environment
Due to its unique geographic scenario, Tibet has been dubbed the "World's Third Pole," as the primary sources of water for more than two billion people originate in the high altitude snow mountains of Tibet. If these snows are depleted and other aspects of Tibet's fragile ecology are disturbed, this will endanger the water supply. It is imperative to preserve Tibet's environment at all costs.
Further, the Tibetan culture is a culture of compassion. Fourteen hundred years of intense devotion to Buddhist principles, as well as numerous individuals engaging in-depth life-long practice and study of the Buddha's teachings, has given the Tibetan culture a degree of breadth and profundity in their awareness of Buddhism that is found nowhere else in the world.
The Nalanda Tradition has been preserved in Tibet since the 8th century and its secrets are just as relevant to the world as ever. It must continue to be preserved.
Tibetan language is the medium in which many unique philosophical and academic practices are conveyed. The full picture of the Nalanda Tradition is only visible through the lens of Tibetan. This language must be preserved.
Reviving the Nalanda Tradition
This is the most recent of His Holiness' commitments, which he only began directly speaking about in 2016. While he specifically focuses on reviving the Nalanda Tradition in India - the home of the ancient Nalanda University - we can also work to spread awareness of the Nalanda Tradition and its many contributions to philosophy and understanding of consciousness and emotions throughout today's world at large.
The great philosophers of Nalanda developed a system of logic and logic-based dialogue or debate - which we now call Insight Dialogue - to deeply probe the Buddha's words. From this emerged a wide variety of philosophical stances that have the power to radically transform one's mind and emotions, bringing about greater peace of mind and compassion.
Many of these philosophers also were an early form of scientist. Instead of focusing their sights on understanding the physical world and its forces and fundamental constituents, they focused on understanding the mind; what is its nature? How do different types of cognitions and emotions interact to produce greater or lesser human flourishing and well-being? How do cognitive appraisals impact emotional states? Through researching such questions and combining the analytical exploration with meditative practices, this contemplative tradition bore fruit to the most complete and complex theory of mind that exists even today.
The work left to the present generation is to study these theories of mind and bring them into a new model where they can inform and enhance the scientific fields of neuroscience, psychology, and cognitive science.
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contact@forestofwisdom.love
860-248-6477
51 Palmer Road, Scotland, CT 06264
