The University of Rhode Island’s Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies is honored and excited to have Geshe Dadul Namgyal, a prominent Buddhist scholar, author, and educator, speak with us virtually on February 28, 2022. Currently, Dadul Namgyal is working as a Senior Interpreter/Translator for the Emory-Tibet Science Initiative at Emory University, where he is preparing bi-lingual curricula in modern science for Tibetan monasteries and nunneries. In previous years, Namgyal has served as Principal of Loseling School and spent time working as a Lecturer in the Department of Indian Buddhism at the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, Varanasi. Notably, he earned his Geshe Lharampa (doctorate) degree from Drepung Loseling Monastery, following graduation from the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics. In addition to this, he has also earned his master’s degree in English literature from Panjab University, Chandigarh. Before his upcoming lecture, I had the chance to speak with Geshe Dadul Namgyal about some of the topics he will be discussing next week.
With the topic of the lecture being “How to Cultivate Inner Peace,” I asked Dadul what inner peace means to him. His response was as follows: “By inner peace, I mean an inner sense of confidence in taking charge of one’s way of being, thinking, looking, and responding sensibly in any given situation. One may or may not always be successful in pulling them off fully, but at least carry within oneself a clear sense of how that is always possible and what that might look like in any given situation, of course with their specifications aside, and then continually grow in that confidence.”
This inner sense of confidence sounds like something that many young people, and all people in general, could benefit from developing. This makes me wonder, how can finding inner peace benefit students in terms of both academic and personal success? Dadul’s response was, “Finding inner peace in the above sense helps everyone feel grounded, at ease, and stable and be with less mental clutter, particularly without the unnecessary clutters that we rope in by making a problem worse than it actually is. This state of being should benefit anyone, including students and others, in their pursuits with a feeling of lightness in body and mind.”
Achieving this level of inner peace can be beneficial for everyone. Still, I wondered what advice Geshe Namgyal had for college students struggling with practicing mindfulness or finding inner peace. Dadul had a wonderfully insightful response: “For those struggling to find inner peace, build the habit of intermittently returning to one’s mind and being open to making conscious choices by tweaking or changing the emotions and perspectives at hand. Of course, in the meantime, one has to work to build the inner resources and skills to tweak with or change into. However, just the habit of checking back and finding what one finds should be a rewarding start. For those struggling to practice mindfulness, not that the two things are totally unconnected, take time out to observe quietly, silently one’s breath going in and coming out and challenge oneself to stay with it uninterruptedly to a count of ten rounds at each go. During that, try to carry out the mental notation of the breaths as well as the count build-up alertly, attentively, enthusiastically, and non-judgmentally with optimal presence.”
We have recently implemented “Mindful Mondays” on our social media sites, a program where we post quotes, poems, or affirmations to help spread the word about the benefits of being mindful and working on inner peace. I asked Dadul, how would you describe mindfulness to someone who has never heard of it before? He responded, “It is taking time in consciously feeling oneself in real-time amid going about one’s life. Staying connected to oneself via awareness of one’s feelings, sensations, thoughts… and going about one’s life. It is staying with oneself, not losing oneself, in engaging with the world. Doing what one has to get done while knowing that is what one is doing and then dwelling in that or even being open to adjusting something around it. For example, consciously feeling the keys on the keyboard while one is typing on it.”
This is excellent and seemingly simple advice for someone looking to be more mindful. However, for many people, the most challenging part of the journey to cultivate inner peace is just starting. I asked Geshe Namgyal how he recommended those with little to no experience begin this journey of establishing peace within themselves? He answered that those individuals should “Draw inspiration from scientific research findings abounding now around the benefits of mental peace and mindfulness practices. Start with trying one of those practices, either captured in those findings or briefly touched above, when one feels fresh and unoccupied. Begin with very short sessions but try to make them quality sessions with the least disruptions. Adjust the timing and sessions to one’s schedule and try to carry it out on a regular basis, like one sees the need for regularity in physical exercises.”
If you would like to learn more about any of the topics mentioned above, then we hope that you will join us next week for what undoubtedly will be an eye-opening evening! When asked what the audience could look forward to learning more about next week, Dadul Namgyal leaves us with this preview: “We are a body-and-mind unit. The two are connected and affect each other. In caring for the mind, we should know the areas where we have the option of adjusting and adapting, be that in the areas of emotions or perspectives. So, we will explore some of those areas and address our disagreements and doubts in the Q & A session.”
The Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies is so excited for all that Dadul Namgyal will be sharing with his audience on February 28, 2022, at 5:30 pm via Zoom ID # 971 5630 0347 or the link found on our social media profiles.
Sidney Pimental
Public Relations Intern for the University of Rhode Island’s Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies