Teaching ‘Peace and non-violence’ at WBSU, Barasat

Anindya Chatterjee, Pallavi Banerjee and Ujjaini Srimani from Atish Dipankar Dhyan Kendra were invited by the Department of Psychology, West Bengal State University, Barasat, to teach a postgraduate module on ‘Peace and non-violence in Buddhist psychology and philosophy’, as part of their curriculum.

Four sessions – held from May 13 – 22 May, 2024 – dwelled on the Buddha’s teachings on self-reflection on the nature of our experience (individual and collective), actions and their effects, ethics, conduct, and the role of community (Sangha and lay practitioners) in building a harmonious society. One of the highlights was to understand the Buddhist approach to peace studies and conflict resolution by analysing case studies from South Asia.