Tenzin Priyadarshi

Tenzin Priyadarshi (The Venerable Tenzin Priyadarshi) is the president and CEO of the Dalai Lama Center for Ethics and Transformative Values at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Director of the Ethics Initiative at the MIT Media Lab. He also serves as the founding president of the Prajnopaya Foundation, a worldwide humanitarian organization.

Early years

Priyadarshi was born into a Hindu Brahmin family in Vaishali, Bihar, India. He comes from a family of bureaucrats, political leaders, and eminent scholars. He has two sisters, one is an attorney and the other, Shilpa Shukla, a famed actress in the Indian film industry.

He entered the monastery at the age of ten in Rajgir, India near the ancient Nalanda University at his own volition. He is a Buddhist monk from India ordained by the Dalai Lama, who is his preceptor and mentor. He also studied under the guidance of Sakya Trizin, Drikung Chhetsang, Kushok Bakula Rinpoche and Samdhong Rinpoche, and received meditation training from Drubwang Rinpoche. Priyadarshi trained in India, Nepal, and Japan in Indo-Tibetan and Japanese Buddhism, and is known for his love of Sanskrit Buddhist literature. He also spent several years studying Vedanta and Kashmir Shaivism in Calcutta, and maintained close relations with the Ramakrishna Mission Ashram.

He attended Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies and the Sanskrit University in Varanasi, India, and graduated from Le Moyne College, Summa Cum Laude, with a bachelor's degree as an integral honors scholar studying philosophy, physics, and religious studies with minors in international relations and Japanese. In 2003 he completed his graduate studies in comparative philosophy of religion at Harvard University. In 2002 he was appointed as the first Buddhist chaplain at MIT.

Teaching career

Priyadarshi lectures internationally on Buddhist philosophy, ethics, leadership, and socio-political issues.

In 2009 Priyadarshi founded the Dalai Lama Center for Ethics and Transformative Values at MIT to design and disseminate innovative programs on teaching secular ethics and human values. The decision to name this center was based on the Dalai Lama's commitment to human wellbeing and the fact that he was named as a top global leader in a survey in 2008. The Center for Ethics has 6 Nobel Peace Laureates as its founding members and its programs run in 5 countries while poised for a global reach.

Together with Media Lab director Joi Ito, he is promoting the contribution that awareness and focus can bring to the creativity process. Priyadarshi was also involved with designing a Vocal Vibrations exhibit with Tod Machover, Neri Oxman, and David Edwards.

He is regarded as an influential teacher in the rimé (non-sectarian) movement within Tibetan Buddhism, like his predecessor. He founded the Prajnopaya Institute to create an avenue for critical study and practice of Buddhist philosophy within Europe and North America. To promote contemplative programs in North America, he founded Bodhimarga, a CyberDharma community with satellite locations in various parts of North America and Asia.

Conflict resolution and peace efforts

Having been exposed to the dangers of religious fanaticism and violence early on, Priyadarshi has been instrumental in conflict resolution processes in India and Sri Lanka. He has been actively involved in inter-religious dialogue with religious leaders such as Pope John Paul II, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Pope Benedict XVI. He has made his admiration for Saint Francis of Assisi quite public and travels to Italy frequently to engage in spiritual dialogue with Christian monastic communities. He actively promotes contemplative learning beyond religious boundaries and talks frequently with Fr. Thomas Keating, founder of Contemplative Outreach. He received a Felicitation for his work at the 2007 SAARC Interfaith Conclave in New Delhi, India. He delivered the Reverend Daniel Berrigan SJ Peace Makers Lecture in 2013 at Le Moyne College, New York. He also received the Distinguished Alumni Honors from Harvard University in April 2013 recognizing his contributions.

Humanitarian projects

Following the disasters caused by the 2005 tsunami, Priyadarshi founded the Prajnopaya Foundation to develop innovative and sustainable ways to alleviate suffering in developing countries. The foundation has been active in health care endeavors in India, including systematic methods to curtail tuberculosis and bring health care to rural areas.

He was a project advisor to a team of architects from MIT, Harvard University Graduate School of Design, and Cambridge University to develop Tsunami Safe(r) Houses, low cost high resistant homes for families in Sri Lanka. In December 2009, Priyadarshi was felicitated as "Icon of Bihar" at the Bihar Conclave. He is the youngest person to receive this honor.

Other activities

Priyadarshi is the founding member and director of The Vishwa Shanti Stupa (World Peace Pagoda Projects) in New Delhi and Sarnath (Varanasi), India. He serves as trustee for The National Shrine of Saint Francis of Assisi and an advisor to the Renaissance Project in San Francisco, California. He is also actively involved in ongoing dialogue between Buddhism, meditation and neuroscience.

Media

• Revival: Sanskrit Buddhist Chants