April 18, 2024 • By Juan C. Niño
Faculty, staff, and students associated with the Dalai Lama Fellows program (DLF), from the Renée Crown Wellness Institute and the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado Boulder, the Contemplative Sciences Center at the University of Virginia (UVA), and Stanford University recently traveled to Dharamsala, India to seek guidance from His Holiness the Dalai Lama on compassionate and ethical leadership.
Professor and Director of the Crown Institute, Sona Dimidjian, led two days of conversation with His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama which centered the voices and questions of young global leaders on the topic of leading with compassion. These conversations were planned in collaboration with Crown Institute partner and Founder and Executive Director of the Compassion Institute, Thupten Jinpa, PhD, who served as the principal translator for His Holiness the Dalai Lama for more than 30 years.
“We were deeply humbled by this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to seek guidance from His Holiness the Dalai Lama and to engage in reflection with undergraduate and Global Dalai Lama Fellows and world-renowned scholars about the role of leadership and compassion. Our hope is that the learning from these conversations ripples out across the globe, generating compassionate action that leads to a more caring and just future for our world,” says Dimidjian.
Our Shared Humanity
Throughout the weeklong program, Dimidjian, Jinpa, CU Boulder Chancellor Philip DiStefano, faculty, and deans from all three universities gathered with students and young global leaders to dream about the transformative possibilities of compassionate leadership and partnerships across disciplines and universities.
Meghan Fall, Leeds School of Business sophomore and CU Boulder Dalai Lama Fellow reflects on the experience.
“This feeling of gratitude and oneness with everyone that was there is something that I haven’t felt in a long time. Everyone there had different positions and roles, but there was no hierarchy, we were all there to experience, learn, and grow. Being on this trip reminded me of the humanity of everyone.”
His Holiness the Dalai Lama discussed in detail the importance of oneness and shared humanity, a message that echoed throughout the week in various conversations and events. “In my own case, I was recognized as the Dalai Lama in Tibet and placed on a high throne, which created a distance between me and other people. As a refugee I’ve been able to make contact with all kinds of people from all walks of life. And this has taught me to acknowledge the oneness of humanity, how all human beings are essentially the same. To think of yourself as somehow special and set apart from others is an old way of thinking.”
The Dalai Lama Fellows Program
These principles are the cornerstone of the Dalai Lama Fellows program, which was at the heart of this trip. The DLF program is a distinctive one-year fellowship designed to help emerging leaders cultivate self-awareness, resilience, and compassion; broaden their cultural perspectives; learn how to engage with complex systems; and work with local communities in sustainable ways.
CU Boulder entered partnership with the University of Virginia and Stanford University in 2021 to deliver the Global Dalai Lama Fellows program, which is headquartered at UVA. The CU Boulder program launched in 2022 and expanded in 2023 to include Leeds School of Business students as part of a three-year pilot focusing on nurturing compassionate and contemplative leaders with a focus on excellence in leadership development.
“I believe students need to be able to understand notions of contemplation, mindfulness, and meditation, regardless of their field of study. It’s important to counterbalance dominant models with ideas of compassion and oneness,” adds Shubham Sapkota, PhD, who leads the local chapter of the Dalai Lama Fellows program and the Mindful Campus Program at the Renée Crown Wellness Institute.
The Dalai Lama Fellows, who choose to center compassion and love while advocating for justice and social change, highlight the significant potential of an international leadership community committed to incorporating these secular practices across multiple sectors.
“I am filled with inspiration and gratitude after witnessing young social innovators who are creatively addressing global challenges in ways that are tailored to their local communities, all the while fostering the well-being of our planet,” adds Vijay Khatri, Tandean Rustandy Endowed Dean of the Leeds School of Business.
One critical facet of the Dalai Lama Fellows' experience is the opportunity to be part of a growing community of like-minded and like-hearted leaders across major universities and around the world.
“The conversations with His Holiness and the Dalai Lama fellows were invigorating and inspiring,” said Chancellor Philip DiStefano. “It reaffirmed for me how important it is that CU Boulder help students develop leadership traits like compassion, humility, courage, and integrity. The work of the Crown Institute and the Dalai Lama Fellows program are instrumental in helping students positively impact humanity, and I’m hopeful we can expand and enhance these programs in the years to come to touch more lives.”
