The FUR Fellowship for Dalai Lama Studies encourages unprecedented multi-disciplinary research into the life, teachings and philosophy of His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama.

Dr. Honey Oberoi Vahali

Professor of Psychology, School of Human Studies, Ambedkar University Delhi
A Gift to 21st Century Humanity: The Psycho-Political Vision of the XIV Dalai Lama of Tibet

Honey Oberoi Vahali, Professor of Psychology, School of Human Studies, Ambedkar University Delhi will work on the project titled A Gift to 21st Century Humanity: The Psycho-Political Vision of the XIV Dalai Lama of Tibet.

Prof. Vahali aims to explore His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s deeply humane and ethical psycho-political vision. Her work explores His Holiness’s use of powerful psychological processes of healing that draw on Buddhist principles of Dependent Origination, Non-permanence and Universality of suffering, to attend to the trauma suffered by Tibetan survivors of torture. She intends to explore how this care and healing impacts Tibetan psycho-social wounds from festering and germinating a politics based on hatred and revenge. Her research seeks to provide key learnings to re-imagine and reconfigure the role of compassion in trauma healing.

A scholar of repute in the field of Psychology, Prof. Vahali has initiated a pioneering Masters Programme in Psycho-social Clinical Studies, a one-of-a-kind degree in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy at Ambedkar University Delhi. She has educational background in Psychology and in English literature with degrees from University of Delhi, NIMHANS, Himanchal Pradesh University and St. Bede’s College. She brings to her research interdisciplinary knowledge as well as years of clinical experience. Prof. Vahali is a recipient of the prestigious M. V. Govindaswamy Award for Clinical Psychology and the Nehru Memorial Fellowship.

Honey Oberoi is an advocate for the Tibetan cause and has made a significant contribution to understanding lives of Tibetans in India with her Doctoral research titled Lives in Exile: A Psycho-Historical Reconstruction of the Tibetan Self.

Anjali Nayar

Assistant Professor, Unitedworld Institute of Design, Karnavati University, Gandhinagar
Tracking the Impact of the SEEL (Social, Emotional and Ethical Learning) Programme in India

Anjali Nayar, Assistant Professor, Unitedworld Institute of Design, Karnavati University will work on her project titled Tracking the impact of the SEEL (Social, Emotional and Ethical Learning) programme in India. The SEEL programme is inspired by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and developed by researchers at Emory University. 

Anjali Nayar’s research seeks to examine how the SEEL programme enhances children’s sense of happiness and mental well-being and impacts learning outcomes. 

A graduate of MS Journalism program of Columbia University and a B. Des in Film Animation Design from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, Anjali Nayar currently teaches Animation and Motion Graphics. She brings to her research, the experience of writing and illustrating children’s books for established publishing houses like Puffin and Scholastic, besides other scholarly work.

Anjali says she is committed to creating joyous learning experiences for children and her research is a step in this pursuit.

Kalzang Dorjee Bhutia

Visiting Researcher, University of California Los Angeles, USA
Prayers for the Black Mountains and Rising Oceans: Historical Resources for Developing a Tibetan and Himalayan Buddhist Climate Ethics

Kalzang Dorjee Bhutia, Visiting Researcher, University of California Los Angeles will work on his project titled Prayers for the Black Mountains and Rising Oceans: Historical Resources for Developing a Tibetan and Himalayan Buddhist Climate Ethics. 

Kalzang Dorjee Bhutia intends to focus on how to engage with climate change informed by the “revolution of compassion” encouraged by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. He will study and draw on historical resources regarding human-environment relations in Tibetan and Himalayan cultures. This project will provide translations and critical analysis of the texts related to these practices that will serve as resources to help humans cultivate compassion for the natural environment. 

Kalzang Dorjee Bhutia is a widely published scholar of Buddhist Studies and is the recipient of the Robert H. N. Ho Research Fellowship in Buddhist Studies from the American Council of Learned Scholars. He is fluent in Tibetan and several other Himalayan languages. He studied at University of Delhi and University of Lucknow.

Kalzang’s unique research profile has made him a coveted teacher and he has taught at Occidental College, California; the University of Southern California; Grinnell College, Iowa; the University of Iowa and the University of Toronto, among others. 

Kalzang says he has developed a deep concern for environmental protection. His research will make accessible for the wider world community the unique perspectives of Himalayan communities on the interdependence of humans and the environment.

ANJALI NAYAR
Assistant Professor

"Tracking the impact of the SEEL (Social, Emotional and Ethical Learning) programme in India."

ANJALI NAYAR, Assistant Professor, Unitedworld Institute of Design, Karnavati University will work on her project titled Tracking the impact of the SEEL (Social, Emotional and Ethical Learning) programme in India. The SEEL programme is inspired by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and developed by researchers at Emory University. 

Anjali Nayar’s research seeks to examine how the SEEL programme enhances children’s sense of happiness and mental well-being and impacts learning outcomes. 

A graduate of MS Journalism program of Columbia University and a B. Des in Film Animation Design from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, Anjali Nayar currently teaches Animation and Motion Graphics. She brings to her research, the experience of writing and illustrating children’s books for established publishing houses like Puffin and Scholastic, besides other scholarly work.

Anjali says she is committed to creating joyous learning experiences for children and her research is a step in this pursuit.

HONEY OBEROI VAHALI
Professor of Psychology

"A Gift to 21st Century Humanity: The Psycho-Political Vision of the XIV Dalai Lama of Tibet."

HONEY OBEROI VAHALI, Professor of Psychology, School of Human Studies, Ambedkar University Delhi will work on the project titled A Gift to 21st Century Humanity: The Psycho-Political Vision of the XIV Dalai Lama of Tibet. 

Prof. Vahali aims to explore His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s deeply humane and ethical psycho-political vision. Her work explores His Holiness’s use of powerful psychological processes of healing that draw on Buddhist principles of Dependent Origination, Non-permanence and Universality of suffering, to attend to the trauma suffered by Tibetan survivors of torture. She intends to explore how this care and healing impacts Tibetan psycho-social wounds from festering and germinating a politics based on hatred and revenge. Her research seeks to provide key learnings to re-imagine and reconfigure the role of compassion in trauma healing.   

A scholar of repute in the field of Psychology, Prof. Vahali has initiated a pioneering Masters Programme in Psycho-social Clinical Studies, a one-of-a-kind degree in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy at Ambedkar University Delhi. She has educational background in Psychology and in English literature with degrees from University of Delhi, NIMHANS, Himanchal Pradesh University and St. Bede’s College. She brings to her research interdisciplinary knowledge as well as years of clinical experience. Prof. Vahali is a recipient of the prestigious M. V. Govindaswamy Award for Clinical Psychology and the Nehru Memorial Fellowship.

Honey Oberoi is an advocate for the Tibetan cause and has made a significant contribution to understanding lives of Tibetans in India with her Doctoral research titled Lives in Exile: A Psycho-Historical Reconstruction of the Tibetan Self 

 
KALZANG DORJEE BHUTIA
Visiting Researcher

"Prayers for the Black Mountains and Rising Oceans: Historical Resources for Developing a Tibetan and Himalayan Buddhist Climate Ethics."

KALZANG DORJEE BHUTIA, Visiting Researcher, University of California Los Angeles will work on his project titled Prayers for the Black Mountains and Rising Oceans: Historical Resources for Developing a Tibetan and Himalayan Buddhist Climate Ethics. 

Kalzang Dorjee Bhutia intends to focus on how to engage with climate change informed by the “revolution of compassion” encouraged by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. He will study and draw on historical resources regarding human-environment relations in Tibetan and Himalayan cultures. This project will provide translations and critical analysis of the texts related to these practices that will serve as resources to help humans cultivate compassion for the natural environment. 

Kalzang Dorjee Bhutia is a widely published scholar of Buddhist Studies and is the recipient of the Robert H. N. Ho Research Fellowship in Buddhist Studies from the American Council of Learned Scholars. He is fluent in Tibetan and several other Himalayan languages. He studied at University of Delhi and University of Lucknow.

Kalzang’s unique research profile has made him a coveted teacher and he has taught at Occidental College, California; the University of Southern California; Grinnell College, Iowa; the University of Iowa and the University of Toronto, among others. 

Kalzang says he has developed a deep concern for environmental protection. His research will make accessible for the wider world community the unique perspectives of Himalayan communities on the interdependence of humans and the environment.