Buddhist Scholar to Speak on ‘Radical Uncertainty,” Nov. 10
Zen priest Joan Halifax to respond to questions from a rabbi and a theologian
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Durham, NC -- Buddhist teacher and Zen priest Joan Halifax will discuss “Living in a World of Radical Uncertainty” at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, in the Bryan Center’s Griffith Film Theater.
The event is free and open to the public. Parking is available in the Bryan Center garage, on Duke’s West Campus.
“Crises put us in places of radical uncertainty. And what underlies much of the ensuing dangers, hardships and misery is our generally poor ability to cope with such uncertainty,” Halifax said. “Different faith traditions cultivate certain basic virtues or dispositions -- patience, humility, steadfast faith and piety -- that seek to help us cope with situations when we know neither what is happening nor what to do.”
After speaking, Halifax will respond to questions from Rabbi Michael Goldman, Jewish chaplain and rabbi for Jewish life at Duke, and Paul Griffiths, Warren Professor of Catholic Theology at Duke Divinity School.
“This is an exciting opportunity to interact with a prominent Buddhist scholar and practitioner about an issue that is on all of our hearts and minds,” said Duke Chapel Dean Sam Wells.
The talk is sponsored by Duke Chapel’s Faith Council and the Buddhist community at Duke.
In addition to being a Buddhist teacher and Zen priest, Halifax is an anthropologist; founder, abbot and head teacher of Upaya Zen Center, a Buddhist monastery in Santa Fe, N.M., and author of “Being with Dying: Cultivating Compassion and Fearlessness in the Presence of Death.”
