The Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA) will present a talk and book-signing by Georges B. J. Dreyfus, Professor of Religion at Williams College. Professor Dreyfus will discuss his new book The Sound of Two Hands Clapping: The Education of a Tibetan Buddhist Monk, which examines Tibetan monastic education from both a historical perspective and his own personal experiences. This event will take place at WCMA on Sunday, March 2, 2003, at 2 p.m., and the public is invited to attend.

“We are delighted that Georges will be speaking at the museum,” says Director Linda Shearer. “He has provided us with valuable guidance in organizing our Tibetan programs, and he will be incorporating our Tibetan exhibition into his teaching here at Williams. As a teaching museum, this collaboration is at the heart of what we do.”

Personal Experience in Tibet

Professor Dreyfus was the first non-Tibetan to achieve the Geshe Lharmpa, the final degree in the curriculum of the Tibetan Buddhist monastic universities. In his book, he examines the traditional education that Buddhist monks receive, including its reliance on memorization, its use of commentary as a way of organizing knowledge, and its emphasis on the practice of debate. The Sound of Two Hands Clapping, according to Jeffrey Hopkins, author of Emptiness in the Mind-Only School of Buddhism, “gives us crucial insights into the structure and practices of higher Tibetan education as well as [Dreyfus’] own fascinating journey.”

Professor Dreyfus is a specialist in the history of religions and has been at Williams since 1992. He is the author of The Svatantrika-Prasangika Distinction: What Difference Does a Difference Make? (coedited with Sara McClintock, 2002), Recognizing Reality: Dharmakirti's Philosophy and Its Tibetan Interpretations (1997), and A Recent Rediscovery: rGyal tshap’s Rigs gter rnam bshad (in collaboration with S. Onoda, 1994).

In Conjunction with Two WCMA Exhibitions

This event is presented in conjunction with two exhibitions focusing on the art and culture of Tibet—Tibet: Mountains and Valleys, Castles and Tents from the Newark Museum Collection and Sacred Art of Tibet: Making a Mandala—that are the focus of the upcoming schedule at WCMA. Tibet: Mountains and Valleys, Castles and Tents will open on March 1. During Making a Mandala (April 15-May 3, 2003), two Tibetan monks will be in residency for three weeks while they create a sand mandala in the museum’s rotunda.

Press Image Available

A photograph of Professor Dreyfus is available. Publicity images for this event and other exhibitions can be found at http://www.wcma.org/press.

The Williams College Museum of Art is open Tuesday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, from 1 to 5 p.m. Admission is free and the museum is wheelchair accessible.

Contact: Jonathan Cannon, Public Relations Coordinator
413.597.3178; WCMA@williams.edu