Displacement: Tibetan Buddhist Contributions to the International Humanitarian Field

Abstract

The world’s displaced population breaks new records each year and has now climbed to more than 100 million people. What insights can Buddhist traditions––and Tibetan traditions in particular––offer for addressing this humanitarian challenge? Christina Kilby draws on texts and ethnographies to offer some Tibetan Buddhist perspectives on displacement, both historical and contemporary, that can inform the international humanitarian response to the displacement crisis. She connects this research to her work consulting with the International Committee of the Red Cross, highlighting the value of academic engagement with the humanitarian sector.

About the speaker

Christina Kilby is Associate Professor of Religion at James Madison University. A specialist in Tibetan Buddhism, she has published several articles on Tibetan epistolary literature and on the gift of fearlessness as a political ethic.
She is now writing a book on displacement in Buddhist tradition and consulting for the International Committee of the Red Cross initiative on "The Interface Between Buddhism and International Humanitarian Law: Reducing Suffering During Armed Conflict."