Plenary I - Exploring Nonviolence: Social Justice, Gender, and the Brain

How do we define nonviolence? What does the practice of nonviolence entail? Can nonviolence be an efficient way to counter violence and create social justice, including gender justice? Can nonviolence be violent as well? Can neuroscience help us understand the impacts of violence and nonviolence on our bodies and minds? In this panel, three scholars explore these questions and more to enrich our understanding and practice of nonviolence and explore its social impact.

• William Edelglass (Barre Center for Buddhist Studies and Smith College), “Violence, Nonviolence, and Antiviolence in B. R. Ambedkar’s Buddhist Thought”
• Karma Lekshe Tsomo (University of San Diego), “Buddhism and Gender Justice: The Violence of Subordination”
• Fadel Zeidan (University of California San Diego), “How Disentanglement of the Self Can Lead to Nonviolence and Compassion: Insights from the Brain”