Category : Announcements

For the first time at Harvard, scholars will gather on November 14-15 for a conference on “Reincarnation in Tibetan Buddhism and the Institution of the Dalai Lama.” Reincarnation recognition, which began in the 13th century as a distinctive practice in Tibetan Buddhism, is the belief that after death, the soul or consciousness is reborn in a new body. The conference, co-sponsored by the Mittal Institute, will look at the history across the region, the esoteric practices of rebirth and divination, and the modern-day geopolitical implications of the continuation of this practice across the Buddhist world in Asia and beyond.

The Mittal Institute mourns the passing of Richard A. Cash, Senior Lecturer on Global Health at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and an esteemed member of the Mittal Institute’s Steering Committee. Richard A. Cash was a highly distinguished scholar of public health with longtime ties to South Asia. He conducted the first clinical trials of Oral Rehydration Therapy (ORT) in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). This relatively simple innovation proved highly effective and led to a globally accessible and affordable solution to dehydration that has since saved over 60 million lives worldwide.