The experience of living in a tibetan-buddhist community in the West: an existential-humanistic perspective

Abstract

This article was based on my master’s thesis, which had the goal of identifying the themes in my experience living in a Tibetan-Buddhist community in the West, as well as describing and expressing the essences and meanings. The community I lived in was the Nyingma Institute, a home to approximatelly thirty people located in Berkeley, California. In order to describe this experience of eighteen months I used the heuristic method as described by Moustakas (1990): initial engagement, immersion, incubation, illumination, explication, and creative synthesis. The data consisted of a personal journal and recorded tapes during my stay in the community, where I registered my feelings, my thoughts, and my body sensations. I observed my experience while at the art projects, Dharma Publishing, and Nyingma Institute. The main themes that emerged were transcendental experiences, socio-economic concerns, physiological concerns, work issues, frustration, insights, creativity, and personal growth. In addition of reflecting and describing each theme, in order to integrate and express the essence of this experience, I compared this experience with a myth.