Easy Visa

Getting a visa to India has always caused me a bit of anxiety.  In the past, I have had to put my passport in the mail with two passport-ready photographs and other documentation and send it away.  I never knew when the passport would be returned.

Now, the process of getting a visa to visit India is very simple.  The Indian government has a program called e-Visa where everything is done online.  Just fill out a few pages of information, attach a digital photograph and a scan of your passport and you are done.  However, if you use the e-Visa program, read the information carefully.  The digital photographs and passport scan must be in a certain format and size.

I did not have any problems with the e-Visa system and was approved in about 24 hours.  Now all I have to do is print out the e-Visa documentation and show the material when I arrive in India. 

Traveling the Distance

One of the most difficult parts of my trips to India is the travel.  India is about halfway around the globe from Seattle so it takes a good amount of time to get there.  For my upcoming trip, my flight from Seattle will take me first to Dubai.  I'll change planes in Dubai for the second leg of the trip to New Delhi.  After a 10 hour layover in New Delhi, I'll board a domestic flight to get to Dharamsala.

Total transit time:  21 hours (Seattle to Delhi) + 10 hour layover + 1.5 domestic flight = 32.5 hours!

Return to India!

It has been several years since my last trip to India.  However, the Science for Monks and Nuns program has invited me back to teach again.  I'll be visiting in late March, 2023, and will post updates here before, during and after the trip.

Journal Article: Neuroethics and Tibetan Buddhism

Dr. Laura Specker Sullivan teaching neuroethics in Bir, India (2016)

 The December 2021 issue of the journal Frontiers in Communication has published several articles around the topic "The Emory-Tibet Science Initiative, a Novel Journey in Cross-Cultural Science Education."  One of these articles (Empowering Skepticism: Neuroethics Engagement with Tibetan Buddhist Monastics) was written by Dr. Laura Specker Sullivan who joined me on one trip to India for the Science for Monks program.  In her article, Laura describes her work teaching the monastics about neuroethics and how her teaching changed with each visit.

New Executive Director for Science for Monks and Nuns

Congratulations to Karma Thupten who has been named the new Executive Director of the Science for Monks and Nuns program.

Tibetan Buddhist Perspectives on Neuroethics

Dr. Laura Specker Sullivan, who traveled to India with me in 2016, has just published a new paper titled "Mistaken Compassion:  Tibetan Buddhist Perspectives on Neuroethics" in the journal AJOB Neuroscience (https://doi.org/10.1080/21507740.2021.1939460).

Thinking Back

It has been quite some time since my last blog post and plenty has happened during this interval.  My last trip to visit India and teach in the Science for Monks program was in September, 2018.  I have kept in touch with many of the monastics via Facebook and hope that they are all safe during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.  It is unclear when and if I will ever go back.

In 2020, my passport expired.  However, I have been able to get a new one.  Unfortunately, my India visa was in my old passport, so if I travel to India again, I will have to get a new one.