Buddhist Life

The Elon University community and the Truitt Center for Religious & Spiritual Life are committed to promoting an understanding and awareness of the Buddhadharma and its practices.

Elon is committed to supporting students’ individual growth, and our programming on campus enables students interested in Buddhism to explore this tradition as a religion and/or as a mindful path of self-cultivation.

Through Elon’s special events, forums, and regularly scheduled meditation sessions, students can discover Buddhist traditions, cultures, beliefs and practices while interacting first hand with one another.

The progress of Elon’s commitment to a growing diverse population and its support towards all students can be seen through the Registrar’s report.

Annual Events

Sand Mandala

Elon University’s Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life has hosted the Green Tara Sand Mandala  since 2013 and holds a close relationship with the Kadampa Center for the Practice of Tibetsan Buddhism in Raleigh, North Carolina. Every fall, a Buddhist monk visits Elon for three days and used colored sand to create a sand mandala, a Tibetan Buddhist symbol that fosters both healing and peace for those who view it.

Past Events

Nirvana Day

Students celebrated Nirvana Day, the day the Buddha reached nirvana, by eating traditional Tibetan food and by hosting Buddhist Monks on campus.

Buddhism Beyond Belief

Ripple 2017 – Regional Interfaith Conference: The conference theme “Mindfully Plural” engages mindful and contemplative practices across diverse traditions and worldviews, both religious and nonreligious. The program includes interdisciplinary panels like: Mindfulness Across Traditions (Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, Jewish & Secular); and Buddhism Beyond Beliefs (Buddhism’s influence contemporary mindfulness practices beyond conventional religious belief).