“There’s what, in the clock tower?”
“A Buddhist shrine.”
“There’s a Buddhist Shrine in Harkness Tower??”
Many Yale students have had conversations like the one above at some point while getting to know campus. This is odd, considering that Harkness Tower is one of Yale’s most celebrated structures.
Nestled into Branford College, this behemoth of a clock tower is in about every piece of promotional material that Yale sends out, and in order to get from one class to another, it’s nearly impossible to not see Harkness on your route. However, what many people don’t know is that at the base of the tower, a Buddhist Shrine can be found.
The shrine is part of a designated space for quiet meditation, reflection, or prayer. This semester was my first time visiting the shrine, and I wish I had done so sooner. I joined a friend one evening for an open meditation led by the coordinator for Buddhist life at Yale. On this particular night, the meditation’s focus was on posture, where before meditating we learned a bit about the different ways we can position our bodies during meditation. There were probably 25 other students there, and many were first-timers like myself.
Aside from my friend recommending that I go, it was probably divine intervention that this evening happened to be my first time visiting — my posture is that of a pringle. Although I can’t say my posture is perfect now (it’ll be a long road), I definitely have a heightened awareness of how my posture affects me. There was some discussion of how our bodies can be used as indicators of how we are feeling inside, which feels extremely relevant when thinking about how I slouch over a hard exams or cross my ankles when meeting new people.
Students of all faiths—or none at all—are invited to participate in meditation sessions, workshops, and lectures at the shrine. I’m definitely not the right person to speak on Buddhist life at Yale, but I know there is a ton more information online for those interested!
