A Note from Joe Loizzo on What Makes the Nalanda Tradition Special
by Joe Loizzo
What sets the tradition developed at Nalanda University and preserved in Tibet apart from other Buddhist traditions taught in Asia and the West? On his deathbed, the Buddha urged his heirs to not just preserve his teaching and practice but to keep improving on them. The tradition of scientific teaching (abhidharma) to fulfill that directive found its home in the world’s first university at Nalanda, founded explicitly to advance Buddhist science and civilization through dialogue with all the secular arts and sciences of India. Eventually, that unique mission made Nalanda a beacon of contemplative learning that influenced all Asia, and was most fully preserved in Tibet, leading His Holiness the Dalai Lama to refer to Tibetan Buddhism as “the Nalanda tradition.”
Uniquely, the Nalanda tradition includes the full range of psychologies it takes to engage with the whole spectrum of Western psychotherapies, from analytic, relational, and intersubjective to cognitive, depth psychology, and the positive psychology of human flourishing. No other tradition integrates Buddhist medicine and psychiatry in ways that allow a deep dialogue with Western neuroscience and neuropsychology. And no other tradition includes a comprehensive vision and practice of healing, social development, and radical psychosocial change that can support a robust exchange with contemporary social psychology, social neuroscience, and social justice practice.
While most Buddhist traditions around the world were designed for and by monastics, the Nalanda tradition was designed by social visionaries Nagarjuna and Asanga as a diverse, open community where monastic and lay members could meet and exchange ideas and practices. While most Buddhist traditions mainly focus on meditative practice, the Nalanda curriculum and its scholar-practitioners is equally focused on intellectual interchange and innovation in medicine, neuropsychology, social policy, and the expressive arts. And while most Buddhist communities disengage from the world to look inward, the Nalanda community was and remains socially engaged and transformational in its mission and vision. All of these distinctive aspects make the Nalanda tradition ideal for Western student-practitioners seeking to weave Buddhist wisdom and healing arts into their everyday life and work in the world.
Editor’s note: If you’d like to explore the healing power of mindfulness, loving kindness, and Buddhist wisdom and want to go deeper and wider in your search for a radical alternative to the destructive materialist culture of our age, please consider joining Nalanda Institute’s unique Contemplative Psychotherapy Program for our three-year journey—or the year of study that calls to you—through the breadth and depth of the Nalanda tradition.
Courses in English and Spanish/Portuguese begin this September, 2025!
Photo above: The ancient Nalanda Monastery — the world’s first residential university in Bihar, India, established around 427 CE.