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		</div><p><a href="http://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/tibetan-monks-study-science-in-us.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-full" title="A group of Buddhist monks has been sent to a US university to study science (stock image)" src="http://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/min-tibetan-monks-study-science-in-us.jpg" alt="A group of Buddhist monks has been sent to a US university to study science (stock image)"/></a></p>
<p>A group of Tibetan monks has been sent to an American university by the Dalai Lama to study science.</p>
<p>Wearing the traditional crimson robes and closely shorn heads, the six men &#8211; mostly in their 30s &#8211; are taking physics, biology and chemistry classes with hopes of returning to Tibetan monasteries in India to teach science to other monks and nuns.</p>
<p>It is the first established programme for Tibetan monks from India to train at a Western university, said Geshe Lhakdor, director of the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in India.</p>
<p>The programme is a product of the Emory-Tibet Science Initiative, which is helping the Dalai Lama with his goal of training monks and nuns for the 21st century. </p>
<p>&#8220;The monastic institution is traditionally the learning centre, so we must put science in this institution,&#8221; said the Dalai Lama. &#8220;Even Buddha himself said &#8216;All my followers shouldn&#8217;t accept my teachers out of faith, but out of constant investigation.'&#8221;</p>
<p>For the monks, the year spent at Emory in Atlanta means long hours sitting in classes conducted in a language they struggle with and terms they&#8217;ve never studied before. Try explaining the concept of photosynthesis &#8211; a process where plants turn carbon dioxide into oxygen with the help of sunlight &#8211; to someone who has never even heard of a chemical compound.</p>
<p>&#8220;My mother wasn&#8217;t happy about my coming here,&#8221; said Ngawang Norbu, 36, who is from Bylakuppe, the largest Tibetan settlement in India. &#8220;But when I told her it was part of His Holiness&#8217; vision, she was very happy. I&#8217;m taking a small step toward fulfilling his wishes.&#8221;</p>
<p>In their free time, the monks study, watch science teachings in English on YouTube and play sport with Emory classmates. Some of the monks listen to the Dalai Lama&#8217;s teachings on MP3 players on the way to class or watch videos of the spiritual leader online.</p>
<p>The monks use Facebook as a way to connect with classmates at Emory and keep up with their fellow monks and nuns back home. Some of the monks had to take a crash course in using a computer when they got to campus because they don&#8217;t have much access to technology at the monasteries.</p>
<p>&#8220;In the monastery, we don&#8217;t use the Internet that much,&#8221; said monk Kunjo Baiji, 30, adding that the connection is slow and undependable in India.</p>
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