Contemplative Education
and Diversity

Diversity at Naropa University is a varied landscape that traverses the visible and invisible aspects of our individual and collective difference. In its most fundamental terms, diversity refers to human differences such as race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexual orientation and identity, religion, disability, age, nationality, ideology and tradition.

According to the university’s mission statement, Naropa draws on vital insights of the world’s wisdom traditions and is simultaneously Buddhist-inspired, ecumenical and nonsectarian. A commitment to diversity flows from these overarching values and is carried forward throughout the institution, informing a student’s course of study and encouraging openness, understanding and cultural competence.

“Naropa University values ethnic and cultural differences for their essential role in education. It embraces the richness of human diversity with the aim of fostering a more just and equitable society and an expanded awareness of our own common humanity.”

Through a contemplative education, Naropa students seek compassionate and active means for addressing the essential issues of diversity and difference.