Meghan Sweet Of Dharma Realm Buddhist University On The Book That Changed Her Life
An Interview With Sara Connell
Compassion is used to empathize with suffering. For example, when I’m listening to a student discuss their stress, anger, or anxiety, compassion allows for a more expansive mind that doesn’t get caught up in the drama of the particular situation but rather feel into the depth of the human condition from where I can most skillfully try to help them.
Books have the power to shape, influence, and change our lives. Why is that so? What goes into a book that can shape lives? To address this we are interviewing people who can share a story about a book that changed their life, and why. As a part of our series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Meghan Sweet.
Meghan Sweet is Director of University Relations at Dharma Realm Buddhist University (DRBU). She has taught in DRBU’s core-text liberal arts program since 2018 where one of the long-term projects is to advance rhetorical invention between the strands of thought taught in the programs — Western, Chinese, Buddhist, and Indian. She is currently a Ph.D. student in Rhetorics, Communication, and Information Design at Clemson University. Her recent research interests include language and self-experience, phenomenology, and contemplative pedagogy.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory” and how you grew up?
I’ve pursued liberal arts education throughout my life, both as a student and now as a teacher and administrator at Dharma Realm Buddhist University. Philosopher Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak calls humanities education a “slow cooking of the soul.” In such an education, the mind slowly opens up and learns to think through the mind of others — reaching beyond what we’ve come to take as ‘ourselves’. Ever since my undergraduate studies, I’ve been interested in slow cooking my own soul by studying across disciplines. I majored in religious studies but took STEM classes too. While I didn’t realize it at the time, the approach I took to study was about training the imagination to make new ways of seeing and making the world. This is a training in imaginative poeisis–to use the Ancient Greek word meaning “to make.” A training of the mind to make new ways of thought, new ways of being in the world, that it did not habitually use before.
Let’s talk about what you are doing now, and how you achieved the success that you currently enjoy. Can you tell our readers a bit about the work you are doing?
On my first day of class my freshman year of college, my professor asked us to read a book written in the ancient Greek period and come prepared to discuss. Sitting around the seminar table, the professor asked an open-ended question and then went silent. It was awkward at first because no one spoke up. But then one brave student raised a point. And after that I jumped in too. I could feel my brain working to make sense of the reading both on my own, and with the help of classmates. Without a professor playing the role of ‘expert’ in the room to rely on, the authority of the classroom dynamic changed dramatically.
Jumping forward more than fifteen years, I now teach at Dharma Realm Buddhist University (DRBU). At DRBU, we use the same kind of pedagogy as the one I was exposed to as a freshman in college. Students read from across Buddhist, Indian, Western, and Chinese thought, and come to class for an open discussion. I really love how this changes the power dynamic of the classroom. Students are not passive learners trying to figure out what they need to know for an exam. They are active co-participants in a meaningful dialogue that pushes everyone to think beyond themselves. I am constantly amazed at how deep the conversation can go through this model.
You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
Buddhist philosophy influences my life and serves as a guide for success, though perhaps I define success in a different sense. I have benefited from learning the four Brahma-Viharas, also known as the four infinite hearts. They are part of our natural humanness and most available when we are deeply at ease. In times of stress, fear, or anxiety, they are stabilizing emotions that put us in touch with our own inner power and natural well being. The four are loving-kindness (mettā), compassion (karuṇā), sympathetic joy (muditā), and equanimity (upekkhā).
For me, loving-kindness is about relationality. What quality do we bring to our relationships? If we practice loving-kindness, then good-will permeates our social energy. A heart of loving-kindness translates into deep trust for each student in a classroom. When students feel trusted, then they can take bigger risks, show up as themselves, and the conversation can move into deeper and more significant territory.
Compassion is used to empathize with suffering. For example, when I’m listening to a student discuss their stress, anger, or anxiety, compassion allows for a more expansive mind that doesn’t get caught up in the drama of the particular situation but rather feel into the depth of the human condition from where I can most skillfully try to help them.
Sympathetic joy is feeling happy at others happiness. This one is tough for me personally. Our society is very individualistic–“every person for themselves”–so it is easy to feel jealous of other’s happiness or ease in life. Sympathetic joy is a good reminder to take joy in seeing joy, even in small ways. And these three hearts are best practiced together with the fourth, equanimity. Equanimity is an even-mindedness or stability even amidst all the ups and downs of life.
What’s the WHY behind the work that you do? Please share a story about this if you can.
I think the world is a better place with the wisdom traditions alive in it. But to be alive, wisdom teachings have to be actually put into play. It has to be actually happening in people’s minds, hearts, and lives. Otherwise, it’s just words on a page or dead habits. So I’m committed to trying to become a better person with wisdom as a guide and offering others a chance to get grounding in that so they can do the same.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
When you are walking a spiritual path in life, it is very beneficial to have spiritual friends. In Buddhism, these kind of friends are called kalyāṇa-mittatā. They are friends who share intentions with you about how to live life, and so they support you along the way. Before I joined DRBU, I was going on a lot of meditation retreats, but when the retreat was over, that group of people would all go home to various places. At DRBU, I found a more stable and long term community. As the phases of life go on, it’s helpful to have spiritual friends to give you guidance and share their experiences with you.
Awesome! Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. I’m an author and I believe that books have the power to change lives. Can you please tell our readers about “The Book That Changed Your Life”? Can you share a story about how it impacted you?
I’m a woman dedicated to reading and studying spiritual texts that are most often written by men. Historically, the writings of women were preserved less frequently than men’s. But that doesn’t mean that women weren’t deeply committed to spirituality and reaching the highest levels of cultivation. Reading about the spiritual accomplishments of women cultivators helps to correct the record and inspire me to be a real and equal participant on this path. Specific books I love in this genre include Daughters of Emptiness: Poems of Chinese Buddhist Nuns, translated by Beata Grant, Mae Chee Kaew: Her Journey to Spiritual Awakening & Enlightenment, compiled by Bhikkhu Dick Sīlaratano, The Essential Writings of Christian Mysticism, edited by Bernard McGinn.
What was the moment or series of events that made you decide that you wanted to take a specific course of action based on the inspiration from the book? Can you share a story about that?
Reading honest accounts of female subjectivities cultivated to high levels helped me to authentically develop my own inner authority. They are like role models. I can set out to live my life according to my own choices, guided and inspired by others.
Can you articulate why you think books in particular have the power to create movements, revolutions, and true change?
The best books are like old friends who open up communication with us, expand our minds and hearts, and bring us back to our natural state of wonder and ease.
A book has many aspects, of course. For example, you have the writing style, the narrative tense, the topic, the genre, the design, the cover, the size, etc. In your opinion, what are the main, essential ingredients needed to create a book that can change lives?
The quality I look for is depth and honesty in description. Is it describing the mind, the heart, the world in a way that is beyond what I’ve thought before myself? Can it open me up to new possibilities? Can I change and become a better human being as a result of reading this?
How can our readers further follow your work online?
To keep up with the students, faculty and staff at Dharma Realm Buddhist University, visit drbu.edu. You can also connect with us on Instagram at @dharmarealm and on Facebook at facebook.com/DharmaRealmBuddhistUniversity.
Thank you so much for taking the time to share with us and our readers. We know that it will make a tremendous difference and impact thousands of lives. We are excited to connect further and we wish you so much joy in your next success.
