UPDATE! This event will be held on the sixth floor of the Jackman Humanities Building in JHB 616.
A key component of Buddhist ethics, “right action” describes the Buddhist view of how to live a virtuous life. In this tradition, respecting all life and prioritizing generous and compassionate action lie at the centre of moral conduct – but they must be shaped by “wisdom,” a deep understanding of the nature of suffering. In today’s polarizing times, how are Buddhists drawing on moral philosophy to make decisions about issues of both personal and global importance?
Nho Anh Tran is a scholar of religion and ethics, and a negotiation instructor and consultant whose work bridges conflict resolution, moral philosophy, and leadership across academic, corporate, and civic contexts. She teaches courses in religion, Buddhist ethics, and negotiation at Harvard, and consults with organizations and leaders on interest-based negotiation, difficult conversations, and ethical decision-making. Her work integrates negotiation theory with moral and political thought, examining how power, identity, and institutional structures shape the possibilities for durable agreement.
Trained in Buddhist ethics and social conflict, Nho brings a cross-cultural, systems-oriented lens to negotiation, informed by years of lived experience across Asia, Europe, and North America, as well as prior training as a Buddhist monastic. She is a PhD candidate at Harvard University specializing in religion, ethics, and statecraft. Her scholarship and practice converge around a central question: how can negotiation function not merely as a transactional exchange, but as a method for structuring interdependent systems—enabling actors to communicate, coordinate, and cooperate in ways that generate clarity, legitimacy, and durable collective outcomes under conditions of asymmetry and change?
This lecture is co-sponsored by BPMH, the Buddhism & Psychology Student Union (BPSU), and the Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation Centre for Buddhist Studies.
