Rory Tasker became a Buddhist monk in 2004 and completed the Lotsawa Rinchen Zangpo Translator Program in 2010. Since 2011, he has translated Buddhist teachings for Geshe Sonam Ngodrup and several other Tibetan teachers. He currently serves in this capacity at Lama Yeshe Ling Buddhist Centre in Burlington, Ontario. He completed an MA in Buddhist studies at McMaster University in 2021 and had his doctoral dissertation accepted at the University of Toronto, OISE in November 2025.
By openness to Buddhism, to Hinduism, and to these great Asian traditions, we stand a wonderful chance of learning more about the potentiality of our own traditions.
— Thomas Merton
Teaching “Introduction to Buddhism” for the University of St. Michael’s College Continuing Education’s Interfaith Diploma program was a rewarding learning journey. In my role as a Buddhist monk and translator of Buddhist teachings since 2011, I sometimes forget that much of Canada remains unfamiliar with the spiritual tradition that permeates my everyday life. Sharing my knowledge of the dharma teachings as part of the Interfaith Diploma program provided the opportunity to engage with a new audience and develop fresh pedagogical strategies and perspectives.
“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities. But in the expert’s mind there are few.”
— Shunryu Suzuki
Developing a continuing education survey course on Buddhism from the ground up, looking at the tradition through an interfaith lens, and curating materials that would provide a bird’s eye view of the complexities of the dharma’s various expressions required me to cultivate a “beginner’s mind.” The freshness and curiosity of this beginner’s mind facilitated the creation of a learning environment that invited reflections from a multi-faith audience.
Before each class, I reminded myself that even though I might have some understanding of the doctrines I would be presenting in class, the measure of success of the course was not what I understood, but my capacity to convey those ideas to learners in a compelling and relatable way. Course materials had to be rigorous but relevant – not like the theory-heavy lectures I was used to from graduate school. While my lectures and Power Point presentations were important components of each session, videos, meditations, and especially group discussions were also key to the learning experience. The goal here was not only to introduce the basics of Buddhist philosophy in the course, but to convey how that philosophy was lived in its various expressions across diverse Asian societies. Multiple learning modalities were required to accomplish this.
The open structure of USMC’s course guidelines helped reduce any over-separation between the instructors and learners. This facilitated an environment where the participants were able to steer the conversations and became co-creators of the material, allowing me to adapt lectures according to their interests. This honored the overarching teaching strategy of the Buddhist tradition itself, skillful means – a built-in flexibility that allows engagement from diverse types of people. The Buddha exhorted one of his chief disciples Śāriputra to “know the different aspirations, thoughts and natures of beings,” and I took this exhortation as a personal instruction.
As we built personal connections in our course community each week, an un-rigid attitude to learning emerged that allowed for mutual reinforcement and recognition. The perspectives learners brought from their own traditions enhanced our discussions, and through their eyes I came to a new appreciation of facets of the Buddhist tradition that had faded from my attention.
By the end of the course, even the more introverted participants were sharing personal reflections, particularly regarding their attempts to utilize Buddhist meditation and mind training in daily life situations, such as caring for an ill spouse or navigating difficult interactions at work.
As I look back on this experience, I envision incorporating even more co-collaboration if I am lucky enough to give the course again, emphasizing meditative exercises with immediate applications to daily problems and stories from key figures in the different Buddhist traditions.
The reflective and open-minded approach participants took to learning was an unexpected highlight of this experience. In a space of collaborative curiosity, people from diverse ages, backgrounds, and academic experiences can discover what is possible. I am deeply grateful to USMC Continuing Education for providing this space to come together. In a time when the world is becoming increasingly polarized, learning about each other’s differences in a spirit of openness is more important than ever.
We invite you to learn more about St. Michael’s many Continuing Education courses.
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