April 4th 2024 // Evening Lecture // Live Online & In-Person
Naropa University and the Creative Writing & Poetics department are honored to host author and translator
Bill Porter (Red Pine) as our Spring 2024 Lenz Distinguished Lecturer
Save the date for Porter’s exciting lecture, “Transcendence of the Mundane,” where he will explore the timeless wisdom of four Chinese poets, and his journey as a translator to echo their voices.
Bill Porter, known by his pen name Red Pine, publishes books dealing with Chinese culture and translations of its seminal texts.
Born in Van Nuys, California, Porter spent his formative years in Northern Idaho before serving in the US Army from 1964 to 1967. He pursued Anthropology at UC Santa Barbara before entering graduate school at Columbia University in 1970. Porter’s interest in Buddhism led him to a monastery in Taiwan in 1972, where he spent three years before embarking on a journey teaching English and working as a journalist in Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Since 1993, he has resided in Port Townsend, Washington, and has dedicated himself to independent scholarship, translating Buddhist texts, and Chinese poetry. His works have garnered numerous awards, including NEA translation fellowships, a PEN translation award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the Thornton Wilder Prize for Translation. More recently, in 2023, he was honored in Beijing with the Special Book Award of China.
Embark on a poetic odyssey as Bill Porter shares the timeless wisdom of four Chinese poets whose verses resonate deeply with the essence of Dharma as it has journeyed to the West.
Learn about Cold Mountain (寒山), to whom Jack Kerouac dedicated his book Dharma Bums, and delve into the introspective musings of Stonehouse (石屋), whose Mountain Poems reveal the transformative power of solitude. Discover the rustic simplicity of Tao Yuanming (陶淵明), whose back-to-basics lifestyle influenced countless poets, and explore with the lyrical mastery of Xin Qiji (辛棄疾), whose genius, overshadowed by his warrior past, remains unparalleled.
Porter will explore translations of these four Chinese poets over a millennium, delving into their lives, his initial attraction to their poetry, his journey as a translator to echo their voices, and their ability to convey the transcendent through everyday elements.
Don’t miss your chance to get to know these extraordinary voices and delve into the timeless wisdom of Chinese poetry.
Thursday | April 4th 2024 | 7:00pm – 9:00pm Mountain Time
This program is offered in-person and live online via Zoom.
Standard Price: $15
Naropa Community Price: FREE
Naropa staff, faculty, students & alumnx:
Email extendedcampus@naropa.edu to request a free registration code
Standard Price: $25
Naropa Community Price: FREE
Naropa staff, faculty, students & alumnx:
Email extendedcampus@naropa.edu to request a free registration code
The Frederick P. Lenz Foundation for American Buddhism promotes the benefits of Zen Buddhism, meditation, yoga, and related Buddhist practices in a manner complementary to modern American society. By developing and strengthening the emerging community of American Buddhist organizations, the Foundation seeks to give birth to an American society that reflects the universal Buddhist values of wisdom, compassion, mindfulness.
The annual Lenz Foundation Distinguished Guest Lecturer Program in Buddhist Studies and American Culture and Values promotes diversity of thought and practice at Naropa by inviting distinguished guest lecturers from communities, traditions and scholarship related to Buddhism in America to supplement existing university expertise. Past Lenz Foundation Distinguished Lecturers at Naropa University have included Sharon Salzberg, Meredith Monk, Gary Snyder, and Joanna Macy.
About Naropa
Located in Boulder, Colorado, Naropa University is a Buddhist-inspired, nonsectarian liberal arts university that is recognized as the birthplace of the mindfulness movement. Naropa offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs that emphasize professional and personal growth, intellectual development, and cultivating compassion.
Academics
Contemplative education brings together the best of Western scholarship and Eastern world wisdom traditions. Therefore, your pursuit of wisdom at Naropa means learning both about academic subjects and about your own place in the world. This innovative approach places Naropa on the cutting edge of the newest and most effective methods of teaching and learning.
Admissions & Aid
If you’re seeking an education that resonates with both personal fulfillment and global impact, Naropa could be your top choice. At Naropa, you will experience a comprehensive curriculum that integrates the best of Eastern and Western educational approaches. Explore how Naropa can fuel your journey of intellectual and spiritual development.
Life at Naropa
Through its incredibly vibrant and welcoming community, “Naropa offers a home for those who aren’t willing to conform to convention—the mystic, the healer, the prophet, the rebel, the artist, the revolutionary, the oddball—those who are incredible contributors to the evolution of society and of our planet.”—Core Associate Professor Zvi Ish-Shalom
The Naropa Difference
How is Naropa different from other universities? At Naropa, a liberal arts education balances rigorous academics with powerful interpersonal skills and self-awareness to educate the whole person. Naropa’s contemplative approach is inspired by Buddhist philosophy and the conviction that we can build a diverse, contemplative, enlightened society when we have transformed education to affirm the basic goodness of every person.
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At a time when the value of higher education is being questioned, Naropa University stands firmly rooted in its mission to create a more just and regenerative world by nurturing insight, awareness, courage, and compassion in its students. By making a gift to Naropa, you play a pivotal role in helping to create the authentic, effective & mindful leaders that the world desperately needs.
Due to adverse weather conditions of high winds and planned power outages, all Naropa campuses will be closed today.
Graduate School of Counseling concentrations listed below will be offering online and low-residency courses to start their programs in January 2026 as well as our Summer 2026 terms.
Beginning a graduate program in Spring 2026 or Summer 2026 means that you will have access to apply for Graduate Plus loans as these loans will be eliminated at the federal level starting in Fall 2026.
Contact Admissions (admissions@naropa.edu) today to learn how you can begin the next step in your graduate education journey.
