Tenzing Dolma Sherpa, a recent graduate of the Modern Tibetan Studies M.A. program at Columbia University's Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures (EALAC), has been awarded a 2025 Florence Tan Moeson Fellowship at the Library of Congress. Her research project, “Exploring the Roles and Functions of the Human Body in Relation to Tibetan Buddhist Deities During Trance States,” will be supported during a five-month residency in Washington, D.C.
The Florence Tan Moeson Fellowship Program provides scholars with the opportunity to engage with the rich holdings of the Library's Asian Division, encouraging original research in Asian studies. During her fellowship, Tenzing Dolma will draw from the Tibetan Rare Book Collection to examine ritual texts within Buddhist cosmology, aiming to deepen understanding of the embodied experiences of oracles, particularly the current Nechung Oracle, Venerable Thubpten Ngodup.
Tenzing’s research bridges Tibetan Buddhist traditions and contemporary neuroscience, focusing on trance states as a site of inquiry into consciousness, cognition, and the mind-body connection. Her work explores how religious experiences—particularly those of mediums like the Nechung Oracle—can inform scientific perspectives on the nature of consciousness. Conducting fieldwork in Dharamsala, India, she examines how such practices offer insight into both spiritual and neurological dimensions of human experience. During her time at the Library of Congress, Tenzing will also consult key sources that explore the relationship between
Buddhism and Western science, continuing her interdisciplinary approach to Tibetan religious practice and cognitive research.
