About This Work

CHALLENGER DEFENDER The Great Tradition of Tibetan Buddhist Monastic Debate

Tibetan Buddhist monastic debate is an ancient tradition performed by Tibetan Buddhist monks. Its purpose is to establish a viewpoint conquer misconceptions and to understand the nature of reality. Challenger Defender makes the case for how Western societies can learn from this powerful educational tool for developing critical thinking skills and achieving empathy in the face of divergent viewpoints. 

This debate tradition informs us how we can think, learn and formulate our own points of view by engaging different opinions and experiences while practicing compassion for one another, in contrast with the Western concept of debating to “win.”

Scripture studies are central to the Tibetan Buddhist culture. Debates are a way for Tibetan Buddhist monks to interpret and to defend their respective points of views. This work captures the interconnectivity of the monk’s scriptures, daily rituals and their debates. 

I was impressed by the impassioned debaters and how they used theatrical gestures including the signature ‘handclap and hold’ as a total expression of their minds, body and spirit. At the end of the debate both sides shake hands with a full appreciation of the other’s point of view and for the hard work they had done to counter the challenger’s debate.