Alex Baskin

I live, work, and study on unceded Wampanoag and Massachusett land: so-called Cambridge, Massachusetts.

My spiritual life and academic pursuits revolve around Buddhism—a set of practices, communities, traditions, and texts that originate in Asia and are still maintained primarily by Asians and people of Asian descent.

Rooted in a decade of Buddhist practice and my upbringing in the Jewish tradition, I am preparing for a career in interfaith chaplaincy. As an MDiv student at Harvard Divinity School, my main research goal is to articulate a Buddhist theology of playfulness. My studies focus on spiritual care, collective justice, practical ethics, embodiment, relationality, materiality, dance, poetry, and critical theory.

Another cherished academic interest of mine is the study of Pāli, the language of early Buddhist texts. I translated the Mettā Sutta using contemporary American English.

Professor Cheryl Giles and Assistant Dean Monica Sanford supervise me as a research assistant on their project mapping Buddhist chaplains across North America. We presented some of our findings in a webinar.

I regularly volunteer as a mentor for teenagers taking part in mindfulness/meditation retreats, through Inward Bound Mindfulness Education (iBme) and the Insight Meditation Society (IMS).

The Khyentse Foundation has awarded me a Buddhist Studies Scholarship.

In the summer of 2021, I completed my first unit of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE, the standard-bearer training program for professional chaplaincy). I worked as an intern in the spiritual care department at University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington, VT.

An academic-year field education internship of mine focused on interfaith dialogue with the Addir Fellowship of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

For a year and half, I served as the resident caretaker at the Cambridge Insight Meditation Center. I also supported CIMC as a virtual program assistant for many courses and workshops.

I worked as a teaching assistant with study-abroad students for three years, through Antioch University/Carleton College Buddhist Studies program in Bodh Gaya, India. 

During a yearlong, residential fellowship at the Insight Meditation Society (Barre, MA), I supported retreatants with medical emergencies and severe emotional distress.

Through Spirit Rock Meditation Center, I began training as a Community Dharma Leader before the program was cancelled prematurely due to the coronavirus pandemic.

My undergraduate degree was in philosophy, summa cum laude from Tufts University.

I am a member of the activist organization Resource Generation.

Dance is a passion of mine: Contra, Ecstatic, Contact Improv, and Gaga.

My poetry has been published by a few small-press literary journals: Leaping Clear, Lucky Jefferson, Rock & Sling, and Drunk Monkeys (forthcoming).