Elizabethtown College Professor of Religion, Philosophy, & Asian Studies Jeffery D. Long was honored at a recent event hosted by the International Ahimsa Foundation at the Indian Consulate in New York on May 15.
Long, who served as a guest speaker at the event, earned the International Ahimsa Foundation’s Ahimsa Award for promoting non-violence through academia, while also being honored with a citation from the New York State Assembly.
“It was a profound honor to be recognized for my work at this prestigious venue,” Long said. “I have aimed to promote interfaith understanding by making people in the U.S. more aware of the teachings of the Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist traditions, and of Indian and Asian culture more broadly.
“When you receive an honor like this, you feel like you must be doing something right!”
Long received the proclamation due to his work in guest-lecturing on Jain studies at the international summer school in New Delhi– as well as two Jain centers in New Jersey. He has also spoken at the United Nations on ahimsa and yogic values and written in abundance about Jainism and non-violence.
The International Ahimsa Foundation was formed in 2012 to expand their message of peace and non-violence– implementing Jain and Hindu values into their teachings in the community. The Foundation aims to promote peace and non-violence “in thought and action by providing dialogue, peace-building activities, and civic engagement” in the hopes of creating a better, more harmonious world.
About Professor Long
Long specializes in the religions and philosophies of India. He is the author of several books and numerous articles, as well the editor of the series Explorations in Indic Traditions for Lexington Books. In 2018, he received the Hindu American Foundation’s Dharma Seva Award for his ongoing efforts to promote more accurate and culturally sensitive portrayals of Indic traditions in the American educational system and popular media.
