asia and central asia

Starting with a trip to the Philippines in 1989, John Paul has spent extensive time supporting initiatives and learning in the Pacific Basin countries across to Central Asia and India. The most significant of those countries have been with colleagues in the Philippines, Myanmar, Nepal, and Tajikistan. Particularly in the Philippines and Nepal, the notion of decades long commitments emerged with educational and philanthropic foundations to support peacebuilding during and in the aftermath of civil wars.

 

 

 

The Pocket Guide for Facing Down a Civil War: Surprising ideas from everyday people who shifted the cycles of violence

A collection of stories, reflections, and wisdom offering insight into the challenge of facing down toxic polarization layered with violence and the surprising ways everyday people found to shift harmful patterns of violence that had lasted decades. 

Muqaddimainizoshinosi [Introduction to Conflict Studies]

A Tajiki-language textbook, one of the first peace and conflict studies educational materials crafted in the Tajiki language.

Peace Studies Teacher’s Guide

A teacher’s guide for the Tajiki-language textbook developed with and for Tajiki scholars and students of peace.

Memoirs of Nepal: Reflections Across a Decade

Reflections gathered from a decade and more of work in Nepal, written for The McConnell Foundation and friends and partners in Nepal.

The Poetic Unfolding of the Human Spirit

A travelogue reflecting on what it means to be fully engaged in the world.

The Moral Imagination: The Art and Soul of Building Peace

A book weaving thoughts and insights about the nature, challenges, and possibilities of constructive social change.

The Journey Toward Reconciliation

An exploration into the spiritual foundations that undergird John Paul's work as a practitioner and scholar of peacebuilding.

Varela Symposium: Transforming Conflict – From Science to Real World Applications

John Paul's contributions to the Upaya Zen Center's Varela Symposium 2018, which explored the theme, "Transforming Conflict: From Science to Real World Applications."

Zen Brain: Mind, Brain, Social Perspectives of Views, Values, Ethics

John Paul's contributions to the Upaya Zen Center's Zen Brain conference in 2017, which explored the theme, "Mind, Brain, Social Perspectives of Views, Values, Ethics."