Michael von Brück, Dr. theol., was Professor of Religious Studies and Head of the Interfaculty Program in Religious Studies at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München until 2014. He studied Protestant theology, Sanskrit and Indian philosophy in Rostock, Bangalore and Madras, followed by a five-year lectureship in India. He trained as a Zen and yoga teacher in India and Japan. He has held guest professorships in the USA, Thailand, Latvia, India and Japan. He is a member of various academic committees worldwide and is on the advisory board of the Verlag der Weltreligionen (Suhrkamp/Insel). He has held an honorary professorship at the Catholic University of Linz since 2014. He is also Rector of the Palliative Spiritual Academy in Weyarn. Numerous publications have appeared on his main topics of Buddhism, Hinduism and intercultural dialog.
The leitmotif of Michael von Brück's work is the combination of science, art and spirituality as the basis for a transformation of our lifestyle. Such a transformation has three aspects: Integrity of consciousness, especially the unity of cognition and emotion; intercultural communication, especially between European and Asian religions; courage and creativity in testing an ecological/ecosophical way of life. New contents and forms of education are important here, whereby the unity of spiritual practice for the training of consciousness and the practice of science in the sense of systemic thinking play a central role. Michael von Brück himself grew up in the Dresden Kreuzchor, and this musical upbringing has profoundly shaped all aspects of his life. In addition, he had great encounters with teachers in Germany, India, Japan and the United States, and it is his duty and pleasure to pass on the great impulses he received to all those who have kept their longing for the beautiful, the good and the true open.