Mind and Life Institute
 | |
| Founded | 1990 |
|---|---|
| Founder | R. Adam Engle, Francisco J. Varela |
| Type | Non-profit |
| Focus | Buddhism, Neurosciences, and other Sciences |
| Location |
|
| Coordinates | = 42°20′17″N 72°36′27″W / 42.33793°N 72.607589°W |
| Method | conference and publication |
Key people |
The 14th Dalai Lama President Arthur Zajonc |
| Website |
www |
The Mind and Life Institute is a non-profit organization dedicated to exploring the relationship of science and Buddhism as methodologies in understanding the nature of reality. The institute has affiliates including notable scientists, and Buddhist practitioners, the most notable of whom is Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama.
Origins
The 14th Dalai Lama has been interested in science since childhood.[1] In 1973, he visited the astrophysics laboratory of Cambridge University. Ten years later, he participated in the conference Alpbach Symposia on Consciousness – where he met Chilean biologist, neuroscientist and philosopher Francisco J. Varela. They had several discussions later on. At the time of a visit of the Dalai Lama in France, the Dalai Lama and Varela agreed to spend a week in discussion in Dharamsala in north India. Varela also met American Buddhist lawyer and businessman Adam Engle, who also wished such an exchange. This was the origin of the first week of discussions between scientists and the Dalai Lama.
The Mind and Life programme was initiated in 1985[2] by Adam Engle and Francisco Varela to foster a dialogue between Buddhist scholars and Western scientists.[3]
At the time of the 3rd lecture in 1990 The Mind and Life Institute was formally founded.[4]
Board of directors
- Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama, Honorary Chairman
- R. Adam Engle, JD, MBA, Co-Founder, Chair/CEO Emeritus
- Francisco J. Varela, PhD, Co-Founder (1946–2001)[lower-alpha 1]
- Arthur Zajonc, PhD, Amherst College, Mind and Life President, Board Member ex officio
- Diana Chapman Walsh, PhD, President Emerita, Wellesley College
- Richard J. Davidson, PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Raymond J Gellein, Jr., MBA, Chairman and CEO, Strategic Hotels and resorts, Inc., Mind and Life Vice Chair, Treasurer
- Daniel Goleman, PhD, Psychologist, Author
- Roshi Joan Halifax, PhD, Upaya Zen Center
- Barry Hershey, MFA, Filmmaker
- Carolyn Jacobs, PhD, Dean Emerita, Smith College School for Social Work
- Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, University of Massachusetts Medical School
- Thubten Jinpa Langri, PhD, Institute for Tibetan Classics, Mind and Life Chair
- Bennett M. Shapiro, MD, Merck Research Laboratories (retired)
- Tania Singer, PhD, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences
- Aaron Stern, Founder and President, Academy for the Love of Learning
Mind and Life Conferences - 'Dialogues with the Dalai Lama'
1987 : Mind and Life I
Dialogues between Buddhism & the Cognitive Sciences Dharamsala, India
- Publication : Gentle Bridges: Conversations with the Dalai Lama on the Sciences of Mind ,[5]
- Participants : Tenzin Gyatso, Newcomb Greenleaf, Jeremy Hayward, Robert B. Livingston, Pier Luigi Luisi, Eleanor Rosch and Francisco J. Varela. Interpreters: Thubten Jinpa and B. Alan Wallace
1989 : Mind and Life II
Dialogues between Buddhism & the Neurosciences Newport Beach, California, USA
- Publication : Consciousness at the Crossroads: Conversations with the Dalai Lama on Brain Science and Buddhism.[6]
- Participants : Tenzin Gyatso, Patricia Smith Churchland, Antonio R. Damasio, J. Allan Hobson, Lewis L. Judd and Larry R. Squire. Interpreters: Thubten Jinpa and B. Alan Wallace
1990 : Mind and Life III
Emotions & Health Dharamsala, India
- Publication : Healing Emotions: Conversations with the Dalai Lama on Mindfulness, Emotions, and Health,[7]
- Participants : Tenzin Gyatso, Francisco J. Varela, Joyce McDougall, Jayne Gackenbach, Jerome Engel and Joan Halifax. Interpreters: Thubten Jinpa and B. Alan Wallace
- From this exchange arose the initiative for a neurobiological study of Buddhist meditation; it was also to facilitate this project that the Mind and Life Institute was founded.
1992 : Mind and Life IV
Sleeping, Dreaming, & Dying Dharamsala, India
- Publication : Sleeping, Dreaming, and Dying: An Exploration of Consciousness with the Dalai Lama,[8]
- Participants : Tenzin Gyatso, Jerome Engel, Jayne Gackenbach, Joan Halifax, Joyce McDougall, Charles Taylor, Francisco Varela. Interprets: Thubten Jinpa and B. Alan Wallace
1995 : Mind and Life V
Altruism, Ethics, & Compassion Dharamsala, India
- Publication : Visions of Compassion: Western Scientists and Tibetan Buddhists Examine Human Nature
- Participants : Tenzin Gyatso, Nancy Eisenberg, Robert H. Frank, Anne Harrington, Elliott Sober and Ervin Staub. Interprets: Thubten Jinpa and B. Alan Wallace
1997 : Mind and Life VI
The New Physics & Cosmology Dharamsala, India
- Publication : The New Physics and Cosmology: Dialogues with the Dalai Lama
- Participants : Tenzin Gyatso, Arthur Zajonc, David Finkelstein, George Greenstein, Piet Hut, Tu Wei-ming and Anton Zeilinger. Interprets: Thubten Jinpa and B. Alan Wallace
1998 : Mind and Life VII
Epistemological Questions in Quantum Physics and Eastern Contemplative Sciences Innsbruck, Austria
- Participants : Tenzin Gyatso, Arthur Zajonc and Anton Zeilinger. Interprets: Thubten Jinpa and B. Alan Wallace
2000 : Mind and Life VIII
Destructive Emotions Dharamsala, India
- Publication : Destructive Emotions: A Scientific Dialogue with the Dalai Lama par Daniel Goleman.[9]
- Participants : Tenzin Gyatso, Daniel Goleman, Richard J. Davidson, Paul Ekman, Owen Flanagan, Mark Greenberg, Matthieu Ricard, Jeanne Tsai, Francisco Varela. Interprets: Thubten Jinpa and B. Alan Wallace
2001 : Mind and Life IX
Transformations of Mind, Brain & Emotion Madison, Wisconsin, USA
- Participants : Tenzin Gyatso, Richard J. Davidson, Paul Ekman, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Michael Merzenich, Matthieu Ricard, Francisco Varela, Antoine Lutz. Interprets: Thubten Jinpa and B. Alan Wallace
2002 : Mind and Life X
The Nature of Matter, The Nature of Life Dharamsala, India
- Participants : Tenzin Gyatso, Arthur Zajonc, Michel Bitbol, Steven Chu, Ursula Goodenough, Eric Lander, Pier Luigi Luisi, Matthieu Ricard, Antoine Lutz. Interprets: Thubten Jinpa and B. Alan Wallace
2003 : Mind and Life XI
Investigating the Mind Cambridge, MA, USA
2004 : Mind and Life XII
Neuroplasticity: The Neuronal Substrates of Learning and Transformation Dharamsala, India
- Participants : Tenzin Gyatso, Richard J. Davidson, R. Adam Engle, Fred H. Gage, Michael J. Meaney, Kazuo Murakami, Helen J. Neville Matthieu Ricard, Phillip R. Shaver, Evan Thompson. Interprets: Thubten Jinpa and B. Alan Wallace
2005 : Mind and Life XIII
The Science and Clinical Applications of Meditation Washington DC, USA
- Publication : The Mind's Own Physician: A Scientific Dialogue with the Dalai Lama on the Healing Power of Meditation, by Jon Kabat-Zinn and Richard Davidson.[10]
2007 : Mind and Life XIV
A Dialogue on The Universe in a Single Atom Dharamsala, India
- Participants : Tenzin Gyatso, Richard J. Davidson, John Dunne, Paul Ekman, R. Adam Engle, Martha Farah, George Greenstein, Matthieu Ricard, Bennett M. Shapiro, Wolf Singer, Joan Halifax, Evan Thompson, Anton Zeilinger, Arthur Zajonc. Interprets: Thubten Jinpa and B. Alan Wallace
Video recording available here: http://www.youtube.com/user/gyalwarinpoche#g/c/B99CDF90B3832607
2007 : Mind and Life XV
Mindfulness, Compassion, and the Treatment of Depression October 20, 2007 — Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
- Participants : Tenzin Gyatso, Richard J. Davidson, John Dunne, Geshe Lobsang Tenzin (Negi), Helen S. Mayberg, Charles B. Nemeroff, Robert A. Paul, Charles L. Raison, Zindel V. Segal. Interprets: Thubten Jinpa and B. Alan Wallace
2009 : Mind and Life XVIII
Attention, Memory and the Mind: A Synergy of Psychological, Neuroscientific, and Contemplative Perspectives with His Holiness The Dalai Lama April 6–10, 2009 — Dharamsala, India
- Participants: Tenzin Gyatso, David E. Meyer, B. Alan Wallace, Anne Treisman, Rupert Gethin, Adele Diamond, Amishi Jha, Clifford Saron, Elizabeth Phelps, Shaun Gallagher. Interprets: Geshe Thupten Jinpa
Video recording available here: http://www.youtube.com/user/gyalwarinpoche#g/c/B99CDF90B3832607
2009 : Mind and Life XIX
Educating World Citizens for the 21st Century: Educators, Scientists and Contemplatives Dialogue on Cultivating a Healthy Mind, Brain and Heart October 8–9, 2009 — Washington D.C., USA
- Participants: Tenzin Gyatso, Marian Wright Edelman, Daniel Goleman, Richard Davidson, Linda Lantieri, Peter L. Benson, Martin Brokenleg, Ronald E. Dahl, Linda Darling-Hammond, Jacquelynne S. Eccles, Nancy Eisenberg, R. Adam Engle, Mark Greenberg, Joan Halifax, Takao Hensch, Thupten Jinpa, Anne C. Klein, Kathleen McCartney, Matthieu Ricard, Lee Shulman.
2010 : Mind and Life XX
Altruism and Compassion in Economic Systems: Dialogue between Economics, Neuroscience and Contemplative Sciences April 9–11, 2010 — Zurich, Switzerland.
- Participants: Tenzin Gyatso, Thupten Jinpa, Ernst Fehr, William Harbaugh, Richard Layard, Tania Singer, Richard Davidson, Sanjit Bunker Roy, William George, Antoinette Hunziker-Ebneter, Arthur Vayloyan, Matthieu Ricard, Roshi Joan Halifax, John Dunne, Gert Scobel, Daniel Batson, Joan Silk, Diego Hangartner.
2013 : Mind and Life XXVII
Craving, Desire and Addiction
Dr. Nora Volkow, Kent C. Berridge, Thupten Jinpa, Dalai Lama[11]
Gaden Phodrang Dharamsala, India, 28 October-1st November 2013.
International Conferences with other organizations
On April 11 and 12, 2014, a conference co-organized by the Mind & Life Institute and Kokoro Research Center (Kyoto University) was held over 4 sessions in Kyoto, Japan.[12]
- Participants: Tenzin Gyatso, Yoshiro Imaeda, Thupten Jinpa, Richard Davidson, Jay Garfield, Arthur Zajonc, Shigefumi Mori, Shinobu Kitayama, Joan Halifax, Shinsuke Shimojo, Barry Kerzin, Junko Tanaka-Matsumi, Makoto Nagao.
In the Webcast announcement,[12] the videos of Sessions 3 and 4 are not available but they can be accessed on Youtube.[13][14]
Note
- ↑ Although Dr Varela is deceased, to honor him as a co-founder MLI like to retain his name on their directors list.
References
- ↑ Tibetan Monks Learn Secrets of the Gene
- ↑ Gay Watson, Beyond happiness: deepening the dialogue between Buddhism, psychotherapy and the mind sciences, Karnac Books, 2008, ISBN 1-85575-404-5, ISBN 978-1-85575-404-1, p. 169
- ↑ Marcia Barinaga, Studying the Well-Trained Mind, Science, 3 October 2003, Vol. 302 no. 5642 pp. 44-46, doi:10.1126/science.302.5642.44
- ↑ Gay Watson, op. cit. p. 170
- ↑ Passerelles, entretiens avec des scientifiques sur la nature de l'esprit, Albin Michel 1995, Poche : Albin Michel 2000 (ISBN 2226115102)
- ↑ Le Pouvoir de l'esprit Entretiens avec des scientifiques, Dalaï Lama XIV, Editions Fayard, 09/2000, (ISBN 221360715X)
- ↑ Quand l'esprit dialogue avec le corps, Daniel Goleman, Editeur Guy Trédaniel 11/1998 (ISBN : 9782857079262)
- ↑ Dormir, rêver, mourir, explorer la conscience avec le Dalaï Lama, Francisco J. Varela, Claude Levenson, Nil éditions 1998 (ISBN 2841110990)
- ↑ Surmonter les émotions destructrices, Un dialogue scientifique avec le Dalaï Lama , Dalaï-Lama, Daniel Goleman, Editeur Robert Laffont, octobre 2003 (ISBN 2221093011)
- ↑ The Mind's Own Physician: A Scientific Dialogue with the Dalai Lama on the Healing Power of Meditation, Jon Kabat-Zinn and Richard Davidson (New Harbinger, January 2012)
- ↑ Mind and Life Conference Discusses Addiction , VOA, 28 october 2013
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Webcast: The International Colloquium: Mapping the Mind (A Dialogue between Scientists and Contemplative Scholars-Practitioners)". Kyoto, Japan: Kyoto Research Center, Kyoto University. June 28, 2014.
This Colloquium was co-organized by the Kokoro Research Center (Kyoto University) and Mind & Life Institute (USA) and convened in the presence of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.
- ↑ "Mapping the Mind: Session 3" (VIDEO). Youtube. Kyoto, Japan: Kyoto University Kokoro Research Center. June 28, 2014.
- ↑ "Mapping the Mind: Session 4" (VIDEO). Youtube. Kyoto, Japan: Kyoto University Kokoro Research Center. June 28, 2014.
- Sharon Begley, Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain: How a New Science Reveals Our Extraordinary Potential to Transform Ourselves, Ballantine, January 2007 ISBN 978-1-4000-6390-1
- Gentle Bridges: Conversations with the Dalai Lama on the Sciences of Mind Edited by Jeremy W. Hayward and Francisco J. Varela Shambhala Publications
- Anne Harrington and Arthur Zajonc, The Dalai Lama at MIT, Harvard University Press 2006, ISBN 0-674-02319-6
Bibliography
- Marcia Barinaga, Studying the Well-Trained Mind, Science, 3 October 2003, Vol. 302 no. 5642 pp. 44–46, doi:10.1126/science.302.5642.44
- Pier Luigi Luisi, Zara Houshmand, Mind and life: discussions with the Dalai Lama on the nature of reality, Columbia University Press, 2009, ISBN 0-231-14550-0, ISBN 978-0-231-14550-3
- Gay Watson, Beyond happiness: deepening the dialogue between Buddhism, psychotherapy and the mind sciences, Karnac Books, 2008, ISBN 1-85575-404-5, ISBN 978-1-85575-404-1
- B. Alan Wallace, Buddhism & Science: breaking new ground, Columbia University Press, 2003, Appendix: a History of the Mind and Life Institute : pp. 417–421.
External links
- Homepage
- Audio Interview on with R. Adam Engle on Buddhist Geeks
- Free video recording of the eighteenth and fourteenth Mind and Life Dialogues