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About Mind & LIfe International
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About Mind & LIfe International
The non-profit Association has the objective of enabling and supporting the dialogue between the different branches of science, such as neuroscience, medicine, psychology, philosophy, and the contemplative traditions of the world.
Objective of the Association:
The Association has the objective of promoting public welfare. It is the purpose of the Association to relate the various branches of science with the knowledge and wealth of contemplative traditions via multilateral interchange, so that they may provide mutual incentives to each other.
Background:
Within science and the contemplative traditions, there are different backgrounds and objectives that need to be considered to make such a dialogue fruitful:
Science:
The objective of scientific disciplines is oriented towards fostering the knowledge and well-being of humans, or else, to understand the causes of diseases. This applies above all for basic research in the areas of neuroscience, medicine, and psychology, which try to describe the mechanisms of disease via a so-called "objective," third person experience.
Based on the scientific paradigm, current science has many areas that cannot be explained by the existing models of objective, 3rd-person experience: e.g. conscience, causality of conscience on matter, etc.
This is why many mental complaints cannot be treated in this manner. Correspondingly, there are therapeutic approaches in science in awareness of this fact and these therapists seek the dialogue with other traditions.
Recent findings point to the fact that it is not a genetic disposition that is relevant, in particular for the development of the brain, the personality, and the mental maturing of children and juveniles, but the influence of the environment. Consequences thereof are to be found mainly in social behavior and conflict resolution.
These more recent scientific findings have already resulted in the introduction of meditation in the therapies of depression (MBCT), stress (MBSR), false cognitive behavior, etc.
Contemplative Traditions:
Contemplative traditions have the objective of researching the well-being of humans and causing well-being by means of a personal transformation, i.e. a "subjective," first person experience.
Fostering compassion, altruism, understanding mental processes and their application in practice play a central role.
For many years, the Dalai Lama has expressed his special interest in building bridges to science by means of an interdisciplinary dialogue. Both traditions try to mitigate suffering by insight into reality. These dialogues have been established for more than twenty years - in the USA and in India, but not so in Europe - and they led to the therapy forms mentioned above.
Western science has helped to improve the understanding of the physiological mechanisms of meditation within contemplative traditions, and resulted in having science introduced into the curriculum of Tibetan Buddhism.
In the context of this future-oriented cooperation, there are countless areas that are to be investigated and discussed, precisely because they have a bearing on medicine, the insight into consciousness, and on the social sciences such as Education and Philosophy.
The activities of the Association are the following:
Mind & LIfe International is the organization at the center of the newly emerging discipline of Contemplative Science. By the existing contacts to science (neuroscience, cognitive sciences, psychology, medicine, etc.) and to the contemplative worlds (meditation, Buddhism, inter-religious bodies, etc.), the newly developing research orientation, namely contemplative science, is supported, and mental fitness is investigated and promoted. This is achieved by the following activities:
Organization of private meetings of the Dalai Lama with scientists (firm promise of his attendance)
Organization of workshops and courses for students, graduate students studying for a
doctoral degree,as well as post-doctorates who deal with consciousness and wish to do
research in this area
Organization of conventions for scientists who deal with these topics
Interdisciplinary interchange of findings in the fields of education and vocational training
Creation of research and working groups in the relevant areas
Coordination and support of research projects
Creation of a "Society of contemplative science"
Information platform on the Internet, with blogs and fora
Contacts to the meditators (so-called yogis) who will be flown in from overseas for
research projects
Many other activitites
© Copyright 2008 Mind & LIfe Institute, Boulder, CO, USA. All rights reserved.
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