The 3rd Mind & Life Conference
Dharamsala, India
November 5-9, 1990

An edited selection of dialogues from this conference has been published as Healing Emotions: Conversations with the Dalai Lama on Mindfulness, Emotions, and Health.

The topic of this meeting is the role of emotional states in physical health. Over the past 2500 years Buddhists have explored this topic through contemplative practices and logical analysis. Their research has been conducted within the context of spiritual disciplines aimed at the release from physical and mental suffering. The principal means for pursuing this end are the identification and dispelling of mental afflictions -- such as delusion, hatred and greed -- which are regarded as instrumental in producing suffering. Contemplative practices are the traditional vehicle for countering afflictive mind states.
Over the past decade Western scientific attention to the relationship between emotions and health has increased dramatically. A burgeoning body of scientific data has established strong links between the central nervous system and the immune system, long thought to be independent systems in medical science. Psychological states, the evidence shows, affect physical states. Certain emotions and attitudes -- such as pessimism, aggression and anxiety -- are being identified as detrimental to sustaining good health and to recovery from illness. Others, such as optimism and emotional closeness to others, have been found to be conducive to physical well-being.


Scientific Coordinator
Daniel Goleman, Ph.D., Contributing Writer on Behavioral Science and Health, New York Times

Participants
Tenzin Gyatso, His Holiness, the XIVth Dalai Lama of Tibet
Daniel Brown, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Psychology, Harvard Medical School
Clifford D. Saron, presenting studies directed by Richard Davidson, Ph.D. 
Daniel Goleman, Ph.D., Contributing Writer on Behavioral Science and Health, New York Times 
Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., Founder and Director of the Stress Reduction Clinic, University of Massachusetts Medical Center 
Francisco J. Varela, Ph.D., Professor of Cognitive Science and Epistemology, Ecole Polytechnique and Institute of Neuroscience, Paris
Lee Yearley, Ph.D., Chairman of the Department of Religious Studies, Stanford University
Sharon Salzberg, Resident Teacher, Insight Meditation Society, Barre, Massachusetts

Interpreters
Geshe Thupten Jinpa
B. Alan Wallace

Program 

November 5, 1990 

Overview: Emotions and Health
Daniel Goleman, Ph.D. 

Presentation: Psychoneuroimmunology
Francisco Varela, Ph.D.
The immune system is the body's first line of defense against viruses,
bacteria, and cancer, keeping us healthy by recognizing these threats
and destroying them. Within the past decade, new discoveries of
cross-connections between the immune system and the brain have led to
a new field, "psychoneuroimmunology," ("psycho," mind; "neuro," brain;
"immunology," immune system) which studies how the mind, the brain
and immune system affect each other. A new view of the immune system
sees it as a "mind" in itself, a second great cognitive mechanism that
acts as a "body brain." Capable of learning, the immune system shows
enormous adaptability. The immune network acts as a boundary, offering
a coherence and common identity to the diverse cells of the body. In
marking this boundary, it also defends the body from infection and
disease. 

Discussion theme: 
What is "mind?" Can the body have a "mind of its own," apart from the
brain's mind? What is the link between emotion and this "body mind"?


November 6, 1990

Philosophical Orientation: Virtues and Vices
Lee Yearley, Ph. D. 
The traditional virtues and vices, such as benevolence or envy, are
described in most religious traditions, and have been translated into the
ideals of modern times. A case in point is William James' examination of
the modern value of saintliness and the need to use both humanistic and
scientific methods to understand states of virtue and vice. 

Presentation: The Brain and Emotions
Clifford Saron 
From the viewpoint of brain activity, emotions can be categorized in
several ways. One of the more useful is in terms of broad categories of
positive, or "approach" states like happiness and surprise; and negative,
or "avoidance" states like sadness, anger, and fear. People tend to favor
positive or negative emotions from birth on, as a trait of personality. Each
of these basic emotional stances is tied to a distinct underlying pattern of
brain activity. These same patterns of brain activity are linked to immune
function. The brain patterns typical of positive emotions enhance immune
activity, while those for negative emotions change it for the worse. 

Discussion theme: 
Are the brain patterns associated with positive emotional states
cultivated in Buddhist practice? Are there parallels to the notion of
emotional styles in Buddhist psychology? What is the function of
emotion in Buddhist psychology? 


November 7, 1990

Presentation: Emotional States and Health 
Daniel Goleman, Ph.D. 
A growing body of data ties negative and positive emotional states to
wellness or ill health. The negative emotions have a toxic effect on the
immune system and on health in general; this has been found true for
depression, hostility and anger, and for anxiety, as well as for negative
outlooks including pessimism and cynicism, guilt, hopelessness and
helplessness. Repression, the denial of negative feeling, is also
unhealthy. The adverse effects on health range from raising blood
pressure and increasing the risk of heart disease, cancer, and viruses.
On the other hand, positive emotions strengthen immune function and
bring good health. This has been shown for states of happiness, calm
and relaxation, compassion, as well as attitudes such as hope,
optimism, trust, and being in control. 

Discussion theme: 
Is the virtuous life also a healthy one? How do the positive and negative
emotions studied in Western psychology compare with the beneficial and
"afflictive" emotions in Buddhist psychology? Is one goal of Dharma
practice the minimizing of negative states and maximizing positive ones?


November 8, 1990

Presentation: Stress Disorders and Behavioral Medicine
Daniel Brown, Ph.D. 
Over many months or years, negative emotional reactions to continuing
stress contribute to psychophysiological disorders--illnesses due to the
body's reactions to that stress. Common examples of such stress-based
problems include headache, hypertension, asthma, irritable bowel
syndrome, and chronic pain. Each of these problems is worsened by a
specific stress reaction: e.g., heightened muscle tension leads to
headaches or chronic back pain. Behavioral medicine uses a variety of
methods to counter the emotional reactions to stress, including helping
people learn to self-regulate the physiological systems that cause their
problems. The main techniques used resemble the practice of
mindfulness, calming-meditation and insight meditation. The applications
of these techniques will be shown in a detailed case example. 

Discussion theme: 
Commonalities between Buddhism and behavioral medicine in treating
stress-based disorders. Have similar health effects due to various
emotional states been noted in Buddhist practice or Tibetan medicine?
How are they dealt with? 


November 9, 1990

Presentation: Emotional Status and Physical Disease
Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D. 
There is a role for cultivating beneficial emotions in treating diseases
such as cancer, which are less related to stress in origin. The main
technique used in this way is based on mindfulness meditation. It is used
with medical patients suffering a wide range of illness, from kidney
disease and AIDS to diabetes and lung disease. In patients with chronic
and serious disease, mindfulness offers a way for patients to develop an
awareness that is less prone to being swayed by emotionality. As a
medical intervention, it has proven effective in helping alleviate symptoms
and facilitate healing. Cultivating calmness and mindfulness helps relieve
the suffering of people with chronic disease. 

Discussion theme: 
Adapting Buddhist practice for medical healing. Are there methods in
Tibetan Buddhism for transforming emotion which, like mindfulness,
might be adapted for use with medical disorders? How are these
relationships between emotions and health understood in Tibetan
medicine?