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The History of Mind and Life
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The Mind and Life dialogues between His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Western
scientists were brought to life through a collaboration between R. Adam Engle, a
North American businessman, and the late Dr. Francisco J. Varela (1946-2001), a Chilean-born
neuroscientist living and working in Paris. In 1983, both men independently had the initiative to create a series of cross-cultural meetings between His Holiness
and Western scientists.
Engle, a Buddhist practitioner since 1974, had become aware of His Holiness' long-standing and keen interest in science, and his desire to both
deepen his understanding of Western science, and to share his understanding of Eastern contemplative science with Westerners. In 1983 Engle began work
on this project, and in the autumn of 1984, Engle and Michael Sautman met with His Holiness's youngest brother, Tendzin Choegyal (Ngari Rinpoche), in
Los Angeles and presented their plan to create a week-long cross-cultural scientific meeting. Rinpoche graciously offered to take the matter up with His
Holiness. Within days, Rinpoche reported that His Holiness would very much like to participate in such a discussion, and authorized plans for the first
meeting.
Convergence and Collaboration
Varela, also a Buddhist practitioner since 1974, had met His Holiness at the 1983 Alpbach Symposia on Consciousness. Their communication was
immediate. His Holiness was keenly interested in science but had little opportunity for discussion with brain scientists who had some understanding of
Tibetan Buddhism. This encounter led to a series of informal discussions over the next few years; through these conversations, His Holiness expressed the
desire to have more extensive, planned time for mutual discussion and inquiry.
In the spring of 1985, Dr. Joan Halifax, then the director of the Ojai Foundation and a friend of Varela, became aware that Engle and Sautman were
moving forward with their meeting plans. She contacted them on Varela's behalf and suggested that they all work together to organize the first meeting
collaboratively. The four gathered at the Ojai Foundation in October of 1985 and
agreed to go forward jointly. They decided to focus on the scientific disciplines
that address mind and life, since these disciplines might provide the most fruitful
interface with the Buddhist tradition. That insight provided the name of the project, and, in time, of the Mind and Life Institute itself.
It took two more years of work and communication with the Private Office of
His Holiness before the first meeting was held in Dharamsala in October 1987. During
this time, the organizers collaborated closely to find a useful structure for the meeting. Varela, acting as scientific coordinator, was primarily responsible
for the scientific content of the meeting, issuing invitations to scientists, and
editing a volume from transcripts of the meeting. Engle, acting as general coordinator, was responsible for fundraising, relations with His Holiness and his
office, and all other aspects of the project. This division of responsibility between
general and scientific coordinators has been part of the organizational strategy
for all subsequent meetings. While Dr. Varela has not been the scientific coordinator of all of the meetings,
until his death in 2001 he remained a guiding force in the Mind and Life Institute, which was formally incorporated in 1990 with Engle as its
Chairman.
A Unique Forum
A word is in order concerning these conferences' unique character. The bridges that can mutually enrich traditional contemplative disciplines and modern life science are
notoriously difficult to build. Varela had a first taste of these difficulties while helping
to establish a science program at Naropa Institute, a liberal arts institution created
by Tibetan meditation master Chogyam Trungpa
as a meeting ground between Western traditions and contemplative studies. In
1979 the program received a grant from the Sloan Foundation to organize what was probably the very first conference of its kind: "Comparative Approaches to
Cognition: Western and Buddhist." Some twenty-five academics from prominent North American institutions convened. Their disciplines included mainstream
philosophy, cognitive science (neurosciences, experimental psychology, linguistics, artificial intelligence) and, of course, Buddhist studies. The
gathering's difficulties served as a hard lesson on the organizational care and finesse that a successful cross-cultural dialogue requires.
Thus in 1987, wishing to avoid some of the pitfalls encountered during the Naropa experience, several operating principles were adopted that have
contributed significantly to the success of the Mind and Life series. These include:
- Choosing open-minded and competent scientists who ideally have some
familiarity with contemplative traditions
- Creating fully participatory meetings where His Holiness is briefed on
general scientific background from a nonpartisan perspective before discussion is opened;
- Employing gifted translators like Dr. Thupten Jinpa, Dr. Alan Wallace,
and Dr. Jose Cabezon, who are comfortable with scientific vocabulary in both Tibetan and English; and finally
- Creating a private, protected space where relaxed and spontaneous
discussion can proceed away from the Western media's watchful eye.
Continuing Progress
The first
Mind and Life Conference took place in October of 1987 in Dharamsala, and was later published as Gentle Bridges: Conversations with the
Dalai Lama on the Sciences of Mind. The conference focused on the basic
groundwork of modern cognitive science, the most natural starting point for a dialogue between the Buddhist tradition and modern science. The curriculum for
the first conference introduced broad themes from cognitive science, including scientific method, neurobiology, cognitive psychology, artificial intelligence,
brain development, and evolution. At our concluding session, the Dalai Lama asked us to continue the dialogue with biennial conferences.
Mind and Life II took place in October 1989 in Newport Beach, California,
with Robert Livingston as the scientific coordinator. The conference focused on neuroscience and the mind/body relationship. Coinciding fortuitously with the
announcement of the award the Nobel Peace Prize to His Holiness, the two-day meeting was atypical for the Mind and Life Conferences both in its brevity and
its Western venue. It has been published as Consciousness at the
Crossroads: Conversations with the Dalai Lama on Brain Science and Buddhism.
Mind and Life III was again held in Dharamsala in 1990. Daniel Goleman
served as the scientific coordinator for the meeting, which focused on the relationship between emotions and health, and has been published as Healing
Emotions: Conversations with the Dalai Lama on Mindfulness, Emotions, and Health.
During Mind and Life III a new mode of exploration emerged: participants
initiated a research project to investigate the neurobiological effects of meditation on long-term mediators. To facilitate such research, the Mind and
Life network was created to connect other scientists interested in both Eastern contemplative experience and Western science. With seed money from the
Hershey Family Foundation, the Mind and Life Institute was born. The Fetzer Institute funded two years of network expenses and the initial stages of the
research project. Research continues on various topics such as attention and emotional response.
Dharamsala
was once again the setting for the
fourth Mind and Life Conference held in October 1992, with Francisco Varela again acting as scientific coordinator. The dialogue
focused on the areas of sleep, dreams, and the process of dying, and has been published as Sleeping, Dreaming and Dying: An Exploration of Consciousness
with the Dalai Lama.
Mind and Life V was held in Dharamsala in October 1995. The topic was
altruism, ethics, and compassion, with Richard Davidson as the scientific coordinator. The dialogue has been published by Oxford University Press
as Visions of Compassion: Western Scientists and Tibetan
Buddhists Examine Human Nature.
Mind and Life VI opened a new area of exploration beyond the previous focus
on life science, moving into the new physics and cosmology. The meeting took place in Dharamsala in October 1997, with Arthur Zajonc as the scientific
coordinator. The volume covering this meeting is in preparation.
At the invitation of Anton Zeilinger, who was a participant in Mind and Life VI,
the dialogue on quantum physics that had begun in Dharamsala was continued at a smaller meeting, Mind and Life VII, held at the Institut fur
Experimentalphysic in Innsbruck, Austria, in June 1998. That meeting has been described in the cover story of the January 1999 issue of GEO magazine of
Germany.
Mind and Life VIII was again held in Dharamsala in March 2000. The topic
was destructive emotions with Daniel Goleman as the scientific coordinator. The volume covering this meeting is in preparation.
Mind and Life IX was a two-day meeting held in Madison, Wisconsin in May
2001, and was organized in conjunction with the HealthEmotions Research Institute and the Center for Research on Mind-Body Interactions at the
University of Wisconsin, Madison, with Dr. Richard Davidson as the scientific
coordinator. Participants presented an overview of modern methods for investigating human brain function and discussed with His Holiness
the application of these methods in new research aimed at understanding the changes produced by meditation practice. Dr. Francisco Varela, who was
instrumental in the planning of the meeting, was unable to attend due to illness.
He passed away a week later on May 28, 2001. We were fortunate that in his last days he was able to observe the meeting and communicate with His
Holiness via a live video connection. Dr. Varela's presence with us at that time
was a moving reminder of the immeasurable contribution he has made to the dialogue between science and Buddhism, and his deep personal connection to
His Holiness and to the Mind and Life Institute.
© Copyright 2007 Mind and Life Institute, Boulder, CO, USA. All rights reserved.
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