From its inception Buddhism has probed the nature of mind, using the mind itself as its instrument of investigation, especially with the aid of refined meditation methods. For the past millennium, Tibetan Buddhists have pursued this investigation in monastic universities with rigor and exacting scholarship. Until now, science has been skeptical of this course of investigation because of its subjectivity — the use of the mind to investigate itself. Today, however, especially with the development of new technology, the biobehavioral sciences (neuroscience, cognitive science, psychology, biomedicine) are in the process of extending their methods in search of ever-bolder approaches to studying the workings of the human mind. This Dialogue will consist of three sessions that address empirical findings about three aspects of mind that have been addressed by both Buddhism and biobehavioral science: attention and cognitive control, emotion, and mental imagery.
LOCATION: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Session Videos
Participants
Adam Engle, JD, MBA
Mind & Life Institute
Ajahn Amaro
Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery
Richard J. Davidson, PhD
Mind & Life Chief Scientific Advisor, Center for Healthy Minds at University of Wisconsin-Madison
Anne Harrington, PhD
Harvard University
Thupten Jinpa, PhD
McGill University
Daniel Kahneman, PhD
Woodrow Wilson School
Nancy Kanwisher, PhD, FBA
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Eric Lander, PhD
Whitehead Institute
Anne Treisman, PhD
Princeton
Arthur Zajonc, PhD
Mind & Life Institute