It was a starlit winter evening in southern India as we barreled down a rural road through a Tibetan settlement village in our tuk-tuk, a three-wheeled motorized taxi. The sputter of the motor was interrupted only by the joyful laughter of our Tibetan Buddhist monastic friends as they raced us in their own tuk-tuk on …
Continue reading “Bridging Science and Buddhism: The Dalai Lama’s 100 Year Vision”
Two themes that have become prominent in studies of consciousness and cognition: embodiment and intersubjectivity. We will begin by discussing recent work in embodied cognition, informed by both science and philosophical phenomenology.
We will explore recent findings from our work at this interface between contemplative and research traditions. Together with Alan Wallace and three-dozen collaborating researchers, we are investigating how attentional, emotional and physiological processes change over the course of three months of intensive training in meditative quiescence and emotional balance, in a study known as “The Shamatha Project.”
Can meditation practice increase our capacity to understand the primary role of emotion in cognition and attention?
Can meditation practice increase our capacity to understand the primary role of emotion in cognition and attention?
What is the role of memory in contemplative development? Is there evidence in the tradition of elders showing extremely good memory given years of practice?
How can we understand the relation between attention and memory in the practice of mindfulness?
While Buddhism lacks any quantitative behavioral science or neuroscience, it has developed highly sophisticated methods of introspective inquiry based on the refinement of attention and metacognitive skills. These methods allegedly result in reliable, replicable observations regarding the origins, nature, and potentials of consciousness, as well as the inner causes of mental suffering and genuine happiness.
Daniel Morris is a Ph.D. student in Dr. Ken Paller’s cognitive neuroscience lab at Northwestern University. His research focuses on sleep and dreaming, aiming to understand the neurophysiological correlates of lucid dreaming and contemplative sleep practices. He has worked with the Emory Tibet Science Initiative to train three cohorts of Tibetan Monastic Scholars during Northwestern’s …
As Mind & Life celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Francisco J. Varela Grants, we’re pleased to share the voices and experiences of Varela grantees. Eric Garland, PhD, LCSW is a Mind & Life Varela Grantee and Fellow. He is Endowed Professor in Health Sciences at the Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion, Professor of …
Continue reading “Healing the Opioid Crisis with Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement”
