Facing the Climate Crisis through Connection, Community, and Compassion

The existential threat of climate change can be challenging to grasp and confront. To stay motivated and energized to face this threat, we must develop skills and take time for our own well-being. “We have to acknowledge that what happens to us internally affects what happens to our communities,” says climate activist Dekila Chungyalpa, “and …

Connection, Community, and Compassion: Resources for our Emotional Well-being

In honor of Earth Day 2022, Tricycle hosted the Buddhism and Ecology Summit, including a panel in partnership with the Mind & Life Institute. This hour-long conversation on “Connection, Community, and Compassion: Resources for our Emotional Well-being” features climate activist Dekila Chungyalpa, stress scientist Elissa Epel, Buddhist teacher Brother Chân Pháp Dung, and moderator Mind …

Building Bridges: A Mind & Life Origin Story with Adam Engle

In an online conversation held in 2022, Mind & Life Co-founder Adam Engle reflects on the origins of the Mind & Life Institute with Science Director Wendy Hasenkamp. We shared this video as part of our 35th anniversary celebration. View the transcript here.

The Dalai Lama – The Planet is our Home

In a video clip from 2011, the Dalai Lama responds to Mind & Life Fellow Dekila Chungyalpa about ecosystem conservation at the Mind & Life Dialogue on Ecology, Ethics, and Interdependence. We shared this video in 2022 as part of our 35th anniversary celebration.

Jon Kabat-Zinn – Sharing MBSR with the Dalai Lama

In a video clip from 2022, Mind & Life Founding Steward Jon Kabat-Zinn remembers sharing the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program with the Dalai Lama at the Mind & Life Dialogue in Dharamsala, India in 1990. We shared this video in 2022 as part of our 35th anniversary celebration.

Matthieu Ricard – A Meditation on Courageous Compassion

Mind & Life Founding Steward and Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard leads a meditation on courageous compassion, from our 2018 International Symposium for Contemplative Research. We shared this video in 2022 as part of our 35th anniversary celebration.

Planting Seeds for a New Research Field: Lessons from the Early Days of Mind & Life

The first Mind & Life Dialogue with the Dalai Lama took place in Dharamsala, India in October 1987 on the theme of Buddhism and the cognitive sciences. Five scientists gathered with His Holiness in what was described as a ‘living room conversation.’ For seven days, they explored topics ranging from cognitive psychology, perception, memory, and …

Embracing Hope in Times of Crisis: 6 Lessons from the Dalai Lama and Leading Scientists

Data on the state of mental health in the world today paints a stark reality. According to a recent survey, 75% of young people globally feel the future is frightening in the face of climate change, and as a result of the Covid pandemic, an estimated 129 million more people have experienced anxiety and depression …

Documenting Mayan Milpa biocultural heritage through embodied ethnoecology

Milpa is a millennia-old agricultural polycrop system from Mesoamerica that continues to be widely used in México. Milpa includes maize, beans, and squash, often mixed with other crops. This agroecological system has many sustainable properties, including the ability to support large crop yields without requiring pesticides or fertilizers, even in nutrient poor soil. Lineage holders …