Dalai Lama at MIT

Investigating the Mind
Exchanges between Buddhism and Biobehavioral Science
The Dalai Lama and Scientists Convene at MIT
Mind and Life XI: September 13-14, 2003

Cambridge, MA – On September 13 and 14, 2003, His Holiness the Dalai Lama will come together with scientists, academics, and Buddhist scholar-practitioners for two extraordinary days of presentation and dialogue at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Building on nearly two decades of private meetings, Mind and Life XI: Investigating the Mind: Exchanges be-tween Buddhism and Biobehavioral Science on How the Mind Works aims to identify the common ground between two powerful empirical tradi-tions – Tibetan Buddhism and biobehavioral science. Both traditions are deeply committed to understanding how the mind works even as they ap-proach these challenges in very different ways.

Investigating the Mind is co-sponsored by the McGovern Institute at MIT and the Mind and Life Institute. The MIT conference will be the eleventh Mind and Life meeting (Mind and Life XI) and the first one con-vening in the West with open attendance. Since 1987, the Mind and Life In-stitute has hosted small biennial meetings with western scientists and the Dalai Lama at his residence in Dharamsala, India. These gatherings have resulted in the publication of six books including the most recent, Destruc-tive Emotions: A Scientific Dialogue with the Dalai Lama, narrated by Daniel Goleman. In addition, the Mind and Life meetings have inspired re-search initiatives and scientific collaborations in neuroscience and psychol-ogy, many of which will be addressed at the MIT meeting.

“The McGovern Institute is very excited to host this interesting dialogue be-tween Buddhism and neuroscience. The fascinating aspect of neuroscience is how it expands from the most abstract culture to the most basic tenets of science,” said Phillip A. Sharp, Ph.D., Director of the McGovern Institute.

“I participated in the Mind and Life conference in Dharamsala last year and it was tremendously stimulating,” said Dr. Eric Lander, Director of the Whitehead Institute/MIT Center for Genome Research. “I am excited that the MIT community will have the opportunity to participate in these discussions.”

“This MIT meeting is the fruit of almost 20 years of dialogue and collabora-tion between the Dalai Lama and scientists,” said Adam Engle, Chairman of the Mind and Life Institute. “We hope this larger and more open forum at MIT will initiate a new chapter in this exciting exploration and lead to more in-depth collaborative research. The participation of the Dalai Lama along with so many leading scientists and Buddhist scholars will make this confer-ence historic.”

Mind and Life XI: Investigating the Mind will consist of sessions on three dimensions of mental functioning extensively investigated by both Bud-dhism and biobehavioral science: Attention and Cognitive Control, Emotion, and Mental Imagery. The Dalai Lama will participate in all sessions. Other participants scheduled to attend include Phillip A. Sharp, Ph.D., (McGovern Institute), Evan Thompson, Ph.D. (York University); Jonathan Cohen, M.D., Ph.D. (Princeton University); John Duncan, Ph.D. (Medical Research Coun-cil, Cambridge, UK); David Meyer, Ph.D. (University of Michigan); Anne Treisman, Ph.D. (Princeton University); Richard Davidson, Ph.D. (Univer-sity of Wisconsin, Madison); Daniel Gilbert, Ph.D. (Harvard University); Daniel Kahneman, Ph.D. (Princeton University); Dacher Keltner, Ph.D. (University of California, Berkeley); Stephen Kosslyn, Ph.D. (Harvard Uni-versity); Marlene Behrmann, Ph.D. (Carnegie Mellon University); Daniel Reisberg, Ph.D. (Reed College); Elaine Scarry, Ph.D. (Harvard University); B. Alan Wallace, Ph.D. (Mind and Life Institute); Ajahn Amaro, B.Sc. (Ab-hayagiri Monastery); Thupten Jinpa, Ph.D. (Institute of Tibetan Classics); George Dreyfus, Ph.D. (Williams College); Matthieu Ricard, Ph.D. (She-chen Monastery); Eric Lander, Ph.D. (Whitehead Institute/MIT Center for Genome Research); Jerome Kagan, Ph.D. (Harvard University); Anne Har-rington, Ph.D. (Harvard University); and Arthur Zajonc, Ph.D. (Amherst College).

For full information on Investigating the Mind, please visit the websites www.investigatingthemind.org or www.mindandlife.org. Also, visit the Press Room at the website – www.investigatingthemind.org.

Boston’s FleetCenter: In addition to the Mind and Life conference, the Dalai Lama will give a public talk at Boston’s FleetCenter on Sunday, Sep-tember 14, at 5:00 PM. Tickets are available at the FleetCenter Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, online at www.dalailamaboston.org or www.ticketmaster.com, or by phone at (617) 931-2000.

Press Contacts:

Mind and Life Institute – www.mindandlife.org
Investigating the Mind Conference – www.investigatingthemind.org
Dalai Lama Activities in Boston – www.dalailamaboston.org
McGovern Institute at MIT – http://web.mit.edu/mcgovern/
Whitehead Institute/MIT Center for Genome Research — http://www.wi.mit.edu/home.html