Mind & Life Dialogues are conversations between leading thinkers and spiritual leaders such as the Dalai Lama, addressing critical issues of modern life at the intersection of scientific and contemplative understanding. The Dialogues began in 1987 as intimate discussions and have grown to include large public and private events at locations around the world.
Mind & Life Conversations convene key thought leaders—prominent scholars, contemplatives, and changemakers—to engage in intimate, one- to two-hour discussions designed to bridge contemplation, research, and action.
Previous Dialogues & Conversations
2022 Mind & Life Conversation
Interdependence, Ethics, and Social Networks
2021 Mind & Life Conversation
Mind & Life Conversation: Embracing Hope, Courage, and Compassion in Times of Crisis
Topics: Compassion & Empathy | Contemplative Wisdom | Mental Health | Stress & Resilience
2021 Mind & Life Conversation on the Crisis of Climate Feedback Loops
The Dalai Lama with Greta Thunberg and Leading Scientists: A Conversation on the Crisis of Climate Feedback Loops
Topics: Environment | Interconnection | Social Change
2020 Mind & Life Conversation
Mind & Life Conversation: Resilience, Compassion, and Science for Healing Today
Topics: Brain & Cognitive Science | Compassion & Empathy | Contemplative Wisdom | Self & Other
2019 Mind & Life Conversation
Mind & Life Conversation: Conversations on Compassion, Interconnection, and Transformation
Topics: Body-based Practices | Contemplative Wisdom | Interconnection | Social Change
2018 Mind & Life Dialogue XXXIII
Reimagining Human Flourishing
Topics: Compassion & Empathy | Contemplative Wisdom | Education
2017 Mind & Life Dialogue XXXII
Botho/Ubuntu, A Dialogue on Spirituality, Science, and Humanity
Topics: Contemplative Wisdom | Interconnection | Self & Other | Social Change
2016 Mind & Life Dialogue XXXI
Power & Care
Topics: Compassion & Empathy | Interconnection | Social Change
2015 Mind & Life Dialogue XXX
Perception, Concepts, and Self: Contemporary Scientific and Buddhist Perspectives
Topics: Brain & Cognitive Science | Contemplative Wisdom | Self & Other
2014 Mind & Life Dialogue XXIX
Mapping the Mind
2014 Mind & Life Dialogue XXVIII
Ethics, Education, and Human Development
Topics: Compassion & Empathy | Education | Interconnection
2013 Mind & Life Dialogue XXVII
Craving, Desire, and Addiction
Topics: Contemplative Wisdom | Mental Health
2013 Mind & Life Dialogue XXVI
Mind, Brain, and Matter: Critical Conversations Between Buddhist Thought and Science
2012 Mind & Life Dialogue XXV
Contemplative Practice and Health: Laboratory Findings and Real World Challenges
Topics: Contemplative Wisdom | Mindfulness | Stress & Resilience
2012 Mind & Life Dialogue XXIV
Latest Findings in Contemplative Neuroscience
2011 Mind & Life Dialogue XXIII
Ecology, Ethics and Interdependence
Topics: Contemplative Wisdom | Environment | Interconnection | Social Change
2010 Mind & Life Dialogue XXII
Contemplative Science: The Scientific Study of Contemplative Practice on Human Biology and Behaviour
2010 Mind & Life Dialogue XXI
Mental Training: Impact on Neuronal, Cognitive and Emotional Plasticity
Topics: Brain & Cognitive Science
2010 Mind & Life Dialogue XX
Altruism and Compassion in Economic Systems: A Dialogue Between Economics, Neuroscience, and Contemplative Sciences
Topics: Compassion & Empathy | Interconnection
2009 Mind & Life Dialogue XVIII
Attention, Memory, and the Mind
2009 Mind & Life Dialogue XVII
Dialogue on Meditation Research: Present and Future
Topics: Mindfulness
2008 Mind & Life Dialogue XVI
Investigating the Mind-Body Connection: The Science and Clinical Applications of Meditation
Topics: Mindfulness | Stress & Resilience
2007 Mind & Life Dialogue XV
Mindfulness, Compassion, and the Treatment of Depression
Topics: Compassion & Empathy | Mental Health | Mindfulness
2005 Mind & Life Dialogue XIII
Investigating the Mind: The Science and Clinical Applications of Meditation
Topics: Mental Health | Mindfulness | Stress & Resilience
2004 Mind & Life Dialogue XII
Neuroplasticity: The Neuronal Substrates of Learning and Transformation
Topics: Brain & Cognitive Science
2003 Mind & Life Dialogue XI
Exchanges between Buddhism and the Biobehavioral Sciences on How the Mind Works
2002 Mind & Life Dialogue X
The Nature of Matter, The Nature of Life
2001 Mind & Life Dialogue IX
Transformations of Mind, Brain, and Emotion
Topics: Brain & Cognitive Science | Mindfulness
2000 Mind & Life Dialogue VIII
Destructive Emotions
Topics: Brain & Cognitive Science | Stress & Resilience
1998 Mind & Life Dialogue VII
Epistemological Questions in Quantum Physics and Eastern Contemplative Sciences
1992 Mind & Life Dialogue IV
Sleeping, Dreaming and Dying
Topics: Brain & Cognitive Science | Stress & Resilience
1989 Mind & Life Dialogue II
Dialogues Between Buddhism and the Neurosciences
1987 Mind & Life Dialogue I
