Filmed during Mind & Life Institute’s “Mind & Life XVII: Contemplative Science” on October 21-23, 2010.
Understanding Contemplative Practices: Vedanta
SPEAKERS:
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama
Swami Atmapriyananda
Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad
Within both Hinduism and Buddhism, numerous lineages (parampār) of contemplative practice employ a wide range of techniques to realize their spiritual goals. This session, focusing on the Advaita Vedānta tradition, will elucidate some of the tradition’s most important practices, including especially those practices that are the best candidates for scientific research. Emphasizing contemporary styles of practice, these contemplative scholars will also discuss the basic techniques employed, the expected outcomes of specific practices, their theoretical foundations, and the issues involved in understanding those practices in scientific terms. Serving as discussants, a panel of scientists will pose questions that seek to clarify the nature of these practices and the way that they might be explored scientifically.
MODERATOR: John Dunne
INTERPRETER: Thupten Jinpa
PANELISTS:
Wolf Singer
Matthieu Ricard
Aditya Murthy
Participants
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama
Honorary Board Chair
Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad, PhD
University of Lancaster
John Dunne, PhD
University of Wisconsin-Madison
