Dr. Cortland Dahl is a scientist, translator, and non-profit leader with a lifelong interest in meditation and the science of human flourishing. His journey began in the early 1990s when he first learned to meditate. His passion for training the mind led him on a journey around the world, from monasteries in Tibet to zendos in Japan, culminating in eight years living in Tibetan refugee settlements on the outskirts of Kathmandu.
During his time in Asia, he became fluent in Tibetan and became a prolific translator and scholar, receiving a master’s degree in Buddhist studies and publishing twelve volumes of translations, including ancient meditation manuals and treatises on Buddhist philosophy.
During these years he also co-founded Tergar with Mingyur Rinpoche, a global network of meditation communities on six continents. He currently serves on the board of directors and as Executive Director of Tergar International, the non-profit organization that oversees the Tergar community. He is also a senior meditation instructor and offers workshops and meditation retreats around the world.
Cortland studied at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he was mentored by Dr. Richard Davidson and received a Ph.D. in Mind, Brain, and Contemplative Science, the first ever degree of its kind awarded by the university. He has since published numerous scientific articles, including a new scientific framework for the cultivation of human flourishing, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Cortland is also the creator of the Healthy Minds Program, a freely available a mobile app that was recently recommended by the New York Times as one of three recommended meditation apps. The Healthy Minds Program app has been downloaded hundreds of thousands of times and is now being used scientific research by some of the leading research centers in the world.
Cortland currently lives with his wife and son in Madison, Wisconsin.
