This presentation will outline the Buddha’s basic approach to understanding our cognitive processes, focusing on dependent arising or radical interdependency. William Waldron will discuss the factors involved in the dependent arising of cognitive awareness and the co-arising of our “world” as first articulated in the early teachings. He will then present how these basic analyses …
Continue reading “Interdependency: the Buddha’s Central Insight”
Over the past thirty years with the development of Western Insight Meditation communities and Vipassana practice in North America, there has been a process of collective transformation that has been both painstakingly incremental and incontrovertibly powerful. This presentation reviews some of the history and growth of multicultural mindfulness communities; personal experience of diverse practitioners; visual …
Continue reading “Mindfulness Is Always a Multicultural Experience, Even When It Is Not”
The 2018 Mind & Life Summer Research Institute extends the arc from the 2016 and 2017 programs that addressed themes of context, social connectivity, and intersubjectivity by engaging critical topics relevant to cultural difference and human diversity. The weeklong immersive program will examine social and psychological patterns, both implicit and explicit, to discuss how difference is constructed at personal, interpersonal, and socio-structural levels. Scientific, humanistic, and first-person contemplative perspectives will give attention to processes of othering and how we can overcome conflict by embracing difference.
In late 2019, Helen Weng, PhD was honored with the Mind & Life Institute Annual Service Award. The award is given to individuals who are distinguished by the breadth and depth of their involvement with Mind & Life, and who embody its core values of compassion, integrity, curiosity, inclusion, and excellence. Below is a tribute …
Othering and Belonging is the problem of the 21st century. In this talk, the presenter will describe how the changes in the world are creating deep stress and anxiety. This process is likely to increase for the foreseeable future. This stress is both biological and ontological. The way we respond is social. The underlying issue …
This talk makes the argument that the way people think about their minds shapes the way they come to know spirit. This is done by looking at the kinds of people who have more vivid spiritual experiences (they are more likely to get absorbed in their inner worlds), the way prayers train attention to inner …
Continue reading “How Thinking About Thinking Shapes the Human Experience of Spirit”
This half-day retreat is meant to integrate the objects of our research—contemplation, mindfulness, and cultivation of the mind and heart—with our conference experience. It will include guided meditations for those new to meditation practice as well as for more seasoned practitioners, and periods of sitting and walking meditation. The contemplative retreat will provide an opportunity …
This is the second of two blog posts describing recent Mind & Life Conversations with the Dalai Lama and prominent thought leaders on the topic of “Compassion, Interconnection, and Transformation.” Photos by Phil Walker and Tenzin Choejor. At a time of sweeping change and daunting global challenges, what’s needed is a whole world ethic to unite …
Continue reading “Toward a Whole World Ethic: The Role of Conscious Evolution”
This talk explores the spiritual quest of those who are impacted by systemic oppression and the ways the quest focuses on personhood and the need to access true liberation and wellness. There has always been the call for human dignity by those who are dehumanized, which leads to a deep yearning to discover one’s own …
Continue reading “The Quest for Serenity Among the Disenfranchised”
Political strife, immigration, cultural and racial conflict, environmental concerns, depression, and distraction—these issues and many more influence our daily lives as we struggle to find personal well-being and social harmony. How does the latest research on mental habits, contemplation, and compassion inform opportunities to create change for ourselves and others?
