Photo : OHHDL
Members of the Mind and Life Institute gathered in Dharamshala, the residence of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, from October 12 to 13 to meet His Holiness and to partake in discussions with him as part of their programme Meeting with Mind & Life – Interdependence, Ethics and Social Networks.
On the first day, His Holiness was welcomed by the Institute’s President Susan Bauer-Wu who said, “We, your friends at Mind& Life, are happy to be here. It’s been three years since we saw you in person, and it’s so good to see you looking so well. This event comes about as a result of the efforts of the Mind & Life Institute and Mind & Life Europe. It’s been 35 years since the first Mind & Life dialogue took place. We’re so happy to be back”.
Addressing the gathering, His Holiness said that mind and life dialogues are important, considering the great deal of attention being paid to material and physical things as compared to the mind and mental experiences. “Many of the conflicts we see in the world are about physical things, material resources and power. Therefore, we need to look at what went on in the past and learn from it so that we can construct a future based on peace, happiness and togetherness,” said His Holiness.
His Holiness stressed that the root of peace is compassion and warm-heartedness, without which humans will not survive, citing the importance of a mother’s compassion for the survival of any child. He continued, “It seems to me we neglect something in our education. Experience shows us that the more compassionate we are, the more we achieve inner peace and with it, inner strength. Although in our lives we depend on so many other people, there’s little place for such human values in modern education.”
Dr Richard Davidson, a neuroscientist and board member of the Mind and Life Institute, thanked His Holiness for his participation and support saying, “I speak on behalf of all my colleagues here in thanking you, Your Holiness, for your dedication to meeting us scientists and scholars over the last 35 years. Our meetings have had great impact. Please live long and in good health”.
During the two-day event, speakers from various research backgrounds, including an anthropologist, a psychologist, a philosopher of mind and cognitive science and a cognitive scientist researching human behaviour, presented their work and led the discussion in the presence of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Photo : OHHDL
His Holiness stressed the importance of including kindness and developing warm-heartedness in education systems, adding, “it’s to do with drawbacks in our education and our tendency towards thinking in materialistic terms. We must train students to see warm-heartedness as positive and of benefit. This is the real key to happiness and inner strength.”
When the moderator asked His Holiness what we can teach that will promote a more global culture, His Holiness answered with a verse from Shantideva’s Entering the Way of a Bodhisattva: “All those who suffer in the world do so because of their desire for their own happiness. All those happy in the world are so because of their desire for the happiness of others.” 8/129
When Dr Richard Davidson asked His Holiness “what can we do to help the average person to train their minds?” His Holiness replied, “We have to let people know that warm-heartedness is the source of peace of mind, of inner peace, inner strength and self-confidence. I rely on your efforts to share this with others”.
On day two, His Holiness started the conversation, which continued through the day, by saying “Scientists haven’t investigated consciousness very deeply. They tend to think of the mind in relation to the brain, and yet the mind is something other than that. The mind is not a product of the brain. It is its own entity. Today’s mind is a continuation of yesterday’s mind. The mind is something worth finding out more about.”
According to their website, Mind and 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.
The full discussion can be watched here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugoKLL-2Dgc&t=4s
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