monkey see, monkey do serves as a personal blog and creative outlet for
meditation for scientists
spirit rock, just north of san francisco, is holding a seven day silent meditation retreat for scientists. it’s designed to “…introduce researchers in the mind sciences to in-depth training in meditation and to explore ways in which a rigorous and systematic approach to introspection can inform scientific research. This event has been organized by scientists, for scientists…”
looks like this is somewhat organized by the mind & life institute folks, who have a twenty year long conversation going now between his holiness the dalai lama and neuroscientists, finding cross over points between modern neuroscience research and buddhist theory and practice.
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11. October 2006 at 5:06 am :
Wow… I’d give real money to be there (if I was making any.) All of that ties into my undergrad research, and may be the thing that propels me into grad school. thanks for the heads up.
11. October 2006 at 5:39 am :
What is the goal of ‘Mind and Life’? To justify further scientific endeavors/health practices or to help mankind become more peaceful and free? I’m not sure it can be both. Or, does it suggest that science can save mankind? If so, how? Twenty years is a long conversation.
13. October 2006 at 1:02 am :
It is interesting that they are using the form of vipassana because sometimes it is presented in such an unstructured way that it would be a challenge to people who are used to relating to their mind in a rigorous science context.
I have loosely been following the work of the Mind and Life Institute for the past few years…it’s about time that Western practioners seek to integrate Western “scientific” concepts of brain function with the information that the Tibetans have gathered about the mind over the millenia. I hope that the Western philosophers that focus on Conciousness Studies will be invited into the dialog…they often have similar observations as the Tibetans and could make a good bridge between the neuroscientists and the Buddhists.
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Consciousness_studies:_The_description_of_consciousness
Madyamika, phenominology, and performativity have all converged at some point in my little mind.
P.S. -For a good neuroscience read, pick up “A General Theory of Love”.