Morning session of the fourth day of the The Mind and Life XXVI conference from Drepung Monastery in Mundgod, Karnataka, India, held on January 17-22, 2013. Twenty of the world’s foremost scientists and philosophers with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and other senior Tibetan scholars will address topics over the course of the week that include the historical sweep of science and the revolutions in our understanding of our physical universe and the nature of the mind. Scientific and the classical Buddhist philosophical methods of inquiry will be studied, as well as selected topics in quantum physics, neuroscience, and Buddhist and contemporary Western views of consciousness. In addition, the applications of contemplative practices in clinical and educational settings will be explored.

January 17 – Introduction
Morning: Exploring the Nature of Reality: Buddhist and Scientific Perspectives
Afternoon: Session: The Sweep of Science: Knowledge and the Nature of Reality

January 18 – Physics
Morning: Quantum Physics, Relativity, and Cosmology
Afternoon: The Nature of Reality

January 19 – Neuroscience
Morning: Changing the Brain
Afternoon: Exploring Neuroplasticity

January 20 – Consciousness
Morning: Consciousness in Western Science and Philosophy
Afternoon: Approaches to Consciousness

January 21 – Applications of Contemplative Practice
Morning: Clinical and Educational Applications of Contemplative Practice
Afternoon: Promoting Human Development

January 22 Future Directions
Morning: The Future of Monastic Science Education & Buddhism, Science and Modernity

PARTICIPANTS
Tenzin Gyatso
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

Michel Bitbol, PhD
Directeur de Recherche
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

Khen Rinpoche Jangchup Choeden
Abbott
Gaden Shartse Monastery

Richard Davidson, PhD
Founder and Chair
Center for Investigating Healthy Minds University of Wisconsin-Madison

Sona Dimidjian, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Psychology and Neuroscience University of Colorado at Boulder

James R. Doty, MD
Director
Center for the Study of Compassion and Altruism Research and Education
Stanford University

John Durant, PhD
Adjunct Professor Science,Technology & Society Program Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Anne Harrington, PhD
Professor
Department of the History of Science Harvard University

Wendy Hasenkamp, PhD
Program and Research Director Mind & Life Institute

Thupten Jinpa, PhD
Adjunct Professor McGill University Chairman Mind & Life Institute

Bryce Johnson, PhD
Director Science for Monks Staff Scientist Exploratorium

Geshe Lhakdor
Director
Library of Tibetan Works and Archives

Rajesh Kasturirangan, PhD
Associate Professor
National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore

Christof Koch, PhD
Chief Scientific Officer Allen Institute for Brain Science

Geshe Dadul Namgyal
Member and Translator/Interpreter Emory-Tibet Science Initiative Emory University

Lobsang Tenzin Negi, PhD
Senior Lecturer Emory University

Vijayalakshmi Ravindranath, PhD
Professor and Chair Centre for Neuroscience
at the Indian Institute of Science

Matthieu Ricard, PhD
Buddhist Monk Shechen Monastery

Geshe Ngawang Samten
Vice Chancellor
Central University of Tibetan Studies

Tania Singer, PhD
Director
Department of Social Neuroscience Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences

Aaron Stern
Founder and President
The Academy for the Love of Learning

Diana Chapman Walsh, PhD
President Emerita
Wellesley College Governing Board Member
The Broad Institute of MIT & Harvard

Carol Worthman, PhD
Professor Department of Anthropology Emory-Tibet Science Initiative Emory University

Arthur Zajonc, PhD
President Mind & Life Institute