MindScience Academy Logo

"For a useful contribution" by H. H. the XIV Dalai Lama

His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso’s deep fascination with Western natural sciences needs no introduction. MSA itself stems from his encouragement to take that path, that "gentle bridge" which was launched in the 1970s by the dialogue between Francisco Varela and His Holiness and then blossomed in the activities of Mind & Life. 

His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso’s deep fascination with Western natural sciences needs no introduction. MSA itself stems from his encouragement to take that path, that "gentle bridge" which was launched in the 1970s by the dialogue between Francisco Varela and His Holiness and then blossomed in the activities of Mind & Life.

It is worth noticing how this fascination is accompanied by a peculiar kind of tension: the observance towards the western scientific discourse's prestige and focal position along with the awareness that, despite all odds, it is not enough. We shall bear witness to His Holiness' deep concern for human suffering through this interview taking place in Pisa in 2017, an opportunity to partake in MSA's ideals (more in general of the joint endeavor of the West alongside Buddhist tradition) as an authentic design for wellbeing.

The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, describes himself as a simple Buddhist monk. He is the spiritual leader of Tibet. He was born on 6 July 1935 to a peasant family, in a small village located in Taktser, Amdo, in north-eastern Tibet. At the age of two, the child, then named Lhamo Dhondup, was recognised as the reincarnation of the previous 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso.

The Dalai Lamas are believed to be manifestations of Avalokiteshvara (Skt; Tib.Chenrezig), the bodhisattva of compassion. Bodhisattvas are fully realised beings inspired by the desire to achieve Buddhahood for all sentient beings, who have chosen to be reborn into the world to help humanity.

Tenzin Gyatso started his monastic education at the age of six. The study course, derived from the Nalanda tradition, consisted of five major and five minor subjects of education, including logics, fine arts, Sanskritic language and medicine, naturally with particular emphasis on Buddhist philosophy.

At age 23 he's tackled the final exam in the Jokhang temple in Lhasa, during the great prayer festival (Monlam Chenmo) in 1959. Scoring full grades he's then obtained the highest eulogy for Buddhist practitioners: the title of Ghesce Lharampa, roughly comparable to our PhD programs.

The Dalai Lama has traveled more than 67 countries in all continents. He's obtained more than 150 recognition titles, ad honorem degrees, prizes and so on, as acknowledgement for his teachings of peace, non-violence, dialogue between religions, universal responsibility and compassion. He's also written and collaborated in issuing more than 110 books.

The Dalai Lama has entertained a rich and intense dialogue with various representatives of other religions and took part in many events promoting dialogue. Ever since the mid eighties, he's involved in mediating with western natural sciences, especially in the distinctive fields of psychology, neurobiology, quantum physics and cosmology. Giving birth to an historical collaboration between monks and world-class scientists in trying to help people reach peace of mind. This has finally brought western natural sciences within the traditional curriculum of studies in Tibetan monastic institution restored in his exile.

Focus on in recent months

November 2023
His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso’s deep fascination with Western natural sciences needs no introduction. MSA itself stems from his encouragement to take that path, that "gentle bridge" which was launched in the 1970s by the dialogue between Francisco Varela and His Holiness and then blossomed in the activities of Mind & Life. 
Focus on November 2023
His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso’s deep fascination with Western natural sciences needs no introduction. MSA itself stems from his encouragement to take that path, that "gentle bridge" which was launched in the 1970s by the dialogue between Francisco Varela and His Holiness and then blossomed in the activities of Mind & Life. 

More in Focus on

Amy Cohen Varela is Chair of the Board of Directors of Mind & Life Europe and has been involved in Mind and Life since its inception.
Serme Khen Rinpoche Gesce Tashi Tsering (born 1958) is the abbot of Sera Mey Monastic University in India. From 1994 to 2018 he was a resident Tibetan Buddhist teacher at the Jamyang Buddhist Centre, London.
Dr. Davidson is professor of psychology and psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as well as founder and director of the Center for Healthy Minds. He's influential for the bearings of his research on emotion and the human brain.
Angelo Gemignami is a physician, psychiatrist and psychologist, currently teaching neuroscience at Pisa University, director of the surgical pathology and molecular medicine department; director of the neuroscience, mindfulness and contemplative practice master course and of the clinical psychology branch in the pisa university hospital ward.
Now that the Buddhist traditions confront themselves with cognitive neuroscience and other natural sciences, trying to build up or expand an edifice for studying the mind and conscious experience, it seems vital to stand for the legitimacy and self-sufficiency of Buddhist traditional thought, maintaining critical distance from the prestige (and thus privilege) the scientific apparatus holds in modern western society.
From the XIX century on, Buddhism has been called to confront challenges and opportunities collateral to the religious and cultural structure that characterized it in the pre-modern period.