Where Buddhism Meets Neuroscience: Conversations with the Dalai Lama on the Spiritual and Scientific Views of Our Minds

185 Pages·2018·1.32 MB·English

by  Dalai Lama XIV

Shambhala Publications, Inc.
4720 Walnut Street
Boulder, Colorado 80301
www.shambhala.com
© 1999 by the Mind and Life Institute The book was previously published under the title Consciousness at
the Crossroads.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publisher.
Cover design by Claudine Mansour Design Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names:
Bstan-’dzin-rgya-mtsho, Dalai Lama XIV, 1935– author. | Houshmand, Zara, editor. | Livingston, Robert B.
(Robert Burr), 1918–2002, editor. | Wallace, B. Alan, editor, translator. | Thupten Jinpa, translator. |
Churchland, Patricia Smith. | Damasio, Antonio R. | Hobson, J. Allan, 1933– | Judd, Lewis L. | Squire,
Larry R. | Mind & Life Institute.
Title: Where Buddhism meets neuroscience: conversations with the Dalai Lama on the spiritual and
scientific views of our minds/edited by Zara Houshmand, Robert B. Livingston, and B. Alan Wallace; with
contributions by Patricia Smith Churchland, PhD; Antonio R. Damasio, MD; J. Allan Hobson, MD; Lewis
L. Judd, MD; and Larry R. Squire, PhD; translated by Geshe Thupten Jinpa and B. Alan Wallace.
Other titles: Consciousness at the crossroads
Description: Boulder: Shambhala, 2018. | Series: Core teachings of the Dalai Lama | Includes
bibliographical references and index. | “The book was previously published under the title Consciousness at
the Crossroads.”
Identifiers: LCCN 2018007116 | ISBN 9781559394789 (paperback) eISBN 9780834841932
Subjects: LCSH: Consciousness—Religious aspects—Buddhism. |
Consciousness—Physiological aspects. | Brain—Psychophysiology. | Buddhism—Psychology. | BISAC:
RELIGION/Buddhism/Tibetan. | PHILOSOPHY/Buddhist. | SCIENCE/Life Sciences/Neuroscience.
Classification: LCC BQ7935.B774 W49 2018 | DDC 294.3/3615—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018007116
v5.3.2
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CONTENTS
Introduction
1. Opening Remarks: Brain Science as a Path to World Peace
2. Toward a Natural Science of the Mind
The Philosophical Roots of Science
On Perception, Representation, and Conceptualization
Mind and Brain: One and the Same?
A Materialist Critique of Dualism
The Technological Bias of Mind/Brain Metaphors
3. A Buddhist Response
A Middle Path between Dualism and Materialism
4. The Spectrum of Consciousness: From Gross to Subtle
When Does Consciousness Begin?
On Specialization and Adaptation
The Continuity of Subtle Consciousness
Cosmology and the Origins of Consciousness
5. Mapping Brain Functions: The Evidence of Damage to Specific Brain
Regions
Categorical Distinctions in Consciousness
The Brain’s Representation of Body Awareness
6. Subliminal Awareness and Memories from Previous Lives
7. Steps toward an Anatomy of Memory
Memory Reenacts Perception
Isolating Memory: The Evidence of Damage
Different Types of Memory
8. Brain Control of Sleeping and Dreaming States
Measuring Sleep and Dream Cycles
Neuronal Controls of Sleeping, Dreaming, and Waking
What Is the Purpose of Dreaming?
Lucid Dreaming
9. Manifestations of Subtle Consciousness
10. What Constitutes Scientific Evidence?
11. Psychiatric Illnesses and Psychopharmacology
Noninvasive Imaging: A Window on the Brain
Classifying Mental Illnesses
Advances in Psychopharmacology
The Genetic Inheritance of Mental Illness
12. The Limits of Intervention
13. A Buddhist Deconstruction of the Mind’s Self
14. In Conclusion: Building Bridges
Afterword: Buddhist Reflections by B. Alan Wallace
Acknowledgments
Appendix: About the Mind and Life Institute
Notes
Books by the Dalai Lama
Index
E-mail Sign-Up
INTRODUCTION
O
N THE MORNING of October 5, 1989, history intruded unexpectedly into a
private meeting between His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet and a small
group of neuroscientists and psychiatrists. Leaders in their fields, they had come
together to explore what insights the Western sciences of the mind and
Buddhism might offer to each other. The second Mind and Life Conference was
gathered at the Newport Beach home of Mr. and Mrs. Clifford Heinz, when a
predawn phone call from Oslo announced that His Holiness had been awarded
the Nobel Prize for Peace.
Considering how public awareness of the situation in Tibet has grown in the
West in recent years, it is easy to forget how significant the Dalai Lama’s Nobel
Prize was at the time. After decades of international neglect, the award was an
important turning point for the Tibetan cause, recognizing the Tibetan people’s
long struggle against Chinese oppression as well as the Dalai Lama’s
commitment to a nonviolent resolution of the continuing conflict.
Shortly after the first phone call, other calls began coming in from the
television networks. By seven o’clock, His Holiness had made the decision to
continue with the conference as scheduled, and two hours later the group
convened. By the time His Holiness entered the living room, which had been
rearranged for the conference, and took his seat in the circle, an extraordinary
sense of joy and excitement had filled the house. Robert Livingston, the
scientific coordinator, spoke a few warm words of congratulation. His Holiness
responded to the effect that the prize should not be considered as a recognition of
any personal qualities of his own, but was important as a recognition of the path
of nonviolence he followed.
Even those closest to him, who well knew the Dalai Lama’s characteristic
humility, were surprised at his nonchalance that day—and the more so for their
own excitement. Those who were meeting him that day for the first time were
profoundly struck by his equanimity at receiving this highest honor of humanity.
The Dalai Lama’s decision to proceed with the conference as planned that day
is evidence of the importance these dialogues hold for him. The first Mind and
Life Conference had met two years earlier, in October 1987.1 The meetings were
initiated jointly by Adam Engle, a U.S. attorney and businessman, and Dr.
Francisco Varela, a neurobiologist at the National Center for Scientific Research,
in Paris, in response to His Holiness’s lifelong interest in the sciences, and a
growing awareness of the potential for a serious dialogue between Buddhism
and Western science.
The conferences would meet every two years, usually in the remote but idyllic
setting of the Dalai Lama’s home in Dharamsala, India, for five full days each
time. The first conference had provided a broad overview of the mind sciences,
with presentations on scientific method, perception, cognitive psychology,
artificial intelligence, developmental neurobiology, and evolution. In years to
come, the third and fourth conferences2 would continue the emphasis on mind
sciences, focusing first on the effect of emotions on health and then on sleep,
dreaming, and dying. The fifth conference in 1995 moved further afield, into the
study of compassion, altruism, and ethics. Most recently, in 1997, the dialogue
has moved in a new direction, addressing the new physics, cosmology, and
quantum mechanics.
The second conference, reported here, was unusual among the series in that it
was only two days long and took place in the West, in Newport Beach,
California. Dr. Robert Livingston, MD, Professor Emeritus of Neurosciences at
the University of California, San Diego, who had been invited to participate in
the first Mind and Life dialogue two years before, took on the responsibility of
being the scientific coordinator for this conference. The colleagues he selected to
represent their fields were outstanding individually and formidable as a group.
Patricia Smith Churchland, PhD, professor of philosophy at the University of
California at San Diego, set the context of the dialogue in the philosophical and
historical origins of Western sciences of the mind. Antonio R. Damasio, MD,
professor of neurology at the University of Iowa College of Medicine, reviewed
findings on the relationship between the anatomy of the brain and mental
functions. Larry R. Squire, PhD, professor of psychiatry at the University of
California at San Diego, introduced the science of memory. J. Allan Hobson,
MD, professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, provided an overview
of current knowledge on sleep and dream states. And Lewis L. Judd, MD, then
director of the National Institute of Mental Health, outlined current views on
mental illness and psychopharmacology. Translation was provided by Thupten
Jinpa and B. Alan Wallace.
The format of the Mind and Life Conferences consists of formal presentations
from each of the participating scientists and philosophers, alternating with open-
ended discussion. In the context of this dialogue, the scientists are committed to
representing consensus in their respective fields, as this is not seen as an
appropriate forum for airing controversial material or furthering debate within
the academy.
The presentations are interrupted often, as the Dalai Lama asks a question or
offers an immediate response to a point. The discussion is often sparked by the
preceding presentation, but may draw on topics from previous conversations. In
the account that follows, portions of dialogue from different sessions may be
grouped together, tracing themes that developed gradually over the course of the
meeting.
Throughout the meetings, His Holiness listens intently to each speaker,
following most of the English, though occasionally turning to the translators to
ask for clarification. In his own responses, he usually speaks through the
translators when dealing with Buddhist philosophy or scientific concepts. But he
often breaks into English to communicate ideas that are less technical—to
express his feelings, to make a joke, or to describe his own experiences—and
these are moments of special warmth.
In preparing the text of this book, the contributions of the translators, Thupten
Jinpa and Alan Wallace, have been rendered transparent, except on rare
occasions as they voice their own concerns about the communication in process.
Thus, when His Holiness speaks through a translator, the speech is represented
as his own.
In addition to his role as a translator, Alan Wallace has contributed
significantly to the shape of this book by adding commentary to clarify the
Buddhist viewpoint on issues that were raised at the meeting but not well
elucidated at the time. We hope that the value of this commentary, especially as
it touches on points that are easily misconstrued in the cross-cultural dialogue,
will outweigh the dangers of allowing one side of the debate to add a last word
after the meeting has ended. But of course, the dialogue between Buddhism and
Western science continues, and this book is only a snapshot of one particularly
lively moment in the discourse.
Zara Houshmand