"
In October 2004, neuroscientist Fred Gage took a leap of faith and flew to India to present a lecture to Tenzin Gyatso, the current Dalai Lama. The religious leader had asked him to participate in a workshop on brain science at his compound in Dharamsala, in the foothills of the Himalaya..."
In October 2004, neuroscientist Fred Gage took a leap of faith and flew to India to present a lecture to Tenzin Gyatso, the current Dalai Lama. The religious leader had asked him to participate in a workshop on brain science at his compound in Dharamsala, in the foothills of the Himalayas. The Dalai Lama wanted to learn more about Gage's explorations at the Salk Institute in La Jolla into the adult brain's ability to generate new cells.As the spiritual leader of Buddhism, the Dalai Lama was intrigued that scientists had found evidence that some parts of the brain might renew themselves throughout life. The discovery seemed to fit well with the Buddhist view that meditation canreshape and expand the mind to foster happiness and cultivate compassion.Could science identify a physical signature of that effort somewhere in the vast landscape of the brain?
Gage was
wary.
His colleagues had urged him to embrace the Dalai Lama's
invitation, but he flew to India with unsettled questions.
“One of the concerns was
that a religious leader would have preconceived notions, and then
whatever you said they would just use your words to further support
their already established belief systems,” Gage said.
After a week in Dharamsala,
he was pleasantly surprised. “There was clearly an interest in
dialogue,” Gage said. “He was really quite open to learning new things,
and incorporating scientific knowledge into their philosophy.”
In a November speech, the
Dalai Lama made the connection between neuroscientists' research into
brain mechanisms associated with attention and emotion and Buddhist
meditation that is performed to heighten powers of attention and
regulate emotion.
“I feel there might be
great potential for collaborative research between the Buddhist
contemplative tradition and neuroscience,” he said at the Society for
Neuroscience annual meeting.
The two obviously come from
two very different perspectives, explained R. Adam Engle, co-founder of
the Mind & Life Institute in Colorado, which studies connections
between Buddhist traditions and modern science.
Until recently, brain
science in the West has been significantly geared toward studying what
can go wrong. “Research has been focused on creating a mythicalstate
o......
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Nepal's "Buddha Boy" reappears
Boy chosen by Dalai Lama turns back on Buddhism
Buddha Boy In Nepal Goes Missing Again
'Buddha's skull' found in Nanjing
Mystery of vanished "Buddha Boy" grips Nepal
Reincarnation of the Tibetan Karmapa
Nepalise Buddha boy 'reappears'
Deepening mystery of missing 'Buddha boy'
