VISIONS OF COMPASSION: Western Scientists and Tibetan Buddhists Examine Human Nature by Davidson & Harrington ed.
This book examines how the views of Western science hold up to scrutiny by Tibetan Buddhists. Resulting from a meeting between the Dalai Lama, leading Western scholars and a group of Tibetan monks, the volume includes essays exploring points of difference and overlap between two perspectives.
In a series of essays, the participating scientists and scholars ask not only how Tibetan and Western understandings of emotion differ, but how Western behavioral science might broaden and enrich its understanding of human nature to do justice to the study of human emotions.
CONSCIOUSNESS AT THE CROSSROADS: Conversations with the Dalai Lama on Brain Science and Buddhism by H.H. the Dalai Lama, et al., ed. by Zara Houshmand, Robert B. Livingston and B. Alan Wallace, trans. by Thubten Jinpa and B. Alan Wallace, afterword by B. Alan Wallace
Organized by the Mind and Life Institute, this discussion addresses some of the most troublesome questions that have driven a wedge between Western science and religion. Consciousness at the Crossroads resulted from meetings of the Dalai Lama and a group of eminent neuroscientists and psychiatrists. Is the mind an ephemeral side-effect of the brain's physical processes? Are there forms of consciousness so subtle that science has not yet identified them? How does consciousness happen? The Dalai Lama's incisive, clear approach and open-minded pursuit of knowledge both challenges and offers inspiration to Western scientists.
SHIFTING WORLDS CHANGING MINDS: Where the Sciences and Buddhism Meet by Jeremy W. Hayward
Shifting Worlds, Changing Minds is an in-depth, nontechnical analysis of the perceptual process, drawing on the latest data from cognitive science - the "new science of mind." Added to these are insights gained from the Buddhist practice of mindfulness-awareness meditation. The results of this analysis and practice can free us from dependence on belief systems. We are presented with a genuine revolution in the understanding of consciousness, and the possibilities for awareness and compassion are revealed.
TWO VIEWS OF MIND: Abhidharma and Brain Science by Christopher deCharms
A clear overview of perception, thought, and awareness in Tibetan Buddhist psychology and in Western neuroscience. DeCharms lays out the Buddhist theory of perception side-by-side with the scientific view of Western neuroscience on the brain activity of human cognition. He discovers insights from each system that suggest exciting new approaches to perennial problems that the other has not been able to resolve. Directed to non-specialists, he focuses on the differences between the two traditions in methodology, assumptions, and purpose. "DeCharms provides illuminating comparisons between the two systems of knowledge and proposes ways that further discussion could be of mutual benefit."--Choice
THE WISDOM OF IMPERFECTION: The Challenge of Individuation in Buddhist Life by Rob Preece
If you have been practicing Buddhism for a while, why do you still have problems? And how do you balance the (apparently) different needs of spiritual experience and psychological development? Like bestseller When Things Fall Apart, this wonderful book fills a hitherto unmet need amongst Buddhists.
BUDDHISM AND SCIENCE: Breaking New Ground ed. by B. Alan Wallace
Distinguished philosophers, Buddhist scholars (including the Dalai Lama), physicists and cognitive scientists examine the connections between Western science and Buddhism, and look at the assumptions underlying their world views.
THE EMBODIED MIND: Cognitive Science and Human Experience by Francisco J. Varela, Evan Thompson and Eleanor Rosch
A sophisticated treatment of the spontaneous and reflective dimension of human experience. The authors argue that only by having a sense of common ground between mind in science and mind in experience can our understanding of cognition be complete. They develop a dialogue between cognitive science and Buddhist meditative psychology and relate it to phenomenology and psychoanalysis. One of the very best treatments of Buddhism and cognitive science.
THE FIVE WISDOM ENERGIES: A Buddhist Way of Understanding Personalities, Emotions, and Relationships by Irini Rockwell
This system of Buddhist personality types can be employed to promote self-awareness, conscious relationships, and smooth-running organizations. This the the first playful and accessible book on the Five Buddha Families--and an insightful way of understanding human behavior and promoting personal growth. According to Tibetan Buddhism, each of us has one or two dominant energies that can shift over time. Each has a wisdom and neurotic manifestation and by recognizing these, we can know the direction of our transformation.
GENTLE BRIDGES: Conversations with the Dalai Lama on the Sciences of Mind ed. by Jeremy W. Hayward & Francisco J. Varela
Organized by the Mind and Life Institute, this is the groundbreaking discussion between Western scientists and the Dalai Lama on the nature of mind. Questions explored: What is the essence of the mind, could computers ever have consciousness, can compassion be learned, and when does consciousness enter the human embryo?
HEALING EMOTIONS: Conversations with the Dalai Lama on Mindfulness, Emotions, and Health edited by Daniel Goleman
Can the mind heal the body? The Buddhist tradition says yes -and now that many Western scientists are beginning to agree, these discussions between His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama and a group of prominent physicians, psychologists, and meditation teachers could not be more timely. This book is a record of the Mind and Life Conference III, a meeting that gathered together a unique assortment of Buddhist teachers and Western scholars in an attempt to shed new light on the body-mind connection.
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