The birds have vanished down the sky;
Now the last cloud drains away.
We sit together, the mountain and me;
Until only the mountain remains.
Li Po

Announcements  [back to top]

Please NOTE the CHANGES in VENUE Advancing the Legacy of William James: The Radically Empirical Study of the Mind Speaker: B. Alan Wallace, Ph.D. Wednesday, April 2, 2008 at 7:00pm Venue: MIT Building 4, 4-270 (Open to the General Public) (Click here for more information and to register) Contemplative Science, Mind, & Physics: Discussions with B. Alan Wallace Moderator: Professor Christopher Moore, Dept. of Brain & Cognitive Sciences Thursday, April 3, 2008 at 10:30am Venue: The McGovern Institute, 46-3189 (Open to the MIT community only) (Click here for more information and to register) In the late nineteenth century, scientists turned their attention for the first time to the investigation of the mind, and this presented them with an unprecedented challenge. Philosophers had long speculated upon the nature of subjective mental events without coming to any significant consensus. In contrast, for three centuries scientists had meticulously examined and analyzed objective physical phenomena and had made enormous progress in discovering their natures and the regularities in their causal interactions. The challenge that faced the pioneers of the mind sciences, such as William James and Wilhelm Wundt, was to apply the scientific spirit of empiricism to the study of mental phenomena, which cannot be objectively measured by any of the instruments of technology. But by the early decades of the twentieth century, the initial emphasis on the first-person investigation of mental phenomena themselves was eclipsed by the study of the behavioral and neurological correlates of mental phenomena. In this lecture, Alan Wallace will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of this objective approach to the study of phenomena that are inescapably subjective in nature, and he will propose ways in which sophisticated first-person and third-person methodologies may complement each other. Dynamic lecturer, progressive scholar, and one of the most prolific writers and translators of Tibetan Buddhism in the West, B. Alan Wallace, Ph.D., continually seeks innovative ways to integrate Buddhist contemplative practices with Western science to advance the study of the mind. Dr. Wallace, a scholar and practitioner of Buddhism since 1970, has taught Buddhist theory and meditation throughout Europe and America since 1976. Having devoted fourteen years to training as a Tibetan Buddhist monk, ordained by H. H. the Dalai Lama, he went on to earn an undergraduate degree in physics and the philosophy of science at Amherst College and a doctorate in religious studies at Stanford. With his unique background, Alan brings deep experience and applied skills to the challenge of integrating traditional Indo-Tibetan Buddhism with the modern world. __________________________________________________________________________ A Thalamic Gateway toward Selfless Insight: Kensho and the Loss of Self Conversations with Dr. James Austin, MD Tuesday, April 15, 2008 at 11:30am Venue: 46-3002, The McGovern Institute (Open to all) (Click here for more information and to register) Zen and the Brain Speaker: Dr. James Austin MD Wednesday, April 16, 2008 at 7:00pm Venue: MIT Building 3, 3-270 (Open to the General Public) (Click here for more information and to register) Dr. James Austin has spent most of his years as an academic neurologist, first at the University of Oregon Medical School and later at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. He is currently Clinical Professor of Neurology at the University of Missouri-Columbia's Health Sciences Center. Included in Dr. Austin's cultural background was his first sabbatical spent in New Delhi, India; and the second spent in Kyoto, Japan, where he began Zen meditation training with an English-speaking Zen master, Kobori-Roshi, in 1974. He maintains a keen interest in the experimental designs and findings of investigators who study meditation, insight, and related states of consciousness. His early research background includes publications in the areas of clinical neurology, neuropathology, neurochemistry, and neuropharmacology. Dr. Austin is the author or co-author of more than 140 professional publications, including three MIT Press publications: Zen and the Brain: Toward an Understanding of Meditation and Consciousness (1998); Chase, Chance, and Creativity: The Lucky Art of Novelty (2003); and Zen-Brain Reflections: Reviewing Recent Development in Meditation and States of Consciousness (2006). His next book is entitled, Zen Brain, Selfless Insight: The Meditative Transformations of Consciousness (MIT Press, 2008). __________________________________________________________________________ Reason, Experience and Search for Happiness Speaker: Monsignor Lorenzo Albacete Wednesday, April 30, 2008 at 7:00pm Venue: MIT Building 3, 3-270 (Open to the general public) (Click here for more information and to register) Msgr. Lorenzo Albacete, a close friend of Pope John Paul II, is a physicist by training. He holds the degree in Space Science and Applied Physics as well as a Master's Degree in Sacred Theology from the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. He holds a doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas in Rome. He is co-founder and has been a professor at the John Paul II Institute in Washington, DC. He has taught at St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, NY, and from 1996 to 1997 served as President of the Catholic University of Portorico in Ponce. He has been Advisor on Hispanic Affairs to the US National Council of Catholic Bishops. He is a columnist for the Italian weekly Tempi, has written for The New Yorker, and has appeared or has been interviewed on CNN, The Charlie Rose Show, PBS, EWTN, Slate, The New Republic, and Godspy. Msgr. Albacete is the author of God at the Ritz: Attraction to Infinity. A Priest-Physicist Talks About Science, Sex, Politics and Religion. As Hendrik Hertzberg (The New Yorker) has noted: "Lorenzo Albacete is one of a kind, and so is God at the Ritz. The book, like the monsignor, crackles with humor, warmth, and intellectual excitement. Reading it is like having a stay-up-all-night, jump-out-of-your-chair, have-another-double-espresso marathon conversation with one of the world's most swashbuckling talkers. Conversation, hell-this is a Papal bull session!" Theodore Cardinal McCarrick of Washington wrote of the book: "Monsignor Albacete has a keen insight into the mystery of God and a wonderful sense of humor even when he is speaking about very heavy subjects. Perhaps it is precisely this sense of humor-and wonder-that brings people of all faiths to Msgr. Albacete's writings to find there a source of goodness and strength." Sponsors: MIT Prajnopaya, MIT Center for Ethics & Transformative Values, Office of Religious Life Co-sponsors: Simmons Hall, Dept. of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Dept. of Linguistics and Philosophy, Technology & Culture Forum, Tech Catholic Community __________________________________________________________________________ Bodhi Day Celebration Wednesday, December 12 at 7PM Meet at MIT-W11 (Open only to MIT Community Members) Celebration of Buddha's Enlightenment Day followed by Community Dinner. __________________________________________________________________________ Contemplative Life Initiative @ MIT Living in Awe: Buddhist Methods of Stillness and Wonderment Unleash the power of your creativity and inner wisdom Saturday, December 15, 2007 (10AM- 5PM) Venue: Twenty Chimneys, Stratton Student Center, MIT (across 77 Massachusetts Avenue) Cost: Free by donation for MIT/ $60 others (Click here for more information and to register) For a child, the world and everything in it is a source of wonderment, filled with endless possibilities worth exploring. In discovering the world, a child unleashes amazing creative energy envisioning its possibilities. As we age, we gain the knowledge to work in the world and push our own limits.But, along with the feeling of self-assurance that comes with knowledge, our views and opinions harden, so that we no longer see all the possibilities and opportunities around us.  How can we tap back into our childhood amazement and curiosity without giving up all our worldly experience? Buddhist methods of stillness allow us to recognize the difference between what we think and who we are, and thus recognize which habits of the mind block our creative energy. This awareness through stillness is the pick that can break the ice surrounding our wonderment. Come explore these techniques through a day of practice and instructions. _____________________________________________ Peace Vigil for Myanmar (Burma) MIT Prajnopaya and Amnesty International invites you to a Peace Vigil in solidarity with those persecuted in the recent violence in Myanmar (Burma). Now, more than ever, we are called to extend and demonstrate our sense of care, compassion, and freedom for all. Silent Meditation & Prayers for Peace Wednesday, October 3, 2007 at 8PM Massachusetts Institute of Technology Steps of the Main Building (77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA) ________________________________________ Social Intelligence A Public Talk by Daniel Goleman September 12 , 2007 at 6:00PM Venue: MIT Simmons Hall (229 Vassar St.) ________________________________________

Regular Events  [back to top]

Meditation & Discussion Click here to order book Shunryu Suzki's "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind" Wednesdays at 7PM Guided Meditation every other Wednesday. Venue: MIT-W11 (Open only to MIT Community Members) ____________________ Teachings on Stages of Meditation of Acarya Kamalshila Selected Mondays at 6:30PM (Click here to check schedule) Venue: MIT Chapel (Open to All) ____________________

 

IAP 2008 Events  [back to top]

Coming Soon... Photographs from the Tsa Tsa Workshop, January 2004