East and West working together to understand the mind

One of the more intriguing collaborations that I have found is between neuroscientists and monks. I first heard about this partnership when reading The Art of Happiness by the Dalia Lama. The Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddism and one could argue for all Budhhists in the world, has chosen to embrace the science community. He became one of the cofounders of the Mind and Life Institute in 1987, along with a neuroscientist and entrepreneur. The organization's purpose is to promote dialogue and collaborative research between science and Buddhism.

The Dalai Lama has actively encouraged monks and scientists to work together to study meditation. Neuroscientists have been interested in understanding what happens to the brain during meditation and how the brains of monks, who meditate on average 10 hours a day, may differ from those of non-monks. Many studies have shown that training the mind through meditation can in fact change the brain (i.e. neuroplasticity). Click here and here for some articles that discuss some of these findings.

In his book, The Universe in a Single Atom, the Dalai Lama looks at how scientific inquiry and Buddhism both have the objective to understand the nature of reality through critical investigation. While there are some central disagreements such as science's rejection of reincarnation and the Dalai Lama's rejection that consciousness is a combination of chemical reactions, the Dalai Lama seems unthreatened. In fact, he even goes as far to say that if science disproves Buddhism, then Buddhists must accept the findings. Listen to or read this this NPR piece on about the controversy over Dalai Lama, a nonscientist, addressing neuroscientists about the neuroscience of meditation.

Do you think these two worldviews be combined/united? Ultimately, I think both models show a strong overlap but use a different language and framework to describe the world. In any case, it is nice for a change to see religion and science, two diametrically opposed fields, taking a moment to learn from one another.

More Blogging Tips

Some things to note as you blog:

1. Remember that hotlinks should go within the body of your post, highlighting particular words in your sentences, not listed separately at the end. You can list additional references at the end, of course. Also, mix up your links. The best links are ones that support your claim or serve as precise reference for a specific concept. General info links (like Wikipedia entries) are okay, but don't work well if you link to some huge page explaning, say, "energy" in general.
   
2. Another hotlink practice to try is to link to other blog posts/news, aka backlinking (example here, backlinking to GG). Backlinking starts the "you-scratch...I scratch-yours" cycle that places you within the blogosphere community, and can start some rather friendly (or unfriendly) debates if you are writing a rebuttal to someone else!
   
3. Keep posts short! Obviously, the fun of blogging is that it takes many forms and sizes. But try practicing at least one post within the 250-word limit. Instead of explaining some common concepts, use hotlinks to a reputable source ("the reasons for buying sustainable seafood are well known...").
   
4. Don't forget to use labels/tags. These help categorize your post within the blog, making your post searchable. Try to pick labels that already have been used -- if someone already used "climate change", use that instead of making a new label of "global warming". Keep labels to keywords or timely lingo that readers could be attracted to. Use esoteric or specific terms as last resort.
5. Pictures are awesome.
   
6. Let your voice come through. Yes, our initial tipsheet is more for a "professional/corporate blog" -- as if you blogged on behalf of your NGO or agency. This can be a bit bland sometimes. But there may come a time when you are the focus: if you start a personal blog, or you're the star blogger for your org (à la Green Grok), or you're simply given free rein by your bosses to be more unconventional. You'll then have to let your personality come through, while being mindful of your audience (age, political affiliation, etc.). How would you say something in everyday conversation -- your figures of speech, humor, pop references? Blogging has its origins on online diaries and op-ed columns -- follow those roots, and creat your personality!
   

In all, great work on Blog #1. Great job on the tone and level of depth. There are some great hooks/ledes/headlines out there, as well as some good current events and commentary pieces. Check your posts for our comments, and we encourage all to read and comment on posts outside of your groups.