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Downloaded from
YTS.MX

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Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.MX

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(indistinctive news all at once)

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An investigation into the mental health
status of South Africans

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has revealed that one third
of all South Africans

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have mental illnesses.

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Australia is hiding a shocking secret

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and it’s one
we really need to talk about.

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Every week five kids, five,

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commit suicide.

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In the past thirty years the opening up
of China has been very rapid

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and people feel depression.

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It is unprecedented.

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WHO has declared India to be
the most depressed country in the world

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with 36% of Indians
admitting to battling depression.

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27% of citizens in the European Union,
more than one in four,

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suffer from mental health problems.

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Too many Americans who struggle
with mental health illnesses

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are still suffering in silence
rather than seeking help.

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(indistinctive news all at once)

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In the state of Virginia,
in the city of Charlottesville,

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since 1987 the Mind & Life Institute

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has been conducting
rigorous scientific research

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to discover
the secrets of mental well-being.

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The Institute works with some
of the best universities in the world,

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such as MIT, Emory University,
Brown University,

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University of Zurich
and Kyoto University.

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The Mind & Life is a global community

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and the work that we do is with

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and because of the people
who make up our broader global community.

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And so for all of our programs,

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we engage our colleagues
from different parts of the world

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to help us in being sure

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that what we are doing
is culturally sensitive

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and is in fact
going to be able to have

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impact into their local communities.

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The research has been informed
by the very first

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conversation

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of the Dalai Lama
with Western scientists,

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which was the foundation
of the Mind & Life Institute

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almost 34 years ago.

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I started my...

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My world and my work
was in health care.

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I started my work as a nurse

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and that was caring for people
with very serious illness,

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primarily people with cancer

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and facing the end of life,

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as well as those people
who have mental illness.

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2007 was my first
personal experience with Mind & Life

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as I attended
the Summer Research Institute,

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and I was just a regular attendee.

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Being with neuroscientists
and biological scientists

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and social scientists, anthropologists
and Buddhist study scholars

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and philosophers,

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was very refreshing.

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Because there wasn’t
another place we could do that.

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(plane engine running)

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All the people you see are
members of the Mind & Life Institute.

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They came here
from all over the world.

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We went to welcome them at the airport.

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And soon, you will discover why
they travelled to such a remote place...

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(indistinctive chatting
and cars honking)

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...where McLeod Ganj is.

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We’re going to be all the way up.

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(car honking)

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This is lower Dharamsala here.

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- Dharamsala?
- Yes, so Dharamsala...

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McLeod Ganj
is primarily Tibetan and Sikh

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and then there’s a large refugee
population in the south of India.

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In the south?

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(emotional music)

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McLeod Ganj is a small village

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located on the first slopes
of the Himalaya,

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in the state of Himachal Pradesh

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and home
to the Tibetan Government in Exile

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as of the 1960s.

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Most importantly, McLeod Ganj is

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the official residence of His Holiness
the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet.

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India gave His Holiness a ready welcome

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and other freedom-loving nations
extended sympathy and support.

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Many thousands of Tibetans

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crossed the Himalayan barrier
to the security offered by India.

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In the 1950s a large part
of the Tibetan population

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left its homes and moved to India.

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A few years later,
the social movements of the 60s and 70s

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pushed a growing number of Westerners
to explore Asia, especially India,

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giving them the chance to meet
the Tibetan masters and scholars.

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Impressed by their knowledge,
many of the Westerners went on

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to establish solid relations with them,

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which still prosper today
in many cities around the world.

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A new chapter in human history
was about to be written.

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(intense music)

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Since my childhood,

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I have...

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the interest about science.

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Even Buddha’s own words,

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we have the right to investigate.

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If we find contradiction,

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even Buddha’s own words,

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then we have the right to reject.

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So,

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I developed a keen interest
about modern science.

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I think...

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in the 70s, 60s... 70s,

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I developed a desire

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to discuss with modern scientists.

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So then when I asked

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some of my friends,

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some Westerners:

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“I want a serious discussion
with modern scientists.”

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Then some of them responded to me:

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“Be careful!"

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"Science is a killer

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of religious faith.”

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Then I immediately reflected

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on Buddha’s own words of advice to us.

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He mentioned: “All my followers,

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"monks, scholars,

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"should not accept
my teaching out of faith,

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"out of devotion,

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"but rather thorough investigation.”

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So then I start

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meeting with scientists.

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Mainly four fields:

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cosmology,

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neurobiology,

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physics,

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including quantum physics

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and then psychology.

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(electronic sounds)

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We learned many useful information.

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In the Asian Indian tradition,

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there’s a lot of knowledge
about mind, about emotions,

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how to tackle these emotions.

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That is relevant to humanity.

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So then,

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a number of scientists,

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they really found useful information

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from our tradition,

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that is Indian tradition.

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To better understand this story,
we have to take a step back

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to 1987.

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(funky music)

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On one of my trips to Asia in 1974,

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I happened to be invited
to a Tibetan monastery

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that was set up for Westerners,

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called Kopan, in Kathmandu.

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Since I’d always been interested
in the meaning of life

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and what we’re really doing here,

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I found the teachings offering
a pretty complete explanation.

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Not that I believe the explanation,

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but from a logical basis
I thought it was very complete.

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To sit down with someone from the East

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like His Holiness who had
a great scholarly background

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and actually discuss

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some topics of interest
in their research...

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And I knew that His Holiness
from his side was very interested

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in speaking with Western scientists.

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So it was really to create an atmosphere
of deepening of understanding.

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And I have a lab where I do
some experiments relating to perception,

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I do some work
in artificial intelligence.

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Just like many people:
because at some point,

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I realized that my life was a total mess

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and I didn’t know
what the hell was going on.

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Finally I run in 1974

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totally by, one would say, accident
in Boulder, Colorado

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into a Tibetan teacher
called Trungpa Rinpoche,

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who was then beginning
to teach in the West.

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He made so much sense
in terms of how to work with oneself

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that I started to practice.

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About 3 or 4 years down my practice,
I began to realize that

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behind the whole tradition of Buddhist
meditation, there is also such a rich...

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epistemology and theory of mind,
if you want to say it that way.

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There is a natural attitude
that both scientists and Buddhists have.

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Both of them have
a strong interest in examining

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if I may say so,
the phenomena in front of them.

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That is they like to go
into details of things.

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And second of all,
both of them like to examine,

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particularly
with reference to experience

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rather than relying on dogma
or purely on texts.

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Buddhism is more natural a partner
for a conversation to Science

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than any other spiritual tradition
on this planet, I would submit.

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In Buddhist psychology,
there's a lot of explanations.

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About the physical level, modern science

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has much knowledge,
or information.

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So in the past, the scientists

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simply considered the brain.

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Besides the brain, nothing there.

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So even scientists, some scientists,
reject the existence of the mind.

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Varela,

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a very nice person,

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he also has genuine interest
about Buddhism.

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He himself you see,
his own personal experience,

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made something,
a very close connection

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with scientific research work

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and similarly

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combined with some Buddhist...

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knowledge about mind,
about emotion, these things.

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He really helped
to develop this Institution.

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Then later Richard Davidson.

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He’s a specialist about the brain.

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Very, very useful. Very, very useful.

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His knowledge is so wonderful

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and his personal...

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nature, also wonderful.

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Wonderful.

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Since, we’ve become
very trusted close friends.

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This incredible journey has brought us
to the University of Wisconsin-Madison

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to visit Dr. Richard Davidson,

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founder and chair
of the Center for Healthy Minds.

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The center conducts unique
and groundbreaking research

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on the untapped potential
of the human mind.

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In my early years in graduate school,
I had the great fortune of

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encountering people whose demeanor,

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whose personal presence
was really positive.

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They were kind,
warm-hearted people

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who I really wanted to be around more.

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And I wanted to discover
what their secret sauce was.

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I discovered that they all had
an interest in the practice of meditation

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and that’s really
what initiated my quest.

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After my second year of graduate school
at Harvard in the mid-1970s,

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I went off to Asia for the first time
to India and to Sri Lanka

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to get a little personal taste
of these practices.

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I came back with a conviction
that this was something really important

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for psychology and for neuroscience.

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I knew that in some way,

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my life had really been
irrevocably touched at that time.

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(in Tibetan)

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(traffic noise)

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In 1992 I was actually invited
by His Holiness the Dalai Lama

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to come to Dharamsala to meet with him
and to begin a serious dialogue

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about the possibility of using
modern neuroscientific methods

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to investigate
the minds and the brains

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of Tibetan practitioners
who spent years training their mind.

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And it was a seminal experience for me.

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He challenged me on that day,

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he said: “You’ve been using
tools of modern neuroscience

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"to study anxiety, fear,

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"and stress, and adversity,

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"why can’t you use those same tools
to study kindness and compassion?”

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It was a wake-up call

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and I made a commitment to him
on that day in 1992

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that we were going to reorient
our work more toward...

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the positive end of the human spectrum

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and to begin to investigate
more seriously

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the impact of contemplative practices.

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I first met Matthieu Ricard
at a Mind & Life meeting

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in Dharamsala, India, in 2000.

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So we’ve known each other now
for almost two decades.

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It was very clear to me
when we first met

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that he was going to be playing
a very important role in this quite...

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unusual and never-before-attempted
cross-cultural dialogue.

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So, you know,
some people were surprised

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I left a scientific career
to go study with Tibetan Masters.

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But what is science about?

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Science is about
discovering reality as it is.

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Not just following appearances
but seeing how things work.

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Discovering new things.

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So the field of science is usually
physical phenomena, biology, life,

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now a little bit more psychology

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which is a bit more
going into other insights.

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But Buddhism is a science of mind.

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For the last 2500 years we have said
it’s a precursor of psychology.

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Not only knowing how the mind works

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but knowing
the laws of happiness and suffering,

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the mechanisms of happiness
and suffering.

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When I travelled to India
to meet those teachers,

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I was doing my PhD
so I went back and forth every summer.

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And after six years, I figured out that

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this is really the way of life
I wanted to explore further.

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Basically for twenty-five years,
I was completely out of Western life.

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Life in a monastery is intense and based
on a rigorous academic schedule.

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The day begins at 4:30 am

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and ends around 1 am,
sometimes later.

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(monks debating)

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Monasteries teach
the Five Major sciences,

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also known as superior sciences.

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They are similar to what we know
as neurobiology, psychology

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and quantum physics.

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They will also teach minor sciences
such as art, sculpture and poetry.

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Tibetan monks and nuns
will first memorize the content

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to analyse the texts logically
and fully understand their meaning.

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Masters will help students to comprehend
the deeper meaning of the Teachings

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through texts and debate sessions.

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As classes progress, exams become
more frequent and more difficult.

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For every 100 students who enroll,

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only 30 to 40 of them will
eventually complete their studies

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and take on the task of teaching.

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This will take them about 20 years.

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Then there was the Mind & Life
which I joined in 2000,

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it was on Destructive Emotions

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and there was Francisco Varela,
Richard Davidson, Paul Eckman,

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and many other luminaries.

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And halfway through the week,
the Dalai Lama said:

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“It’s all fine but what can we
contribute to society?”

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And the idea came:

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let’s take the best neuroscientists
and specialists of emotions

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and let’s get long-term meditators

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who have done
10 to 50 000 hours of meditation

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to study the effect of mind training
on the brain.

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So then I volunteered,
being an ex-scientist.

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I also recruited,

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convinced many of my friends,
meditators, Bhutanese, Tibetans,

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Westerners, monks and lay people

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who had done
a lot of meditation practice.

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I went to Francisco Varela’s lab
but he died very soon after.

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I went to Paul Eckman’s lab a few times

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in Berkeley, San Francisco and UCSF.

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But the main collaboration
turned out to be with Richard Davidson.

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In 2006, Time Magazine
announced Dr. Richard Davidson

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as one of the 100 most influential
people in the world

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for the experiments he carried out
with the expert Tibetan meditators,

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which led to unprecedented
discoveries of the human mind.

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When we talk about the effects
of meditation on the body,

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or for that matter,
the effects of meditation on anything,

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we need to first indicate

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what kind of meditation
we’re talking about.

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There are literally hundreds
of different kinds of meditation.

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We have a very broad

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and deep program of research

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on many different aspects of meditation.

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And we study people
at the beginning stages of practice,

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we study longer term practitioners.

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And we also make
a very important distinction

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between the changes that might occur
when you are meditating,

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when you’ve got your butt
on a cushion or on a chair

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and you’re actually meditating,

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compared to the changes that occur after
or that are more enduring.

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Because we’re interested
in how meditation can impact

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every nook and cranny
of your everyday life,

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every aspect of your everyday life.

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And the way we study that

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is to look at the more enduring changes,
what we call “trait” changes.

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It would require that we specify
what kind of meditation it is,

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how long a person has been meditating

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and whether we’re talking
about “state” or “trait” changes.

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(intense ambient music)

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In Tibetan Buddhism,
in order to increase our inner skills,

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we’re required to practice
using two main tools:

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the first is
meditation for concentration,

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also known as shiné practice.

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The second is analytical meditation,
also known as Vipassana practice.

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To practice meditation for concentration,

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what today might be known
as Mindfullness,

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we begin by concentrating on our breath.

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It is easiest
to concentrate on our breath

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because our mind naturally moves.

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But to focus properly,

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we must train ourselves
to visualize a fixed object.

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This practice is what supports
the ability of analysis.

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Analytical meditation is
what enables us to realize

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interdependence and compassion,

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which are the fundamentals of well-being.

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Interdependence means
that nothing exists on its own

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or independently.

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One of Buddha's first teachings

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and a recent discovery
in Quantum Physics.

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Therefore analytical meditation
is the most important form of meditation.

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The combination of these two practices,
concentration and analysis,

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is what allows us to achieve
the skill of well-being.

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One of the things

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that viewers will recognize
if they try this,

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if they try to pay attention
to their breathing for example,

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is that their mind will wander,
thoughts will occur,

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distractions happen,

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this is the nature of our mind.

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And so being able
to recognize when that happens

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and gently bring the mind back
to the object of the practice

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is the monitoring function.

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With simple mindfulness practices,
one of the components of our minds

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that are impacted quite clearly
is attention,

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and there are different aspects
of attention that may be impacted.

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Mindfulness is a word
which is bandied about a lot

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in the media these days.

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Of course it also has historical roots

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in the Buddhist tradition.

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It has been co-opted,
I would say, by psychologists

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in the modern era and further...

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described and distorted, I think,

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by popular media.

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We and other scientists have found
that if we’re talking about

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simple mindfulness practices,
that there are certain...

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aspects of our biology that are relevant
to health which are impacted,

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including improvements
in certain aspects of immune function,

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00:28:04.360 --> 00:28:07.440
decreases in stress hormones

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and changes
in the autonomic nervous system,

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which is part of the system

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that responds
in a fight or flight situation,

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where there is stress
or fear that is activated.

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The autonomic nervous system
regulates those bodily functions

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we do not consciously activate,

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such as our heart rate,
our respiration or digestion.

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On a biological level,
we are still primitive:

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when we are afraid or if we feel at risk,

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our body believes our negative emotions
are caused by an external danger.

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Once our emotions are triggered,
the amygdala alerts the hypothalamus,

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which will then produce stress hormones
that pause our functions

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while increasing the level of sugar
and fat in our blood

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and generating
the energy to run away.

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The problem is that living
under stress all the time

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also increases the chances
of physical diseases.

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Meditation has been shown to be capable
of reducing the amygdala’s activity,

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enabling a greater control of fear

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and a reduction
in the brain’s response to it.

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00:29:22.520 --> 00:29:26.040
And we can see improvements
after just a few weeks of training.

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The Mind & Life Summer Research
Institute (SRI) is now in its 16th year.

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00:29:44.400 --> 00:29:47.080
It is a week-long immersive
residential program

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00:29:47.160 --> 00:29:50.200
held annually
at Garrison Institute in New York.

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00:29:51.480 --> 00:29:53.520
So we’re in for a real treat.

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00:29:53.600 --> 00:29:57.400
Tania’s been working
on a really significant study

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for a number of years
and it has just come to fruition.

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00:30:00.280 --> 00:30:04.080
I hope you’re here to share some of that.
So welcome, Tania Singer.

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So the first time
I encountered Mind & Life,

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actually it was
when I was in Dharamsala

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and the Mind & Life conference
had just ended.

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It was on plasticity and I was
so amazed to hear from a monk

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that neuroscientists had just met
with the Dalai Lama and monks

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to discuss neuroplasticity,
because that was my field.

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I wrote to Richie Davidson,
who was on the Board of Mind & Life,

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and I said: “I want to suggest
a conference on compassion,

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neuroscience and empathy”,

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because I was just doing research
in London and it was very fresh.

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And it was the first time
we investigated empathy in the brain.

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Immediately he wrote me back.
He said: “I’m in London, can I meet you?”

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So we met
and we became friends immediately.

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And so since then, I was basically also
working with Matthieu Ricard for years.

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We were putting him in the scanner,

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asking him to go in different states
of empathy, compassion,

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loving-kindness and so on
and we studied his brain

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while he was producing
these meditative states,

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and we learned from that.

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In the work we were doing
with Richie Davidson and Tania Singer

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at the Max Planck Institute of Leipzig,

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we could, through interacting,
make a clear difference

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between empathy and compassion.

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Through the dialogue,
something new comes out.

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For example, with Matthieu Ricard
I was doing empathy research

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in putting people into pain,
giving pain in the scanner

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and then measuring the brain networks
which light up

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when you have pain or when you empathize
with the pain of others,

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when you share the pain.

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I thought at that time, empathy
and compassion was the same thing:

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a response whenever you see
someone suffering.

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And he went into the scanner and I said:

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"Can you please just do
compassion meditation?"

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and I saw in his brain

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networks lighting up
were actually networks

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which come
with positive feeling, reward,

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you know, feeling of love and warmth.

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So I was looking at this
and I was like: "How?"

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"What is he doing?
He’s not suffering with the other."

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So I asked him, I said: “Matthieu,

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"you know I asked you
to empathize with the other

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"so you should imagine someone suffering
and really suffer with this person.”

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And he said:
“No, you asked me to go in compassion.”

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And I said:
“Yeah but same same, no?”

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And he said: “No, not at all!”

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Then he came out of the scanner
and we talked.

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If you put someone in an MRI
and see what happens in the brain,

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unless you can have a very detailed,

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insightful description
of what this person has been doing,

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thinking, feeling,

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what type of mind training or meditation
that person is doing, he or she is doing,

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then you have no clue
what's going on in the experience.

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So in a way,

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that collaboration is very fruitful.

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Now it’s increasingly appreciated
and recognized by the scientist,

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it’s a true collaboration.

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It’s not just
meditators going in the fMRI,

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being put electrodes
and being like guinea pigs.

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They are completely part of the process

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of establishing a research protocol,

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interpreting the results and the data.

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So they are true collaborators.

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He said compassion is a state

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where you don’t necessarily have
to suffer with the other

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but you develop
this feeling of concern, warmth

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and a strong motivation
to help the other.

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So I said: “Oh really?"

480
00:33:37.320 --> 00:33:41.000
"This is amazing. This is why
we see these networks light up,

481
00:33:41.080 --> 00:33:44.920
"the ones you would see in the brain
if a mother sees a picture of a child.

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"This kind of warm, loving feeling.”

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00:33:47.720 --> 00:33:51.560
And so I asked him to go back
in the scanner and said:

484
00:33:51.640 --> 00:33:55.600
“OK now Matthieu, you only do empathy,

485
00:33:55.680 --> 00:33:58.040
"you suffer with the other,
you don’t go in compassion,

486
00:33:58.120 --> 00:33:59.840
"you don’t transform it in compassion,

487
00:33:59.920 --> 00:34:02.040
"you don’t do
what you usually do in meditation.

488
00:34:02.480 --> 00:34:05.640
"You just resonate with the suffering
and be empathic.”

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And he said: “Ok, why should I do it?”
I said: “For science! You know?”

490
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Can you do just empathy?
Suffering with the suffering, and I tried

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and within half an hour
I was completely burnt out.

492
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Then I shift back to compassion

493
00:34:17.920 --> 00:34:20.920
and everything disappeared,
the burnout completely disappeared.

494
00:34:21.400 --> 00:34:24.400
Compassion is
a strong feeling of concern

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00:34:24.480 --> 00:34:28.080
towards people who are suffering
and a desire to help them.

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00:34:28.160 --> 00:34:31.200
A person who feels compassion
is not distressed

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or overwhelmed
by the negative emotions of others.

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00:34:34.760 --> 00:34:37.480
We can all train ourselves
to feel compassion

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through analytical meditation.

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Many people say that we need
to grow more, become more empathic.

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00:34:45.200 --> 00:34:46.400
But what happens

502
00:34:46.480 --> 00:34:49.600
if you are a caregiver
and you effectively resonate

503
00:34:49.680 --> 00:34:51.640
with people who suffer, all the time,

504
00:34:51.920 --> 00:34:54.960
then you burn out,
you get emotional distress.

505
00:34:55.800 --> 00:34:56.680
So,

506
00:34:56.760 --> 00:34:58.880
then we realized that in the brain,

507
00:34:58.960 --> 00:35:02.040
meditators who engage in compassion
do something very different.

508
00:35:03.040 --> 00:35:06.360
It’s a very wholesome feeling,
very warm-hearted feeling.

509
00:35:06.600 --> 00:35:08.120
There’s no distress at all.

510
00:35:08.520 --> 00:35:11.600
And we found
that the loving kindness meditation

511
00:35:11.680 --> 00:35:16.080
actually is an antidote
to empathic distress.

512
00:35:16.320 --> 00:35:19.360
We can now offer compassion training

513
00:35:19.440 --> 00:35:21.920
for doctors, caregivers, social workers,

514
00:35:22.160 --> 00:35:24.200
who burn out and don’t know why.

515
00:35:24.280 --> 00:35:28.160
And then we really understood
that basically just empathy alone,

516
00:35:28.240 --> 00:35:30.560
if you don’t transform it
into compassion,

517
00:35:30.960 --> 00:35:34.080
can burn you out and can bring you
into empathic distress,

518
00:35:34.400 --> 00:35:37.960
which probably happens a lot
with nurses or every caregiver,

519
00:35:38.040 --> 00:35:44.000
or, you know, people who need to be
in wars or in areas of crisis.

520
00:35:44.560 --> 00:35:46.120
Scientific research

521
00:35:46.840 --> 00:35:49.000
is very, very essential

522
00:35:50.120 --> 00:35:51.680
for the future of the world.

523
00:35:55.280 --> 00:35:56.440
So far,

524
00:35:57.360 --> 00:36:00.120
the scientific research
and scientific fields

525
00:36:00.240 --> 00:36:02.200
are mainly external things.

526
00:36:06.400 --> 00:36:09.240
Even those specialists about the brain,

527
00:36:10.120 --> 00:36:12.920
their knowledge
about system of emotions,

528
00:36:13.200 --> 00:36:16.320
system of the mind, is very limited.

529
00:36:19.720 --> 00:36:22.680
So the modern science now

530
00:36:23.360 --> 00:36:24.720
should expand.

531
00:36:25.040 --> 00:36:26.800
Not only external things,

532
00:36:26.880 --> 00:36:31.080
but also internal, our mind,
our emotions, these things.

533
00:36:31.880 --> 00:36:33.880
(emotional music)

534
00:36:45.400 --> 00:36:49.760
In Buddhism there is
the notion of transformation,

535
00:36:49.840 --> 00:36:52.200
the possibility of transforming our mind.

536
00:36:53.040 --> 00:36:58.080
Neuroplasticity is a word
that we use to refer to the fact

537
00:36:58.160 --> 00:36:59.560
that the brain changes

538
00:36:59.640 --> 00:37:02.440
in response to experience
and in response to training.

539
00:37:03.040 --> 00:37:06.560
Most of the time our brain
is being shaped by forces around us

540
00:37:06.640 --> 00:37:10.880
about which we have
little access and little control.

541
00:37:10.960 --> 00:37:15.440
We can actually cultivate
healthy habits of mind

542
00:37:15.600 --> 00:37:18.280
which will change
brain function and structure

543
00:37:18.680 --> 00:37:21.520
in ways that will support
those qualities.

544
00:37:24.240 --> 00:37:26.880
The scientific findings show

545
00:37:28.360 --> 00:37:32.760
more anger, constant anger, fear

546
00:37:33.600 --> 00:37:35.440
are very bad for our health.

547
00:37:37.120 --> 00:37:38.840
And obviously we can see

548
00:37:39.760 --> 00:37:42.120
at the level of family,

549
00:37:43.640 --> 00:37:47.320
with more anger,
more jealousy, more distress,

550
00:37:47.400 --> 00:37:49.880
that family will never be a happy family.

551
00:37:50.720 --> 00:37:55.400
So in order to develop
a healthy body and a long life,

552
00:37:55.560 --> 00:37:59.360
people exercise
and do yoga exercise like that.

553
00:38:02.440 --> 00:38:06.280
They extensively carry out
some physical exercise

554
00:38:06.520 --> 00:38:07.880
but are full of worry here.

555
00:38:08.320 --> 00:38:10.400
So emotion is a key factor

556
00:38:11.440 --> 00:38:13.800
for a healthy body,

557
00:38:13.880 --> 00:38:15.000
a long life.

558
00:38:16.960 --> 00:38:21.120
(funky music)

559
00:38:31.840 --> 00:38:36.480
Our work collectively has led us
to a very, very simple

560
00:38:36.640 --> 00:38:39.160
but we think radical, conclusion.

561
00:38:39.760 --> 00:38:43.480
And that is
that well-being is a skill.

562
00:38:43.760 --> 00:38:46.320
We normally don’t think
of well-being as a skill

563
00:38:46.680 --> 00:38:50.160
but what we would argue
is that well-being

564
00:38:50.360 --> 00:38:52.720
is no different fundamentally

565
00:38:53.120 --> 00:38:55.280
than learning how to play a violin

566
00:38:55.560 --> 00:38:57.960
or learning to play sports.

567
00:38:58.320 --> 00:39:00.720
If you practice at it,
you will get better.

568
00:39:01.480 --> 00:39:06.200
(funky music)

569
00:39:10.080 --> 00:39:14.040
The Master is a fundamental figure,
a person of experience.

570
00:39:14.520 --> 00:39:18.240
An important aspect of Buddhism
states that the teachings of Buddha

571
00:39:18.320 --> 00:39:21.720
have been created to adjust to
the learning abilities of the listener.

572
00:39:22.240 --> 00:39:26.240
One student might understand a concept
through a different type of explanation

573
00:39:26.320 --> 00:39:28.200
compared to another student.

574
00:39:28.280 --> 00:39:31.560
The greatness of a Master lies
in the ability to understand

575
00:39:31.640 --> 00:39:34.560
which teaching will be
the most beneficial for the students

576
00:39:34.640 --> 00:39:37.960
all while improving the individual skills
of everyone of them.

577
00:39:39.120 --> 00:39:41.200
So when we speak of meditation...

578
00:39:41.280 --> 00:39:44.600
Actually the better expression
is “mind training”.

579
00:39:45.080 --> 00:39:47.000
Meditation is about training the mind

580
00:39:47.400 --> 00:39:49.240
to be more attentive, to be more...

581
00:39:50.480 --> 00:39:54.520
benevolent, to be more compassionate,
to be more at peace, to be more free.

582
00:39:54.960 --> 00:39:58.640
It’s not just sitting there and emptying
your mind, that doesn’t go anywhere.

583
00:39:59.040 --> 00:40:01.120
Now everybody recognizes

584
00:40:01.840 --> 00:40:06.360
that it’s eminently good
for mental health and physical health

585
00:40:06.960 --> 00:40:11.000
to do five times 20 minutes
of physical exercise every week.

586
00:40:11.080 --> 00:40:12.960
It’s even an antidote for depression.

587
00:40:13.480 --> 00:40:15.360
Now imagine that twenty minutes

588
00:40:15.760 --> 00:40:17.520
of loving kindness meditation

589
00:40:18.000 --> 00:40:21.200
changes the 23 hours and 10 minutes
of the rest of the day,

590
00:40:21.280 --> 00:40:22.560
including your sleep,

591
00:40:22.760 --> 00:40:27.200
including your quality of relationships
with people at work and your family,

592
00:40:27.280 --> 00:40:30.280
which are the main factors
actually for well-being,

593
00:40:30.360 --> 00:40:32.160
the quality of human relations.

594
00:40:32.640 --> 00:40:35.160
So, who would not go for that?

595
00:40:42.000 --> 00:40:46.400
If we really want to know more
about effects of meditation,

596
00:40:46.480 --> 00:40:48.840
you'll have to ask: “Which meditation?”

597
00:40:49.440 --> 00:40:54.400
So it really depends which practice,
which mental practice, you do every day,

598
00:40:55.520 --> 00:40:57.040
which effect you will see.

599
00:40:58.080 --> 00:41:01.720
So there is nothing like
“the meditation practice”,

600
00:41:01.800 --> 00:41:05.480
there is a family of a lot
of different meditation practices.

601
00:41:05.560 --> 00:41:10.400
And some are, you know,
targeting more opening the heart.

602
00:41:10.760 --> 00:41:14.440
Others are targeting
stabilizing your mind and attention.

603
00:41:14.680 --> 00:41:18.320
Others are more reflective.
Others are more inter-subjective.

604
00:41:19.200 --> 00:41:22.720
And so depending on
which practice you engage in,

605
00:41:22.800 --> 00:41:26.000
you will have
very different effects in the brain,

606
00:41:26.600 --> 00:41:29.800
even on the level of body
and subjective experience.

607
00:41:30.720 --> 00:41:35.000
Now we see, there are
a lot of problems on this planet.

608
00:41:35.960 --> 00:41:40.200
All these problems are related
with destructive emotions.

609
00:41:41.120 --> 00:41:44.080
Anger, fear, distress.

610
00:41:45.920 --> 00:41:48.680
These are related
with a self-centered attitude,

611
00:41:48.760 --> 00:41:50.280
"Me! Me! Me!"

612
00:41:53.040 --> 00:41:57.280
and create the strong feeling
of “we” and “they”.

613
00:42:00.000 --> 00:42:01.440
“More suffering on them!”

614
00:42:02.160 --> 00:42:03.440
Sometimes we feel happy.

615
00:42:06.080 --> 00:42:08.560
So now this attitude must change.

616
00:42:10.160 --> 00:42:11.920
I was impressed from the very beginning

617
00:42:12.000 --> 00:42:14.880
when I went there to the conference
in Dharamsala and so on,

618
00:42:14.960 --> 00:42:17.920
is the level
of scientific-minded discourse

619
00:42:18.000 --> 00:42:20.760
these monks and His Holiness
the Dalai Lama have.

620
00:42:20.840 --> 00:42:25.280
They are really interested
and know a lot about Western science,

621
00:42:25.360 --> 00:42:28.080
much more than we know
about Buddhist philosophy.

622
00:42:29.040 --> 00:42:30.920
They are very, very sharp minds.

623
00:42:31.000 --> 00:42:34.360
So they are very logical
and in a way, very scientifically minded.

624
00:42:34.440 --> 00:42:38.600
They learn how to debate
and how to use the logic.

625
00:42:38.880 --> 00:42:42.080
So the questions sometimes are
sharp like knives and they really...

626
00:42:42.560 --> 00:42:43.560
You know,

627
00:42:43.640 --> 00:42:47.640
it’s different than being on the normal
neuroscientific, psychological conference

628
00:42:47.720 --> 00:42:51.920
where you talk and debate
about “P values” and little data things.

629
00:42:52.720 --> 00:42:54.520
In these dialogues with the Dalai Lama,

630
00:42:54.600 --> 00:42:57.360
you really debate
the fundaments of science.

631
00:42:57.440 --> 00:43:00.240
“Why do you do that?”
“Why do you assume that and that

632
00:43:00.320 --> 00:43:03.480
in your scientific world?”

633
00:43:03.560 --> 00:43:09.080
You get kind of more aware of the edges
of your belief system in science,

634
00:43:09.160 --> 00:43:11.480
and you also get aware
that our scientific system

635
00:43:11.560 --> 00:43:13.120
is a belief system, not just...

636
00:43:13.440 --> 00:43:17.520
objective, pure, reality, you know?

637
00:43:17.600 --> 00:43:22.040
Which is also just based on
a lot of assumptions and axiomatic.

638
00:43:22.120 --> 00:43:27.040
These dialogues
are really fruitful to see that,

639
00:43:27.120 --> 00:43:28.960
to become more aware of your limit.

640
00:43:29.640 --> 00:43:31.360
(funky music)

641
00:43:44.840 --> 00:43:47.760
Robert Thurman teaches
at Columbia University

642
00:43:47.840 --> 00:43:50.880
and is one of the world leading experts
of Tibetan studies.

643
00:43:51.440 --> 00:43:56.080
A student himself, Thurman has worked
alongside the Dalai Lama for years.

644
00:43:56.960 --> 00:44:00.080
The findings of leading scientist
Amishi Jha

645
00:44:00.160 --> 00:44:03.920
have shown that mindfulness training
improves numerous aspects

646
00:44:04.000 --> 00:44:06.480
of both cognitive and emotional health.

647
00:44:08.360 --> 00:44:11.040
We came together
in a way where we were

648
00:44:11.920 --> 00:44:14.240
really teasing apart issues

649
00:44:14.800 --> 00:44:18.000
and exploring different ways
of knowing that were,

650
00:44:19.040 --> 00:44:21.000
in a very refreshing way...

651
00:44:22.040 --> 00:44:24.000
not familiar but...

652
00:44:24.360 --> 00:44:26.960
it just sort of opened up the mind.

653
00:44:29.320 --> 00:44:32.640
(funky music)

654
00:45:38.760 --> 00:45:41.720
(in Tibetan)

655
00:45:46.160 --> 00:45:48.280
OK, ready?

656
00:45:49.320 --> 00:45:51.040
One, two, three.

657
00:45:54.040 --> 00:45:56.200
Thank you.

658
00:45:59.440 --> 00:46:02.280
- Good morning everybody.
- Good morning Your Holiness.

659
00:46:05.800 --> 00:46:07.080
Good sleep?

660
00:46:08.640 --> 00:46:10.760
Good.
How many hours?

661
00:46:13.640 --> 00:46:15.360
Good morning everybody.

662
00:46:18.200 --> 00:46:19.800
Good morning Your Holiness.

663
00:46:21.920 --> 00:46:25.720
I’m Susan Bauer-Wu,
President of the Mind & Life Institute

664
00:46:25.800 --> 00:46:31.040
and it is my great honor
to welcome each of you here

665
00:46:32.280 --> 00:46:36.320
for the 33rd Mind & Life Dialogue.

666
00:46:36.720 --> 00:46:40.920
And we are most privileged to meet here
in this extraordinary setting.

667
00:46:43.560 --> 00:46:47.760
And while educational systems have long
prioritized the education of mind

668
00:46:47.840 --> 00:46:51.920
as a pathway to a productive adulthood,
a material success,

669
00:46:52.240 --> 00:46:55.080
within this room
are pioneers in the field,

670
00:46:55.160 --> 00:46:57.960
who are poised to share
their latest findings

671
00:46:58.240 --> 00:47:00.120
and their insights with us.

672
00:47:00.240 --> 00:47:05.280
So it’s truly a privilege to be here
and to reimagine with all of you

673
00:47:06.040 --> 00:47:09.400
how we can educate
not only the mind but the heart,

674
00:47:09.760 --> 00:47:14.080
in pursuit of a kinder, more
compassionate and peaceful world.

675
00:47:16.160 --> 00:47:18.680
It raises the fundamental question
of the relationship

676
00:47:18.760 --> 00:47:20.760
between brain and mind.

677
00:47:20.840 --> 00:47:23.200
So without brain activation,

678
00:47:23.560 --> 00:47:26.360
there couldn’t be
emotion regulation as well.

679
00:47:26.440 --> 00:47:28.880
- Would that be the case?
- Yes.

680
00:47:30.040 --> 00:47:31.520
Yes. So...

681
00:47:31.600 --> 00:47:35.400
Emotion regulation,
the way a neuroscientist would...

682
00:47:35.680 --> 00:47:38.440
Through some surgery of brain,

683
00:47:39.000 --> 00:47:41.880
can you really remove some emotion?

684
00:47:42.520 --> 00:47:48.360
You can affect an emotion
but I wouldn’t say remove an emotion.

685
00:47:49.080 --> 00:47:50.800
Of course our daily experience is:

686
00:47:52.440 --> 00:47:53.880
at a physical level,

687
00:47:56.200 --> 00:47:58.720
it's completely calm,

688
00:48:00.320 --> 00:48:02.440
just a thought comes,

689
00:48:02.520 --> 00:48:05.280
and during that thought,
some change happens.

690
00:48:07.360 --> 00:48:12.800
So, the brain activity change
comes first?

691
00:48:12.960 --> 00:48:14.680
Or the thought comes first?

692
00:48:18.240 --> 00:48:22.000
There is research that suggests that...

693
00:48:23.000 --> 00:48:25.600
Most neuroscientists would say

694
00:48:25.880 --> 00:48:30.960
that the brain activity
and the thought co-occur.

695
00:48:31.360 --> 00:48:33.160
(in Tibetan)

696
00:48:33.240 --> 00:48:36.040
(all laughing)

697
00:48:36.120 --> 00:48:38.920
(in Tibetan)

698
00:48:39.000 --> 00:48:42.440
This sounds a little bit like, you know,
someone patching up as you go.

699
00:48:42.560 --> 00:48:46.800
(all laughing)

700
00:48:47.360 --> 00:48:50.880
You know Your Holiness, I often say

701
00:48:50.960 --> 00:48:52.920
to my neuroscience colleagues,

702
00:48:53.000 --> 00:48:57.280
there is what we call
the “hard problem” in neuroscience

703
00:48:57.360 --> 00:49:01.240
which you, Your Holiness,
frequently come back to,

704
00:49:01.320 --> 00:49:06.120
which is the problem of the relation
between the mind and the brain.

705
00:49:06.360 --> 00:49:10.000
And most neuroscientists,
the vast majority,

706
00:49:11.480 --> 00:49:12.400
dismiss it.

707
00:49:12.880 --> 00:49:15.680
So you asked about surgery
for the brain before.

708
00:49:15.760 --> 00:49:22.360
This man was the director of
the National Institute of Mental Health

709
00:49:22.440 --> 00:49:24.920
in the United States for 13 years.

710
00:49:25.000 --> 00:49:31.080
He was responsible over those 13 years
for a budget of 20 billion dollars

711
00:49:31.160 --> 00:49:33.440
where he supported research.

712
00:49:33.680 --> 00:49:35.120
And what he said is:

713
00:49:35.200 --> 00:49:39.400
"I don't think we moved the needle
in reducing suicide,

714
00:49:39.520 --> 00:49:41.400
"reducing hospitalizations,

715
00:49:41.480 --> 00:49:44.640
"improving recovery
for tens of millions of people

716
00:49:44.840 --> 00:49:46.120
"who have mental illness.”

717
00:49:46.200 --> 00:49:49.160
And he said:
“I hold myself accountable for that.”

718
00:49:50.040 --> 00:49:51.400
This is...

719
00:49:51.600 --> 00:49:58.040
(speaking Tibetan)

720
00:49:58.840 --> 00:50:02.360
And so he has come
to the conclusion, Your Holiness,

721
00:50:02.440 --> 00:50:04.920
that the methods for mind training

722
00:50:05.120 --> 00:50:08.880
that are so important
in the Buddhist tradition,

723
00:50:09.400 --> 00:50:13.160
that whole family of methods
is going to be the solution.

724
00:50:13.440 --> 00:50:15.920
Not surgery and not drugs

725
00:50:16.040 --> 00:50:21.760
because they haven’t impacted this
despite spending twenty billion dollars.

726
00:50:24.200 --> 00:50:28.160
(indistinctive chatting)

727
00:50:38.960 --> 00:50:42.520
(emotional music)

728
00:51:39.600 --> 00:51:44.960
Today we will be focused
on the topics of attention

729
00:51:45.400 --> 00:51:47.480
and meta-awareness.

730
00:51:47.800 --> 00:51:49.920
When we’re reading a book,

731
00:51:51.520 --> 00:51:53.160
we can be...

732
00:51:53.920 --> 00:51:58.200
attentive to the words
and know the words that we’re reading

733
00:51:58.400 --> 00:52:01.840
but our minds could be lost,
our minds could be wandering.

734
00:52:01.920 --> 00:52:05.200
This happens,
maybe not with Your Holiness

735
00:52:05.280 --> 00:52:07.880
but I can tell you
that in the United States...

736
00:52:08.040 --> 00:52:09.040
Same experience!

737
00:52:09.320 --> 00:52:11.960
(all laughing)

738
00:52:15.040 --> 00:52:19.320
Well, there are
scientific data showing that

739
00:52:19.560 --> 00:52:23.880
at least in the United States,
on average, the average American adult

740
00:52:23.960 --> 00:52:27.760
spends 47 % of his or her waking life

741
00:52:28.000 --> 00:52:30.600
actually not paying attention
to what they’re doing.

742
00:52:30.680 --> 00:52:31.600
They’re lost!

743
00:52:38.160 --> 00:52:39.680
Think about it for a moment.

744
00:52:40.200 --> 00:52:42.520
This means that at the age of 50,

745
00:52:42.600 --> 00:52:46.920
we will have spent about 23 years
living in autopilot mode,

746
00:52:47.000 --> 00:52:48.960
making unconscious decisions.

747
00:52:49.400 --> 00:52:53.400
So what happens
when a judge doesn’t hear 47 %

748
00:52:53.480 --> 00:52:56.160
of what a key witness
says during a trial?

749
00:52:56.480 --> 00:53:00.480
Or when a soldier doesn’t listen
to 47% of the orders

750
00:53:00.560 --> 00:53:03.240
imparted by his or her superior?

751
00:53:03.320 --> 00:53:05.560
Or when a politician zones out

752
00:53:05.640 --> 00:53:09.120
at a world summit
about complex international affairs?

753
00:53:09.320 --> 00:53:10.960
You can see the pattern, right?

754
00:53:11.760 --> 00:53:15.800
Amishi Jha’s labs with athletes,
Marines and judges among others

755
00:53:15.880 --> 00:53:17.920
have been extremely significant.

756
00:53:18.280 --> 00:53:20.440
Her mentor was Richie Davidson

757
00:53:20.520 --> 00:53:23.320
and Amishi has been a part
of the Mind & Life community

758
00:53:23.400 --> 00:53:24.520
for many years.

759
00:53:29.880 --> 00:53:32.840
Amishi Jha from the University of Miami

760
00:53:33.040 --> 00:53:34.720
will be discussing this

761
00:53:34.840 --> 00:53:38.520
in basic research contexts.

762
00:53:39.000 --> 00:53:41.040
What about Internal Distraction?

763
00:53:41.480 --> 00:53:43.440
(speaking Tibetan)

764
00:53:43.760 --> 00:53:47.800
For example, when someone is
in a completely absorbed state of mind,

765
00:53:48.120 --> 00:53:51.800
whatever comes in the face
of sensory perceptions,

766
00:53:52.280 --> 00:53:55.680
the person is not paying any attention,
he’s just completely focused.

767
00:53:56.080 --> 00:53:59.200
And the point here is that
when we’re talking about mental training,

768
00:53:59.280 --> 00:54:01.480
the domain
in which mental training occurs

769
00:54:01.560 --> 00:54:03.560
is really at the level
of mind and thought,

770
00:54:03.880 --> 00:54:05.280
not at the level of perception.

771
00:54:05.520 --> 00:54:10.200
So this is where I’m very happy
to hear your view of that

772
00:54:10.280 --> 00:54:14.080
because that is actually an open question
within cognitive psychology.

773
00:54:16.520 --> 00:54:21.120
(indistinctive conversations)

774
00:54:34.720 --> 00:54:38.160
...when an object appears very negative,

775
00:54:38.520 --> 00:54:43.080
actually the 90% of that negativeness
is mental projection.

776
00:54:59.440 --> 00:55:02.880
At the heart of the work
that we are engaged in

777
00:55:02.960 --> 00:55:05.400
and the direction
of the work of Mind & Life,

778
00:55:05.480 --> 00:55:09.720
it’s much more looking
at a collective well-being.

779
00:55:09.800 --> 00:55:13.240
How can our work,
how can these conversations

780
00:55:13.320 --> 00:55:17.560
across contemplative wisdom traditions
and across the sciences

781
00:55:17.720 --> 00:55:19.520
and across sectors of society,

782
00:55:19.600 --> 00:55:21.320
how can they come together

783
00:55:21.400 --> 00:55:25.240
and intersect in a way
where we can improve

784
00:55:26.280 --> 00:55:27.640
collective well-being?

785
00:55:27.800 --> 00:55:31.800
So diversity and inclusion
is absolutely really important

786
00:55:31.920 --> 00:55:35.640
and we’re not just limiting it
to North America and to Europe,

787
00:55:35.720 --> 00:55:39.800
but we’re really interested
in expanding contemplative sciences

788
00:55:40.200 --> 00:55:43.400
and the impact
of contemplative sciences worldwide.

789
00:55:43.760 --> 00:55:46.080
And so we’re doing more global programs

790
00:55:46.160 --> 00:55:49.120
and for example
we have a Research Institute,

791
00:55:49.200 --> 00:55:53.360
the International Research Institute,
that’s happening in Japan this year

792
00:55:53.840 --> 00:55:57.920
and we’ll be doing one
in South America in 2020.

793
00:55:58.000 --> 00:56:01.720
Our program in Africa last year
was really significant.

794
00:56:01.800 --> 00:56:06.520
It was the first program
we had ever done in Africa

795
00:56:07.040 --> 00:56:11.400
and it was in partnership
with our African colleagues

796
00:56:11.480 --> 00:56:13.240
on a theme called “Ubuntu”.

797
00:56:13.800 --> 00:56:17.760
Ubuntu is an African
indigenous wisdom philosophy

798
00:56:18.360 --> 00:56:22.120
that means: “I am because you are.
You are because I am.”

799
00:57:01.440 --> 00:57:06.480
(conference room noise)

800
00:57:06.800 --> 00:57:12.040
The Dalai Lama’s first trip to Africa
was set to be a historical world event.

801
00:57:12.560 --> 00:57:17.440
External pressures attempted to stop
the Mind & Life Dialogues for months.

802
00:57:17.720 --> 00:57:21.120
However the President of Botswana
Ian Khama

803
00:57:21.240 --> 00:57:23.360
was determined to keep his commitment.

804
00:57:24.720 --> 00:57:28.280
If you think alike,
in this very subtle ways

805
00:57:28.440 --> 00:57:30.480
this brain has become similar,

806
00:57:30.560 --> 00:57:33.040
more similar to your group
than a different group.

807
00:57:33.720 --> 00:57:38.400
My name is Uri Hasson and I’m working
in neuroscience in Princeton University.

808
00:57:39.080 --> 00:57:42.200
So I think there is something amazing
about us as human beings.

809
00:57:42.280 --> 00:57:47.600
How can we cross cultures and communicate
with other people we never met before?

810
00:57:48.240 --> 00:57:50.720
So what we try to understand
in my research

811
00:57:50.800 --> 00:57:56.080
is what’s going on now in my brain
when I’m speaking with you.

812
00:57:56.760 --> 00:57:59.960
And what is happening in your brain
now when you listen to me.

813
00:58:00.120 --> 00:58:01.200
Basically we try to see

814
00:58:01.280 --> 00:58:04.240
how information is flowing
from one brain to another brain.

815
00:58:04.840 --> 00:58:07.080
We see that during good communication,

816
00:58:07.600 --> 00:58:09.240
your brain as a listener

817
00:58:09.320 --> 00:58:11.640
becomes similar
to my brain as a speaker.

818
00:58:11.920 --> 00:58:13.440
The better the coupling

819
00:58:13.720 --> 00:58:16.640
going from auditory areas
to how they process words,

820
00:58:16.840 --> 00:58:19.480
sentences, ideas and emotions.

821
00:58:19.560 --> 00:58:22.240
So the more I’m coupled to you,
I manage to take

822
00:58:22.480 --> 00:58:24.320
more and more parts of your brain

823
00:58:24.400 --> 00:58:27.000
and make them coupled
to my brain responses.

824
00:58:27.440 --> 00:58:29.800
What we see in our study over and over

825
00:58:32.120 --> 00:58:34.480
is that people are similar, you know?

826
00:58:34.560 --> 00:58:37.480
I grew up in Tel-Aviv,
I am living in the U.S.

827
00:58:37.720 --> 00:58:40.400
and now I’m speaking with you
in Africa, right?

828
00:58:40.840 --> 00:58:42.600
And the reason why we can communicate

829
00:58:42.680 --> 00:58:44.640
is because your brain
is similar to my brain.

830
00:58:44.720 --> 00:58:47.400
You’re going to be more coupled
to people that think like you

831
00:58:47.480 --> 00:58:48.920
and are in your group.

832
00:58:50.080 --> 00:58:51.440
And now you should ask:

833
00:58:52.560 --> 00:58:54.400
who is making us similar or different?

834
00:58:55.600 --> 00:58:59.200
And then you realize
that it is external forces in the society

835
00:58:59.400 --> 00:59:03.360
that try to make us
different than the other.

836
00:59:04.440 --> 00:59:07.200
And to investigate
who is making us different

837
00:59:07.280 --> 00:59:10.040
or similar to others,
is really important.

838
00:59:10.720 --> 00:59:14.480
If I will not have a brain, there is
no way for me to talk with you,

839
00:59:14.880 --> 00:59:16.960
or to move
or to raise my hand.

840
00:59:17.040 --> 00:59:19.960
So there is a deep connection
between the mind and the brain.

841
00:59:21.000 --> 00:59:25.520
But if we think about the statement
“I am because we are”,

842
00:59:26.640 --> 00:59:31.120
the “because” is the interaction
of my brain with other brains.

843
00:59:32.440 --> 00:59:37.480
So now you can see that the brain is
defined by other brains, by other people

844
00:59:38.440 --> 00:59:40.360
and defined by the way they speak,

845
00:59:40.440 --> 00:59:43.080
by the way they act,
by the way they think.

846
00:59:43.160 --> 00:59:45.480
So it’s defined by other people’s minds.

847
00:59:47.920 --> 00:59:49.680
So to understand one brain,

848
00:59:49.960 --> 00:59:53.600
you need to understand how it’s connected
to other brains and other minds.

849
00:59:54.560 --> 00:59:56.400
So the brain is never by isolation.

850
00:59:57.320 --> 01:00:00.360
The brain takes the shape of the outside.

851
01:00:01.520 --> 01:00:04.280
So now in terms of humanity,

852
01:00:04.760 --> 01:00:08.480
whether we're Asian, European, African,

853
01:00:08.720 --> 01:00:10.160
or Latin American...

854
01:00:10.240 --> 01:00:12.000
we're all human being.

855
01:00:12.920 --> 01:00:16.200
A lot of problems we are facing,
we are experiencing,

856
01:00:18.560 --> 01:00:21.040
are due to secondary level
of differences,

857
01:00:21.920 --> 01:00:23.320
including different faith,

858
01:00:24.560 --> 01:00:26.040
and different nationality,

859
01:00:26.640 --> 01:00:27.840
different culture.

860
01:00:28.840 --> 01:00:34.920
Since these secondary levels
of differences are causing

861
01:00:36.080 --> 01:00:37.600
the conflict,

862
01:00:37.680 --> 01:00:41.200
now the only remedy is
that we must go to a basic level,

863
01:00:41.440 --> 01:00:42.960
then we are
the same human beings.

864
01:00:44.720 --> 01:00:47.200
In humanities, there are two forces.

865
01:00:47.280 --> 01:00:50.080
One that makes us all similar

866
01:00:50.160 --> 01:00:51.760
and one that makes us:

867
01:00:51.840 --> 01:00:53.880
“my group versus your group”.

868
01:00:56.080 --> 01:00:58.000
And when I’m thinking
about the Dalai Lama,

869
01:00:58.080 --> 01:01:00.960
I’m thinking about people like Ghandi

870
01:01:01.920 --> 01:01:03.360
or Nelson Mandela.

871
01:01:04.120 --> 01:01:06.160
They try to bring humanities together

872
01:01:06.240 --> 01:01:09.640
and say we don’t want these boundaries,
we are all equal, we are all human.

873
01:01:10.360 --> 01:01:12.480
But always against it
there was the force of:

874
01:01:12.560 --> 01:01:13.760
“You're different than me,

875
01:01:13.840 --> 01:01:16.160
therefore you should be treated
in a different way."

876
01:01:17.120 --> 01:01:21.560
And I think especially now in these days,
when you see what’s happening globally

877
01:01:21.640 --> 01:01:24.880
and you see how again, we’re going
to cluster into different groups

878
01:01:24.960 --> 01:01:27.240
and start fighting with each other,

879
01:01:27.680 --> 01:01:30.560
there is a need
to establish common ground.

880
01:01:50.480 --> 01:01:53.160
(percussions)

881
01:01:53.480 --> 01:01:56.120
Here they are!
The Upper Story crew members.

882
01:01:56.200 --> 01:01:58.760
Reunited in Bangalore,
in the south of India,

883
01:01:58.840 --> 01:02:02.000
two intercontinental flights
and a domestic flight later

884
01:02:02.080 --> 01:02:04.840
from Milan, New York,
London and Delhi.

885
01:02:04.920 --> 01:02:08.360
Accompanying them,
the amazing Tenzin and Lobsang.

886
01:02:09.240 --> 01:02:11.920
On their way towards
their destination, Mundgod,

887
01:02:12.000 --> 01:02:15.840
they got a flat tyre but...
Hey, adventures happen, right?

888
01:02:15.920 --> 01:02:17.960
After three hours of travel,

889
01:02:18.040 --> 01:02:20.480
there is was, right in front of them:

890
01:02:20.560 --> 01:02:22.400
the Drepung Monastery.

891
01:02:22.480 --> 01:02:26.520
One of the three most important
monasteries of the Tibetan tradition,

892
01:02:26.840 --> 01:02:28.080
perfectly rebuilt.

893
01:02:28.440 --> 01:02:30.080
Impressive and enormous

894
01:02:30.160 --> 01:02:32.360
and hosting 3,000 monks.

895
01:02:41.720 --> 01:02:45.920
The crew members met up with Karma here,
an almost 80-year-old monk

896
01:02:46.000 --> 01:02:48.600
who had been employed
at BBC for years,

897
01:02:48.680 --> 01:02:52.720
and who excited by their visit
suggested many locations to shoot in.

898
01:02:53.160 --> 01:02:56.280
Among these, the top of a water tank.

899
01:02:56.360 --> 01:02:58.880
They did try to climb to the top
but you know,

900
01:02:58.960 --> 01:03:02.480
with no safety rails and heavy gear...
not a good idea!

901
01:03:03.120 --> 01:03:06.520
The reason for their trip?
A very special program.

902
01:03:09.160 --> 01:03:12.320
(nature sounds - insects, birds, etc)

903
01:03:24.320 --> 01:03:28.400
(in Tibetan)

904
01:03:29.440 --> 01:03:31.240
According to your opinion,

905
01:03:31.320 --> 01:03:34.000
what would you say?
Which is the heavier one:

906
01:03:34.080 --> 01:03:39.080
the negative effects
or the positive effects of science?

907
01:03:39.880 --> 01:03:42.000
I would argue that it is positive.

908
01:03:42.320 --> 01:03:44.920
Firstly because,
as we were talking about,

909
01:03:45.000 --> 01:03:48.160
the intent is good:
it is to know more about the world.

910
01:03:48.560 --> 01:03:52.920
The negative of science is that you have
to believe in the method of science,

911
01:03:54.600 --> 01:03:57.000
which creates
kind of a weird paradox,

912
01:03:57.080 --> 01:04:00.320
because you will have to believe
in a system that inherently

913
01:04:00.400 --> 01:04:01.800
is not about belief.

914
01:04:10.960 --> 01:04:14.480
(funky music)

915
01:04:23.240 --> 01:04:25.480
Now, you’re probably wondering:

916
01:04:26.160 --> 01:04:30.600
how did a group of young Westerners
get access to a monastic settlement?

917
01:04:31.960 --> 01:04:36.600
The Emory-Tibet Partnership
founded in 1998 by the Dalai Lama,

918
01:04:36.680 --> 01:04:39.480
the dean of Emory University
at that time Robert Paul,

919
01:04:39.840 --> 01:04:42.040
and Geshe Lobsang Tenzin Negi.

920
01:04:42.680 --> 01:04:44.520
A unique educational endeavor,

921
01:04:44.600 --> 01:04:47.520
it combines the best of the Western
and Tibetan Buddhist

922
01:04:47.600 --> 01:04:49.000
scientific traditions

923
01:04:49.080 --> 01:04:52.720
for their mutual enrichment
and for the discovery of new knowledge.

924
01:04:53.280 --> 01:04:57.400
The academic and cultural programs
that the Emory-Tibet Partnership offers

925
01:04:57.480 --> 01:05:00.480
explore how science
and inner values meet

926
01:05:00.560 --> 01:05:03.200
in an effort to address
humanity's greatest problems,

927
01:05:03.280 --> 01:05:04.920
on more than a material level.

928
01:05:07.600 --> 01:05:12.080
Here you will find students
from economics, philosophy, religion,

929
01:05:12.160 --> 01:05:15.120
science, neurobiology and public health.

930
01:05:18.240 --> 01:05:21.640
(nature sounds - insects, birds, etc)

931
01:06:10.400 --> 01:06:15.400
(indistinctive chatting and laughing)

932
01:07:16.960 --> 01:07:19.120
- Good morning!
- Good morning!

933
01:07:21.800 --> 01:07:26.840
(traditional throat singing)

934
01:07:53.480 --> 01:07:55.800
At every step of life

935
01:07:56.680 --> 01:07:58.360
we are dependent on others.

936
01:07:59.200 --> 01:08:02.560
Even the clothes we wear,
the breakfast we had today,

937
01:08:03.560 --> 01:08:05.480
the electricity we have here.

938
01:08:06.200 --> 01:08:07.160
Even...

939
01:08:08.200 --> 01:08:09.680
having each other.

940
01:08:10.000 --> 01:08:11.920
We would not have made it so far

941
01:08:12.720 --> 01:08:14.880
if we were just by ourselves,

942
01:08:15.440 --> 01:08:16.400
alone.

943
01:08:16.480 --> 01:08:19.120
So you can see that interdependence

944
01:08:19.200 --> 01:08:22.720
and how others are
so crucial for our own,

945
01:08:23.320 --> 01:08:27.200
not just survival
but for flourishing and well-being.

946
01:08:32.640 --> 01:08:36.640
Meditation is not just like
sitting on a meditation cushion.

947
01:08:36.720 --> 01:08:39.640
You can use that
in all aspects of your life.

948
01:08:39.720 --> 01:08:43.040
So that will help with frustration
and anger and any negative emotions

949
01:08:43.120 --> 01:08:44.800
that we may experience.

950
01:08:45.200 --> 01:08:47.120
Just being able
to call back in your mind

951
01:08:47.560 --> 01:08:49.800
the meditative practices
that you’ve learned.

952
01:08:51.960 --> 01:08:53.760
Meditation is a practice that

953
01:08:54.360 --> 01:08:58.600
Buddhists and monastics do
for 20, 30, 50 years of their life

954
01:08:58.680 --> 01:09:01.360
and it’s not something
that we’re going to get right away.

955
01:09:03.280 --> 01:09:06.120
(funky music)

956
01:09:10.680 --> 01:09:13.240
We’re also in a mind medicine
and healing class.

957
01:09:13.320 --> 01:09:15.560
So that’s looking at Tibetan medicine

958
01:09:16.040 --> 01:09:17.040
and comparing it

959
01:09:17.120 --> 01:09:19.920
to more of a neurological Western
standpoint in medicine.

960
01:09:20.640 --> 01:09:22.800
Tibetan medicine. So...

961
01:09:23.200 --> 01:09:25.640
That’s really the class
that really draws me in.

962
01:09:25.720 --> 01:09:29.120
I’m learning about a whole different
system of looking at health

963
01:09:29.680 --> 01:09:33.000
and looking at disease and illness
and how to treat it, how to diagnose it,

964
01:09:33.080 --> 01:09:35.360
which is completely different
from the West

965
01:09:35.840 --> 01:09:38.520
where yourself and your body
are very separate.

966
01:09:38.960 --> 01:09:41.160
So a doctor might treat your body

967
01:09:41.560 --> 01:09:44.720
but you don’t feel like
you’re having a real effect on it.

968
01:09:44.800 --> 01:09:47.440
You take the pill that your doctor
prescribes and that’s it.

969
01:09:47.640 --> 01:09:49.280
As for me,
I think that in the future,

970
01:09:49.360 --> 01:09:52.280
once I go on to medicine

971
01:09:53.240 --> 01:09:54.760
and actually become a doctor,

972
01:09:55.200 --> 01:09:57.960
I think it will definitely give me

973
01:09:58.560 --> 01:10:01.040
a broader view of what health is.

974
01:10:02.200 --> 01:10:07.280
I think in the West we view health
as the absence of illness.

975
01:10:08.080 --> 01:10:10.520
So if you’re healthy,
it just means you’re not sick.

976
01:10:10.920 --> 01:10:15.000
So it’s always viewed
in the light of negativity.

977
01:10:16.760 --> 01:10:19.320
Versus like, I think, Tibetan medicine,

978
01:10:19.840 --> 01:10:21.680
where to be healthy
is a constant process.

979
01:10:22.200 --> 01:10:25.880
Your energies,
your behavior, your mentality

980
01:10:26.120 --> 01:10:27.520
and your environment.

981
01:10:27.600 --> 01:10:30.600
And everything has to do
with how healthy you are.

982
01:10:30.920 --> 01:10:33.600
If there’s something out of balance,
that’s how you get sick.

983
01:10:33.680 --> 01:10:36.960
And I really want to bring that
into Western medicine

984
01:10:37.040 --> 01:10:40.640
and how I practice
and just be very aware and cognizant

985
01:10:41.040 --> 01:10:43.080
that I’m not just treating my patient.

986
01:10:43.520 --> 01:10:45.600
I’m treating
how he views the world.

987
01:10:45.960 --> 01:10:48.480
I’m treating his environment

988
01:10:48.840 --> 01:10:53.000
and to treat just his body
is doing a disservice to their health.

989
01:10:58.560 --> 01:11:01.880
The Drepung Loseling Center
for Meditation and Science

990
01:11:01.960 --> 01:11:05.920
was inaugurated
by the Dalai Lama in December 2017.

991
01:11:06.320 --> 01:11:09.040
Today many other Tibetan monasteries

992
01:11:09.120 --> 01:11:11.400
are building
their own scientific centers.

993
01:11:20.320 --> 01:11:23.960
I’ve been able to study science
and I love science.

994
01:11:24.040 --> 01:11:26.520
Even though I’m not
a Science major at school,

995
01:11:26.600 --> 01:11:29.920
it’s still something that I think
is important to be educated about.

996
01:11:30.400 --> 01:11:33.720
I’ve really been questioning
kind of what I value

997
01:11:33.800 --> 01:11:36.240
and the directions
that I want to go into in my life.

998
01:11:37.440 --> 01:11:39.120
I’ve kind of always I guess...

999
01:11:39.200 --> 01:11:42.560
I was really struck by how I’ve made
a lot of my decisions in my life

1000
01:11:42.640 --> 01:11:44.280
based off of fear.

1001
01:11:44.360 --> 01:11:45.560
You know, fear of failure,

1002
01:11:45.640 --> 01:11:48.280
fear of doing something
and maybe getting hurt

1003
01:11:48.360 --> 01:11:51.680
so avoiding it
and just so many avenues...

1004
01:11:52.720 --> 01:11:56.760
I think here there’s just been
a lack of that fear.

1005
01:11:56.960 --> 01:12:00.760
I think it’s really great to just
be questioning things consistently

1006
01:12:00.840 --> 01:12:03.240
and what I want to value
and believe as a person.

1007
01:12:03.520 --> 01:12:06.320
So, as a Religion and Business major,

1008
01:12:06.400 --> 01:12:09.560
I think compassion can help
the business world tremendously

1009
01:12:10.880 --> 01:12:14.560
because I think so much of business
is based on human interactions

1010
01:12:14.880 --> 01:12:20.720
and so much of those interactions
are often seen as a zero sum game.

1011
01:12:20.960 --> 01:12:23.520
I give you something
and then if I give it to you,

1012
01:12:23.600 --> 01:12:24.720
it’s no longer mine.

1013
01:12:24.800 --> 01:12:28.720
And I think that this concept
of just mutual sharing

1014
01:12:28.800 --> 01:12:32.840
is so important
for all human interactions

1015
01:12:32.920 --> 01:12:35.920
and could really help the business world.

1016
01:12:51.520 --> 01:12:54.160
One institution like Emory University,

1017
01:12:55.360 --> 01:12:59.640
is a well-known, respected,
education institution.

1018
01:13:00.440 --> 01:13:03.960
Now since, I think,
more than 10, 15, 20 years,

1019
01:13:04.560 --> 01:13:09.800
we developed some sort of mutual work.

1020
01:13:10.440 --> 01:13:13.000
I really feel gratitude

1021
01:13:13.760 --> 01:13:18.480
that such a wonderful, great institution
really pay attention

1022
01:13:18.920 --> 01:13:23.920
and make certain significant
contributions regarding this field.

1023
01:13:25.560 --> 01:13:28.840
(funky music)

1024
01:13:42.160 --> 01:13:44.800
We need to create a culture

1025
01:13:45.360 --> 01:13:51.080
where people are more attuned
to their own feelings,

1026
01:13:51.600 --> 01:13:55.120
better able to control their impulses.

1027
01:13:55.400 --> 01:13:59.200
Human well-being depends also

1028
01:13:59.280 --> 01:14:02.000
on our emotional states,
emotional well-being.

1029
01:14:03.680 --> 01:14:06.640
(percussions)

1030
01:14:09.600 --> 01:14:13.680
Bringing modern science
in the monasteries, it’s not just

1031
01:14:14.640 --> 01:14:17.920
to inform the monastics
about the science and technology.

1032
01:14:18.000 --> 01:14:20.280
Of course that’s an important part.

1033
01:14:20.360 --> 01:14:23.360
The monastics need to be
21st Century monastics,

1034
01:14:23.560 --> 01:14:25.840
aware of what’s happening
out in the world.

1035
01:14:26.680 --> 01:14:30.520
But there is a deeper purpose

1036
01:14:30.600 --> 01:14:34.080
for the inclusion of modern science
in the monastic curriculum

1037
01:14:34.160 --> 01:14:39.040
and they understand
the scientific framework,

1038
01:14:39.120 --> 01:14:42.920
scientific language,
scientific tradition and methodologies.

1039
01:14:43.000 --> 01:14:44.840
They will participate

1040
01:14:45.800 --> 01:14:47.760
with the scientists on equal footing,

1041
01:14:47.840 --> 01:14:51.400
in collaborating in various research

1042
01:14:53.280 --> 01:14:55.800
and developing
the understanding of inner dimensions.

1043
01:14:55.880 --> 01:14:59.600
But this is a very monumental kind of...

1044
01:15:01.400 --> 01:15:07.280
change in this 600-year-old
monastic learning.

1045
01:15:11.720 --> 01:15:14.240
I have heard many things
about Emory University

1046
01:15:14.320 --> 01:15:19.320
from the professors
who usually come to teach in India

1047
01:15:19.400 --> 01:15:22.400
for the monks and nuns
for several years.

1048
01:15:58.120 --> 01:16:00.600
I have been in Emory University

1049
01:16:01.360 --> 01:16:03.360
for more than eight months.

1050
01:16:16.000 --> 01:16:18.680
I was one of the two nuns

1051
01:16:18.760 --> 01:16:22.280
who was chosen
as a Tenzin Gyatso Science Scholarship.

1052
01:16:23.200 --> 01:16:25.200
I know that there are

1053
01:16:25.840 --> 01:16:28.720
some supporters,

1054
01:16:29.520 --> 01:16:34.560
and some professors
who are really working hard

1055
01:16:35.800 --> 01:16:39.840
to get nuns to be part of this project.

1056
01:16:41.320 --> 01:16:43.760
(classroom noise)

1057
01:16:46.400 --> 01:16:49.840
You've got all of these neurons
that are built for growth and change.

1058
01:16:49.920 --> 01:16:52.160
It makes them happy,
they want to do it.

1059
01:16:52.240 --> 01:16:54.920
They want to create
these neural networks, right?

1060
01:16:55.000 --> 01:16:59.920
Much more than they like things
and material possessions.

1061
01:17:00.320 --> 01:17:03.640
You get a nice fancy watch,
it might be great for a while

1062
01:17:03.920 --> 01:17:06.080
but what do we know
about your sensory neurons?

1063
01:17:06.160 --> 01:17:07.360
What are they going to do?

1064
01:17:07.440 --> 01:17:10.440
Habituate to the feel of that watch
and pretty soon,

1065
01:17:10.520 --> 01:17:13.600
it's just another item
that you are not paying attention to.

1066
01:17:14.000 --> 01:17:16.000
There's no growth and change
in that watch.

1067
01:17:16.480 --> 01:17:17.840
And this is why,

1068
01:17:19.000 --> 01:17:22.400
If you want life happiness,
it's really about growth and change.

1069
01:17:23.000 --> 01:17:25.320
(classroom noise)

1070
01:17:26.040 --> 01:17:29.800
Before coming here,
we were in Dharamsala for a year.

1071
01:17:31.240 --> 01:17:35.600
We were preparing
to come to Emory University.

1072
01:17:36.560 --> 01:17:40.440
So we are here to study science,
and when going back to the monastery,

1073
01:17:40.520 --> 01:17:44.280
to teach science
to the other monastic fellows.

1074
01:17:44.840 --> 01:17:48.720
I like psychology class
because it shares many things

1075
01:17:49.240 --> 01:17:52.160
that are very related to Buddhism.

1076
01:17:52.760 --> 01:17:56.400
It talks about emotions, behaviors
and ways of thinking.

1077
01:17:56.880 --> 01:17:59.560
It's really interesting
because it's the same information

1078
01:17:59.640 --> 01:18:02.400
and that relates back
to perception, so...

1079
01:18:02.480 --> 01:18:05.200
I guess we are all looking
for something else,

1080
01:18:05.280 --> 01:18:07.440
but it's all there available.

1081
01:18:07.760 --> 01:18:10.960
What are we going to say
if the professor asks?

1082
01:18:15.800 --> 01:18:18.480
(funky music)

1083
01:19:35.920 --> 01:19:39.560
(nature sounds - insects, birds, etc.)

1084
01:20:08.200 --> 01:20:09.480
(in Tibetan)

1085
01:20:09.560 --> 01:20:12.040
- You girls are going to eat?
- Yes, I'm cooking.

1086
01:20:23.400 --> 01:20:27.400
I’m in the second semester
and I still have a year to go.

1087
01:20:28.920 --> 01:20:32.760
(church bells ringing)

1088
01:20:41.920 --> 01:20:45.840
Until now, the six of us
we are in the same subjects,

1089
01:20:46.400 --> 01:20:47.640
taking the same subjects.

1090
01:20:47.720 --> 01:20:50.800
But for the next semester,
we will be split off.

1091
01:20:51.400 --> 01:20:54.640
So I’m thinking of taking

1092
01:20:54.920 --> 01:20:57.280
Physics lecture and Physics lab,

1093
01:20:58.120 --> 01:21:02.080
also Biology lecture and Biology lab.

1094
01:21:02.960 --> 01:21:04.840
We can also

1095
01:21:05.080 --> 01:21:08.320
open our eyes
to the Western way of study.

1096
01:21:08.800 --> 01:21:10.720
Modern science or ancient science,

1097
01:21:11.800 --> 01:21:14.480
those two subjects are bridging together

1098
01:21:15.640 --> 01:21:17.560
for one goal

1099
01:21:18.160 --> 01:21:20.360
that calls better humanity.

1100
01:21:29.800 --> 01:21:33.720
For the last four or five hundred years,
with the advent of...

1101
01:21:34.800 --> 01:21:37.960
modern science and technology,
people somehow

1102
01:21:40.360 --> 01:21:41.640
gave...

1103
01:21:41.880 --> 01:21:45.200
more of a kind of credence, trust,

1104
01:21:46.200 --> 01:21:48.720
to external development.

1105
01:21:48.800 --> 01:21:50.680
Because, you know,

1106
01:21:50.920 --> 01:21:53.200
when it comes to basic needs

1107
01:21:53.280 --> 01:21:56.160
like the food and the medicine
and so forth,

1108
01:21:56.880 --> 01:22:02.400
those are more material,
sensorial resources that we need.

1109
01:22:02.480 --> 01:22:06.120
So obviously it makes sense that
when people are suffering

1110
01:22:06.200 --> 01:22:08.720
with all kinds of illnesses
and the lack of food,

1111
01:22:08.800 --> 01:22:12.520
when there's not enough food
and the population is growing,

1112
01:22:12.920 --> 01:22:17.080
that science has provided
a tremendous help

1113
01:22:18.040 --> 01:22:20.840
in maximizing crops
for example,

1114
01:22:21.040 --> 01:22:23.360
to the medicines and so forth,

1115
01:22:23.440 --> 01:22:26.320
and then improving the living conditions.

1116
01:22:26.400 --> 01:22:29.160
I think that for a long time,

1117
01:22:29.440 --> 01:22:33.920
the primary focus of the people,
the population,

1118
01:22:34.000 --> 01:22:37.240
has gone into external development.

1119
01:22:37.600 --> 01:22:39.120
And on the other side,

1120
01:22:40.840 --> 01:22:42.240
countries like India,

1121
01:22:42.920 --> 01:22:44.320
and certainly Tibet...

1122
01:22:44.560 --> 01:22:48.800
made the primary focus
about inner cultivation

1123
01:22:49.080 --> 01:22:50.920
and in such a way,

1124
01:22:51.000 --> 01:22:54.320
neglected to a certain extent
external development.

1125
01:22:55.000 --> 01:22:57.000
The thing is that now is the time

1126
01:22:57.080 --> 01:22:59.720
to bring these two together.

1127
01:22:59.920 --> 01:23:04.640
One is neither better or worse
than the other, we need both.

1128
01:23:05.600 --> 01:23:08.800
The Paradox of Happiness
or Paradox of Easterlin

1129
01:23:09.160 --> 01:23:14.000
was defined by American economist
Richard Easterlin in the 1970s.

1130
01:23:15.320 --> 01:23:17.760
It states that
past a certain level of wealth,

1131
01:23:17.840 --> 01:23:21.840
there is no longer a direct correlation
between the rise of one’s income

1132
01:23:21.920 --> 01:23:23.840
and the rise in personal happiness.

1133
01:23:24.720 --> 01:23:27.160
This discovery challenges
consumer culture

1134
01:23:27.320 --> 01:23:29.760
and the idea that well-being
can be reached

1135
01:23:29.880 --> 01:23:31.680
through the possession of things.

1136
01:23:32.960 --> 01:23:36.600
One important thing
is the education system.

1137
01:23:38.360 --> 01:23:40.360
I have a very very critical view

1138
01:23:41.080 --> 01:23:43.640
of existing so-called modern education.

1139
01:23:44.360 --> 01:23:48.040
It is very much oriented
about material value.

1140
01:23:49.360 --> 01:23:50.600
So people

1141
01:23:52.040 --> 01:23:54.000
who come through
that kind of education,

1142
01:23:54.920 --> 01:23:58.080
they only think
about material value.

1143
01:24:00.280 --> 01:24:03.800
Now it is very clear that generations

1144
01:24:04.600 --> 01:24:06.840
who come through
that kind of education,

1145
01:24:07.160 --> 01:24:11.840
eventually you see,
create a more materialistic life.

1146
01:24:13.280 --> 01:24:14.840
Now today’s world is like that.

1147
01:24:15.480 --> 01:24:17.200
Materialistic culture.

1148
01:24:20.120 --> 01:24:21.000
So,

1149
01:24:22.400 --> 01:24:25.800
in the material field,

1150
01:24:25.880 --> 01:24:26.880
there's competition.

1151
01:24:30.880 --> 01:24:32.280
And exploitation,

1152
01:24:32.720 --> 01:24:33.760
cheating,

1153
01:24:34.040 --> 01:24:36.360
in order to gain more

1154
01:24:37.200 --> 01:24:37.960
profit.

1155
01:24:42.400 --> 01:24:44.200
We are social animals.

1156
01:24:45.280 --> 01:24:48.120
Individual happiness, individual success,

1157
01:24:48.320 --> 01:24:52.320
even individual survival,
depends on the rest of the community.

1158
01:24:54.160 --> 01:24:57.840
So if one individual remains
distant from the community

1159
01:24:58.600 --> 01:25:01.120
with suspicion, with jealousy,

1160
01:25:01.480 --> 01:25:05.520
with extreme competitive feelings,

1161
01:25:05.920 --> 01:25:07.680
then that individual

1162
01:25:08.520 --> 01:25:10.120
cannot be a happy one.

1163
01:25:11.840 --> 01:25:15.840
Because the individual’s future
depends on the community.

1164
01:25:16.600 --> 01:25:20.520
The community is
the basis of our happy life.

1165
01:25:20.960 --> 01:25:22.840
So compassion brings together.

1166
01:25:24.040 --> 01:25:27.160
Anger and jealousy make distance.

1167
01:25:27.800 --> 01:25:29.680
These are basic human values,

1168
01:25:30.560 --> 01:25:33.560
irrespective of
whether believer or non-believer.

1169
01:25:34.480 --> 01:25:36.760
These are basic human values.

1170
01:25:37.840 --> 01:25:41.720
One of the strongest instincts
that social animals have

1171
01:25:41.800 --> 01:25:45.960
is the sympathy,
this capacity to “feel for”.

1172
01:25:46.280 --> 01:25:49.720
And in the species where you find

1173
01:25:50.240 --> 01:25:54.720
the sympathy shared
in more of the members of a group,

1174
01:25:55.160 --> 01:25:57.080
those species flourish.

1175
01:25:57.360 --> 01:26:00.520
Where it is missing,
those species perish.

1176
01:26:07.720 --> 01:26:09.760
All human activities,

1177
01:26:11.560 --> 01:26:13.800
the prime mover is our emotions.

1178
01:26:15.720 --> 01:26:17.480
So we are dealing with emotions.

1179
01:26:18.960 --> 01:26:21.760
Once our emotions are more...

1180
01:26:22.360 --> 01:26:25.800
More positive, more reasonable,
more constructive,

1181
01:26:26.040 --> 01:26:29.440
then every one of our actions
becomes constructive.

1182
01:26:30.160 --> 01:26:32.480
Including economy. Everything.

1183
01:26:33.920 --> 01:26:36.040
If our emotions, motivations,

1184
01:26:36.880 --> 01:26:41.000
have too much self-centered attitude
or are too oriented about money or power,

1185
01:26:41.440 --> 01:26:44.200
then even religion also becomes dirty.

1186
01:26:45.840 --> 01:26:48.240
Now usually people call “dirty politics”,

1187
01:26:48.320 --> 01:26:49.920
but politics itself is nothing.

1188
01:26:51.360 --> 01:26:53.760
It depends on the politicians.

1189
01:26:53.840 --> 01:26:56.520
Those who use politics more honestly,

1190
01:26:56.640 --> 01:27:00.480
more truthfully, with moral principles,
make good politics.

1191
01:27:01.520 --> 01:27:04.920
Too much narrow-minded, self-centered
attitudes, cheating other people,

1192
01:27:05.000 --> 01:27:07.320
bullying other people,
make dirty politics.

1193
01:27:08.400 --> 01:27:10.520
So we are dealing
with the motivation level.

1194
01:27:13.800 --> 01:27:15.040
So the thing is

1195
01:27:15.840 --> 01:27:18.160
that we are facing many challenges.

1196
01:27:18.920 --> 01:27:21.840
Short-term of the economy,
mid-term of quality of life,

1197
01:27:21.920 --> 01:27:24.880
social justice, inequalities
and long-term of the environment.

1198
01:27:25.640 --> 01:27:28.400
Ok? So we need one concept
to work together.

1199
01:27:29.040 --> 01:27:32.120
I think we can say reasonably
most people want a better world.

1200
01:27:32.640 --> 01:27:34.680
Except a few crazy maniacs.

1201
01:27:35.400 --> 01:27:37.200
So we need to work together.

1202
01:27:37.280 --> 01:27:40.520
Scientists of the environment
should be able to talk to financiers

1203
01:27:40.600 --> 01:27:41.760
and politicians.

1204
01:27:41.840 --> 01:27:44.440
They work on a different timescales,
so it’s like a...

1205
01:27:45.320 --> 01:27:48.440
schizophrenic dialogue because one
speaks about a hundred years,

1206
01:27:48.520 --> 01:27:51.240
one speaks
about the end of the year profit

1207
01:27:51.400 --> 01:27:53.360
and one speaks of re-election
in five years.

1208
01:27:53.440 --> 01:27:56.760
So they don’t speak of this.
We need a unifying concept.

1209
01:27:57.120 --> 01:27:59.240
Everybody can work together
for a better world.

1210
01:27:59.320 --> 01:28:01.120
Selfishness will not do the job.

1211
01:28:01.200 --> 01:28:03.840
If you are selfish you don’t care
about future generations,

1212
01:28:03.920 --> 01:28:06.200
you don’t care for the poor
in the midst of plenty,

1213
01:28:06.280 --> 01:28:08.400
you don’t care about anything
except yourself.

1214
01:28:09.000 --> 01:28:12.520
Now the only concept that helps
to bring those things together,

1215
01:28:12.600 --> 01:28:15.080
three timescales
- short-term, mid-term, long-term -

1216
01:28:15.160 --> 01:28:18.760
is having more consideration
for others. Altruism.

1217
01:28:19.160 --> 01:28:20.960
We know from neuroscience

1218
01:28:21.040 --> 01:28:24.400
that there are
sensitive periods in brain development

1219
01:28:24.480 --> 01:28:27.400
between the ages
of roughly four and seven years

1220
01:28:27.760 --> 01:28:32.480
during which the brain is more plastic,
more receptive to input,

1221
01:28:32.560 --> 01:28:34.160
more amenable to change.

1222
01:28:34.440 --> 01:28:37.360
And if we can change
the brain at these early ages,

1223
01:28:37.440 --> 01:28:41.400
we can set kids up for a more positive
developmental trajectory.

1224
01:28:41.880 --> 01:28:43.120
All of our work,

1225
01:28:43.200 --> 01:28:45.800
as we’re looking
at collective well-being,

1226
01:28:45.880 --> 01:28:47.680
it is something that we’re not...

1227
01:28:47.760 --> 01:28:51.960
you can’t easily
and quickly just measure it.

1228
01:28:52.400 --> 01:28:53.880
It’s the long-term vision.

1229
01:28:54.560 --> 01:28:58.080
And so an example of that is
with social and emotional learning

1230
01:28:58.280 --> 01:29:02.520
and bringing in secular ethics,
bringing in compassion,

1231
01:29:02.880 --> 01:29:06.000
compassion into
the education of our youth.

1232
01:29:06.680 --> 01:29:09.800
We’re not going to see
the results of that tomorrow,

1233
01:29:11.240 --> 01:29:13.120
but we know it’s the right thing.

1234
01:29:13.440 --> 01:29:15.360
It’s to begin to...

1235
01:29:15.520 --> 01:29:19.960
shine the light on how we can begin to...

1236
01:29:22.760 --> 01:29:24.400
transform individuals,

1237
01:29:24.480 --> 01:29:27.520
transform institutions,
transform systems

1238
01:29:28.120 --> 01:29:29.920
and minimize the suffering in the world.

1239
01:29:30.440 --> 01:29:34.040
We human beings, this brain
is something very special brain.

1240
01:29:34.800 --> 01:29:36.360
So now, this brain

1241
01:29:38.080 --> 01:29:40.240
can see more holistic.

1242
01:29:40.760 --> 01:29:43.880
Short-term interest
and long-term interest.

1243
01:29:45.280 --> 01:29:47.600
If we want a happier world,

1244
01:29:49.120 --> 01:29:50.240
a peaceful century,

1245
01:29:51.240 --> 01:29:53.720
then we must look at our emotions.

1246
01:29:54.800 --> 01:29:57.120
Positive emotions,
constructive emotions.

1247
01:29:57.360 --> 01:29:58.840
Destructive emotions.

1248
01:29:58.920 --> 01:30:02.960
I think the biggest learning experience
is people that you interact with,

1249
01:30:03.040 --> 01:30:06.240
that you at first may think:
“This person is so different from me.”

1250
01:30:06.320 --> 01:30:08.360
You can really connect with anyone.

1251
01:30:08.440 --> 01:30:09.800
When you really

1252
01:30:10.840 --> 01:30:12.600
you know, become aware.

1253
01:30:12.840 --> 01:30:14.640
It’s a personal awareness.

1254
01:30:15.120 --> 01:30:19.400
Why should I stay backward
instead of going forward?

1255
01:30:19.760 --> 01:30:23.600
We all have
the same basic nature of our mind.

1256
01:30:23.840 --> 01:30:27.560
As human beings we actually do have
the power to be able to shift

1257
01:30:28.200 --> 01:30:30.120
our thoughts.

1258
01:30:30.200 --> 01:30:32.080
You have the ability to change

1259
01:30:32.160 --> 01:30:34.720
your environment, your health
and those around you.

1260
01:30:35.960 --> 01:30:40.000
Really get at the core principles of love

1261
01:30:40.080 --> 01:30:42.480
and kind of just decreasing the ego.

1262
01:30:42.560 --> 01:30:46.680
Now what we need is more compassion,
more cooperation,

1263
01:30:47.120 --> 01:30:48.240
more caring.

1264
01:30:48.880 --> 01:30:53.160
Global cooperation
is not just some “va-va” term

1265
01:30:53.240 --> 01:30:57.200
but it’s actually a necessity
for the planet to survive.

1266
01:30:59.280 --> 01:31:01.640
If we really make an effort

1267
01:31:03.200 --> 01:31:04.520
with vision,

1268
01:31:07.000 --> 01:31:08.920
we can change.

1269
01:32:37.600 --> 01:32:39.320
SUBTITLING: WHAT'SUB