(TibetanReview.net, Oct21’25) – More than 120 noted academics, scientists, Buddhist scholars, business leaders, and policymakers visited the Dalai Lama’s residence over Oct 14-16 to attend or take part in the 39th annual dialogue with the Mind & Life Institute, which the latter co-organized with the Mind & Life Europe and the Dalai Lama Trust, India. This year’s meeting of minds and traditions of enquiry focused on the theme “Minds, Artificial Intelligence, and Ethics.”
Held in the Dalai Lama Library and Archive building, the meeting sought to examine the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to alleviate suffering, advance equity, and support human and planetary flourishing. The delegates also considered the potential risks artificial intelligence posed to health, education, work, politics, and climate.
The discussions focused on a host of issue, such as – Minds: What is intelligence? What distinguishes living minds from artificial minds? How are human minds intimately entangled with artificial minds? What ethical considerations emerge from the deep entanglement of human and machine? What are the potential benefits? What are the risks regarding human survival and the possible replacement of human rationality and awareness by AI? How might a more complex understanding of intelligence impact the AI systems we develop and the regulations we put in place? Is it possible to embed ethical values into AI? What are the potential risks of AI to young people? How is AI shaping the youngest minds in terms of attention, concentration, cognitive biases, and emotion regulation?
Speaking to the delegates and guests during an audience, the Dalai Lama has said: “If we can hold these kinds of dialogues every now and then it will be really wonderful. From a Buddhist point of view too, engaging in such dialogues, rather than performing rituals and so on is very helpful. If conditions remain stable, Mind & Life can continue into the future.”
According to Geshe Thupten Jinpa, the chairman of the Mind & Life board of directors: “His Holiness the Dalai Lama has two main objectives when engaging with scientists. One is to expand the horizons of scientific enquiry itself, to move beyond the material paradigm. He wants to bring into focus the mind side of the story, including lived contemplative experience. Meanwhile, science has developed sophisticated technology to achieve brain imaging which enabled the recognition of neuro-plasticity. The Mind & Life Institute has played a huge role in opening up investigations beyond a reductionist understanding of human experience and consciousness. His Holiness’s second goal is to explore how science can serve humanity. He believes that compassion-driven motivation is essential to achieving this.”
In this connection, Jamphel Lhundrup, the secretary of the Dalai Lama Trust and director of the Dalai Lama Library and Archive, has said: “The Mind and Life dialogue took inspiration from His Holiness’s vision to create a bridge between the wisdom traditions of the East and the discoveries of the West. In 1987, the first meeting of Mind & Life laid the ground-work for what is now a global platform. The Mind & Life Institute has brought together Buddhist scholars and scientists with expertise in neuroscience, physics, cosmology, biology, and contemplative wisdom. A connection has been established between the brain, mind and ethics. The work of the Institute has inspired monks and nuns to include the study of science alongside their traditional curriculum.”
Based in Charlottesville, Virginia, the Mind & Life Institute was formed following a 1987 meeting between the Dalai Lama, lawyer and entrepreneur Adam Engle, and neuroscientist Francisco Varela, with the aim of bridging the divide between the empirical, materialist approach of modern science in investigating the nature of reality and improving the lives of human beings and the planet, and the advantages and insights offered by ancient contemplative and wisdom practices refined over centuries.
Its mission, the institute states, is to “bring science and contemplative wisdom together to better understand the mind and create positive change in the world . . . to alleviate suffering and promote human flourishing worldwide as part of the vision of founders His Holiness the Dalai Lama, neuroscientist Francisco Varela, and businessman Adam Engle.”
(Source: buddhistdoor.net, Oct 20, 2025)