Buddhist Wisdom Meets Neuroscience

Friday, November 1 from 7 - 8:30pm @ Northwestern University, Annenberg Hall, Room G01

Join us for a dialogue between Cortland Dahl, PhD & Robin Nusslock, PhD on the science of mind training and human flourishing. Buddhism is rooted in the simple idea that you can train your mind to suffer less and flourish more.

Buddhism is rooted in the simple idea that you can train your mind to suffer less and flourish more. In this free public dialogue, Cortland Dahl will discuss important principles and meditation practices from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition with Robin Nusslock, drawing on his newly released book A Meditator’s Guide to Buddhism: The Path of Awareness, Compassion, and Wisdom. Together, they will explore the cutting-edge research they are both involved in at Northwestern University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison and what we are learning about the practice of meditation and how it can be used to train and transform the human mind.

Cortland Dahl, Ph.D. is a scientist, Buddhist scholar & translator, and meditation teacher. He spent eight years living in Tibetan refugee settlements in Nepal and India, spending extended periods in solitary retreat and translating ancient meditation manuals from the Tibetan tradition into the English language. He went on to receive a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and currently serves as a scientist at UW-Madison's Center for Healthy Minds, where he created the acclaimed Healthy Minds Program meditation app. He is also the cofounder and Executive Director of Tergar International, a global network of meditation centers, with Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche. He is the author of A Meditator’s Guide to Buddhism and the forthcoming Born to Flourish: How to Thrive in a Challenging World, with Dr. Richard Davidson.

Robin Nusslock, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Psychology, Neurobiology, & Neurology at Northwestern University, where he serves as the Director of the Affective & Clinical Neuroscience Laboratory. His research examines brain systems implicated in emotion and both mental and physical health. He has published over 100 peer reviewed journal articles, and his research has been featured in both The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. He is also Co-Director of the Research Training Program for the Emory-Tibet Science Initiative, which is an academic science program for Tibetan Buddhist monastics living in India. As part of this initiative, Dr. Nusslock is building several neuroscience laboratories in Buddhist monasteries in India to facilitate monastic led research projects on topics of mind, emotion, consciousness, and health.