ORGANIZATION
Mind and Life Institute
The institutional structure — co-founded by Varela, Adam Engle, and the Dalai Lama in 1987 — that facilitated decades of dialogue between Buddhist contemplatives and Western scientists, establishing contemplative science as a research field.
The Mind and Life Institute was established in 1987 to support rigorous dialogue between Buddhist contemplatives and Western scientists, with a particular focus on the scientific study of consciousness, emotion, and contemplative practice. The founding vision came from three parties: Adam Engle, an American lawyer interested in Buddhist-scientific dialogue; Francisco Varela, whose cognitive-scientific work had long integrated contemplative perspectives; and Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, whose own scientific curiosity made the dialogue possible. The institute organized a series of intensive week-long meetings — Mind and Life Dialogues — where small groups of scientists presented research to the Dalai Lama and engaged in sustained philosophical discussion. These dialogues produced both academic publications and the conditions for new research programs in what came to be called contemplative science.
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Varela's involvement was central. He co-organized several of the earliest dialogues and served as scientific coordinator for many subsequent ones.