In recent weeks the Society has received expressions of both concern and support from members of the neuroscience community about the Dalai Lama's upcoming talk at Neuroscience 2005 in Washington, DC, on “The Neuroscience of Meditation.” The lecture is the first in a series titled “Dialogues between Neuroscience and Society,” with speakers chosen by the SfN president after consultation with the SfN Council. The architect Frank Gehry is scheduled to give the 2006 “Dialogues” lecture.
Some SfN members have expressed concern that the Society is mixing religion, politics, and science by inviting the Dalai Lama to give a lecture at the 2005 annual meeting. “There will be a strong symbolic effect,” said Lu-Yang Wang, associate professor in the department of physiology at the University of Toronto. “His presence and talk at the SfN meeting per se suggest an endorsement by SfN of a prominent religious leader whose legitimacy relies on reincarnation, a doctrine in conflict with the foundation of neuroscience. It will blur the distinctions between science, religion and politics, generate bad press, and cause divisions among SfN members. This lecture has already generated tremendous resentment from people who believe that the selection of Dalai Lama sets a bad precedent for SfN, with significant implications. It would serve the interests of SfN as well as the public to cancel the talk.”
But some other members see it differently. “Even if we don't believe in religion, most of us believe in religious freedom,” said Howard Fields of the University of California at San Francisco. “I have read the writings of the Dalai Lama, and they do not postulate a deity, saints, a soul, or an afterlife. The Dalai Lama has said that if the facts prove Buddhist tenets are wrong, the tenets will have to be changed. Scientists should be open-minded and open to all inputs.”
According to the Neuroscience 2005 Preliminary Program, the Dalai Lama is expected to discuss the scientific study of meditation, a practice of mental discipline that Western neuroscience has shown to change neural states in circuits that may be important for compassionate behavior and attentional and emotional regulation. The Dalai Lama will also discuss the importance of this neuroscience research in promoting brain health and mental well-being and its implications for fostering compassionate behavior in human beings.
“The Dalai Lama is visiting with the Society for Neuroscience to speak about science, not politics or religion,” said Adam Engle, chairman and co-founder of the Mind and Life Institute, the organization sponsoring the dialogues between Western scientists and the Dalai Lama. “The Mind and Life Institute, which he co-founded, will have just completed its three-day public dialogue in Washington, on ‘The Science and Clinical Applications of Mediation.' His interest in science in general and neuroscience in particular is well established, as is the track record of the Mind and Life Institute in building interest in this area of science.”
SfN President Carol Barnes said, “As with all annual meeting speakers, the views of the Dalai Lama do not represent the views of the Society for Neuroscience, its officers, or councilors.”
The Dalai Lama has had a long interest in science and has maintained an ongoing dialogue with leading neuroscientists for more than 15 years, which is the reason he was invited to speak at the meeting,” Barnes emphasized. “It has been agreed that the talk will not be about religion or politics.” She added, “We are hopeful that the majority of our members will see the speakers in the “Dialogues” series as increasing the diversity of perspective offered to annual meeting attendees. Of course, we understand that not every member will agree with every decision, and we respect their right to disagree.”
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