The Mangalam Research Center, an independent operating division of the head lama of the Nyingma Tibetan Meditation Center based in Berkeley, California, will host a two-day conference to discuss mindfulness. The conference will examine how mindfulness has been received in the modern world, often devoid of cultural and religious contexts, examining the problems that have arisen and the benefits of this practice. The event will be open to the public in person and can also be followed online.
The conference, titled “Mindfulness: What’s Next,” will take place October 7-8. It will feature academics and meditation teachers tackling questions such as what aspects of mindfulness work well, what's problematic, and where do we go next.
“This conference will bring together scholars and teachers of Buddhist meditation or mindfulness to address these concerns, assess the current state of mindfulness practice and teaching, and discuss the direction it is taking,” announced the Mangalam Research Center.
The Mangalam Research Center states on its website:
The last two decades have seen a tremendous resurgence of interest in “mindfulness.” But there are problems. First, mindfulness is often amorphous in its presentation, making it unclear what is actually being presented. Second, secular mindfulness is deliberately divorced from its Buddhist roots, where it is part of a holistic model of practice that involves the cultivation of ethics and wisdom. This has led to fears that mindfulness risks becoming just another self-help method rather than a liberating practice. Additionally, although numerous studies have shown that mindfulness in all its forms has practical benefits in alleviating certain conditions of suffering, conflicting data has also accumulated. Some teachers also fear that unrooted mindfulness can even be harmful when practiced without proper preparation or supervision. Others fear that it can be used to deceive, blaming misfortune or unhappiness exclusively on the individual without taking a critical look at external conditions, such as social and economic structures or the climate crisis. and ecological.
(Mangalam Research Institute)
In-person attendees should be aware that the event is fragrance-free to meet the health needs of attendees with chemical sensitivities.
Calendar
Saturday:
9:30 a.m. – 9:45 a.m. – Welcome and short opening meditation
9:45 am-10:30 am – Eric Braun"Seeing Through Mindfulness: Sati's Fortune in America"10:40 am-11:25 am – Ayya Santacitta Bhikkhuni“Working with the elements”
11:35 am-12:25 am – Donald Rothberg“The nature of awakening: traditional and contemporary paths to awakening”
12:30-14:00 p.m. – Lunch break
14:00 p.m. – 14:20 p.m. – Guided practice
14:20 am-15:05 am – Jody Greene““Read a little Dharma every day”: deep reading as a contemplative practice”15:15 am-16:00 am – Nikki Mirghafori“The dangers of impatience to “reach” the non-self”
16:00 p.m. – 16:30 p.m. – General discussion and short closing meditationSunday:
9:30 a.m. – 9:45 a.m. – Welcome and short meditation
9:45 am-10:30 am – Jack Petranker" Be careful "10:40 am-12:10 am – Mushim Ikeda and Reverend Eli Brown-Stevenson“Inclusive Mindfulness for Gen Z and Beyond: Focusing on BIPOC Youth and People with Disabilities”
12:10-14:00 p.m. – Lunch break14:00 p.m. – 14:20 p.m. – Guided practice
14:20 am-15:05 am – Hozan Alan Senauke“The social practice of mindfulness”15:15 p.m. – 16:00 p.m. – General discussion and short closing meditation
Speaker lecture abstracts and registration information are available on the Manglam Research Center website.
The Mangalam Research Center for Buddhist Languages aims to create a body of knowledge to assist in the translation of Buddhist writings from their classical languages into English. The center offers Buddhist studies programs and works to create tools, including philosophical and philological ideas, that can aid translation. It was founded in 2009.
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