April 30, 2017

MIND AND EMPTINESS 
​conference on the nature of consciousness
Dartmouth College, April 28,29th. 

Below are recordings from several sessions of a conference, organized by Upper Valley Zen Center and Dartmouth Zen Practice in collaboration with Marcelo Glieser, physics professor at Dartmouth and his ICE program (Institute for Cross-Disciplinary Engagement).   Support was also provided by the Tucker Center at Dartmouth.   Each talk is roughly 40 minutes long. 

The conference was inspired by  reflection that explanations of  "consciousness" remain a challenge to a Western Science that seeks to explain  reality  through study of the natural world.    In Asia, however, reality was explored with no less rigor as a matter of consciousness.  The conference aimed to explore three perspectives on consciousness: the scientist, the philospher and the Buddhist.  

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Shinge Sherry Chayat Roshi,   Rinzai Zen teacher

Shinge Roshi is abbott of the Zen Studies Society and Dai Bostasu Zen monastery located in the Catskill mountains of New York.   She is the first American woman to receive Rinzai Zen transmission.  Her talk: "A Buddhist Perspective on Consciousness."

​Peter Ulric Tse, professor of psychology and brain sciences at Dartmouth 

Professor Tse graduated from Dartmouth with a BA in physics, went on to receive a PhD in Cognitive Psychology from Harvard and completed post-doctorate studies at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics.  His talk: "Attention in the Brain:  Where Volition and Consciousness Come Together to Create our Subjective Reality."

Mind and Emptiness Conference - Peter Tse from CATV 10 on Vimeo.

Adam Frank, professor of astrophysics at University of Rochester

Professor Frank studies the late stages of stellar evolution and the evolution of planets outside our solar system.  His popular writing concerns issues of science in the context of religion and culture.  His talk:  "Physics, Philosophy and Mind: A New Path to the Waterfall"

Mind and Emptiness Conference - Adam Frank from CATV 10 on Vimeo.

Evan Thompson, professor of philosphy at University of British Columbia.

Professor Thompson writes about cognitive science, phenomenology, the philosophy of the mind and cross-cultural philosophy, especially Buddhist philosophy in dialogue with Western philosophy of mind and cognitive science.  His talk: "The Nature of Consciousness: A Neurophenomenological Approach."