It all started in London in 2005, when we first discussed the theme of consciousness. That same year we saw each other in Washington, DC, to talk about the neuronal basis of meditation at a meeting organized by the Mind and Life Institute.1 For eight years, we took every chance we could to continue our exchanges all over the world, twice in Nepal, in the rainforests of Thailand, and with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, India.2 This book is the result of this extended conversation, nourished by friendship and our shared interests.
The dialogue between Western science and Buddhism stands out from the often difficult debate between science and religion. It is true that Buddhism is not a religion in the sense we usually understand in the West. It is not based on the notion of a creator and therefore does not require an act of faith. Buddhism could be defined as a “science of the mind” and a path of transformation that leads from confusion to wisdom, from suffering to freedom. It shares with the sciences the ability to examine the mind empirically. This is what makes the dialogue between a Buddhist monk and a neuroscientist possible and fruitful: a broad range of questions can be broached, from quantum physics to ethical matters.
We have attempted to compare the Western and Eastern perspectives, the different theories concerning the constitution of the self and the nature of consciousness as seen by the scientific and contemplative points of view. Until recently, most Western philosophies have been built around the separation of mind and matter. Scientific theories that are today attempting to explain how the brain works bear the mark of this dualism. Buddhism, meanwhile, has proposed a nondualistic approach to reality from the start. The cognitive sciences see consciousness as being inscribed in the body, society, and culture.
Hundreds of books and articles have been dedicated to theories of knowledge, meditation, the idea of the self, emotions, the existence of free will, and the nature of consciousness. Our aim here is not to make an inventory of the many points of view that exist on these subjects. Rather, our objective is to confront two perspectives anchored in rich traditions: the contemplative Buddhist practice, and epistemology and research in neuroscience. We were able to bring together our experiences and skills to try and answer the following questions: Are the various states of consciousness arrived at through meditation and training the mind linked to neuronal processes? If so, in what way does the correlation operate?
This dialogue is only a modest contribution to an immense field confronting the points of view and knowledge about the brain and consciousness of scientists and people who meditate—in other words, the meeting between first- and third-person knowledge. The lines that follow take this path, and we feel humility in front of the size of the task. We sometimes allow ourselves to be swept away by the themes close to our hearts, which translate in certain places into changes in direction or repetitions. We made the choice to retain the authenticity of the dialogue because it is rare and productive to develop an exchange over such a long period. We would nevertheless like to apologize to our readers for what may seem like an oversight.
This dialogue allowed us to make progress in our mutual understanding of the themes we addressed. By inviting our readers to join us, we hope they too will benefit from our years of work and investigation into the fundamental aspects of human life.