Visions of Compassion: Western Scientists and Tibetan Buddhists Examine Human Nature

Preface — Introduces the book’s central concern: compassion as a subject of scientific inquiry and as a core value in Tibetan Buddhist thought. It explains the background of the 1995 Dharamsala conference and the cross-cultural dialogue between scientists and Tibetan Buddhist practitioners. Part I: Historical and Philosophical Background 1. Training the Mind: First Steps in a Cross-Cultural Collaboration in Neuroscientific Research — Discusses early attempts to study long-term Tibetan meditators through neuroscience and cross-cultural research. 2. A Science of Compassion or a Compassionate Science? — Examines whether Western science can study compassion without being transformed by the ethical implications of the subject. 3. Is Compassion an Emotion? — Explores Tibetan Buddhist mental typologies and the difficulty of translating “emotion” across Buddhist and Western conceptual frameworks. 4. Kindness and Cruelty in Evolution — Analyzes altruism, cruelty, and compassion from the perspective of evolutionary theory. 5. Understanding Our Fundamental Nature — Presents the Dalai Lama’s view that human nature is fundamentally compassionate and cooperative. Dialogues, Part I: Fundamental Questions — Addresses questions concerning human nature, scientific neutrality, happiness, competition, cooperation, and the recognition of compassion. Part II: Social, Behavioral, and Biological Explorations of Altruism, Compassion, and Related Constructs 6. Toward a Biology of Positive Affect and Compassion — Studies compassion and positive affect from the perspective of affective neuroscience. 7. Empathy-Related Emotional Responses, Altruism, and Their Socialization — Examines empathy, altruistic behavior, and social development. 8. Emergency Helping, Genocidal Violence, and the Evolution of Responsibility and Altruism in Children — Explores altruism and moral responsibility in relation to both helping behavior and violence. 9. Altruism in Competitive Environments — Analyzes altruism through economic and competitive frameworks. Dialogues, Part II: Pragmatic Extensions and Applications — Develops practical implications of compassion research. Appendix: About the Mind and Life Institute — Provides background on the institute that organized the dialogues. Index — Thematic and conceptual index.