Dialogue

What Makes Life Meaningful: A Contemplative View

Date: July 16, 2006
Time: 10:00am to 2:00pm
Location: Cal Poly Pomona, Bronco Student Center, Ursa Minor Room

According to many contemplative traditions such as Buddhism, three pursuits are essential to leading a meaningful life: the pursuit of genuine happiness, truth, and virtue. In this dialogue, Dr. Alan Wallace will distinguish between genuine happiness and mundane pleasure, with the first emerging from within, while the latter arising in response to pleasurable stimuli. The realization of such happiness–which is regarded by many great philosophers and contemplatives as the meaning of life–is deeply related to the pursuit of truth and to the cultivation of virtue. This raises the question: are there kinds of happiness, understanding, and virtue that can be experienced only when all three are cultivated together? While these three qualities are often seen as unrelated in the modern world, contemplative traditions throughout the world have long regarded them as deeply interrelated. And a meaningful life is one that is committed to such profound integration. This event will consist of a presentation, guided meditation, and discussion.

Event Flyer

Alan Wallace

Dr. Alan Wallace, a scholar and practitioner of Buddhism, has taught Buddhist theory and meditation worldwide since 1976. Having devoted fourteen years to training as a Tibetan Buddhist monk ordained by H. H. the Dalai Lama, he continually seeks innovative ways to integrate Buddhist contemplative practices with Western science to advance the study of the mind.

He is one of the most prolific writer and translators of books on Tibetan Buddhism in the West. His most recent books are The Attention Revolution: Unlocking the Power of the Focused Mind (2006), Genuine Happiness: Meditation as a Path to Fulfillment (2005) and The Four Immeasurables: Cultivating a Boundless Heart (2004).

He did his undergraduate studies in physics and the philosophy of science at Amherst College, and earned a Ph. D. in religious studies from Stanford University. During 1995-1997, he was a Visiting Scholar in the departments of religious studies and psychology at Stanford, and from 1997 to 2001 he taught in the Department of Religious Studies at University of California, Santa Barbara
He lives in Santa Barbara, where he is the president and founder of the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies, dedicated to interdisciplinary research and education to advance understanding of the nature and potentials of consciousness.

More About Dr. Alan Wallace