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On Wednesday, April 16th the Dali Lama, who is the head of Tibetan Buddhism, experienced Buddhist monks and mindfulness practitioners will meet with Western Scientists to discuss the scientific research studying contemplative practices. (You can tune into the meeting through a website: http://www.mayo.edu/webcasts/ram/externallive.wvx that will be active from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM (Central Daylight Time) on the 16th. These conversations between the Dali Lama and Western Scientists began in 1987 with week long meetings held in India. More recently they have been held in sites across the United States. The idea came from discussions between a physicist, Francisco Varela, and the Dali Lama and have broadened to include some of the most well respected scientists throughout the world. When the Dali Lama as asked by a reporter what he would do if the scientific results contradicted the findings of the Buddhist beliefs, he paused and said, "Well then I guess we would have to change our Buddhist beliefs." This attitude has characterized these discussions, although there has been more change by the Western Scientists who have encountered surprising findings as a result of these studies than change in the mindfulness practices of the monks. Many of these scientific meetings have resulted in books that summarize the conversations. If you are interested you can find descriptions of these books at www.mindandlife.org. John Weaver, Psy.D.