RESOURCES

Explore resources connected to our film that provide opportunities for deeper learning and reflection on the dialogue between Buddhism and science — and how it might be transformative in our own lives. Learn more about the Dalai Lama’s vision, organizations, and thought leaders that inspire our film. Read insights from our team and subjects. Delve into resources about the practices of Buddhism and Lucid Dreaming. 

The Institutional Sources of Our Film

The 14th Dalai Lama

Our film is inspired by the Dalai Lama and his vision of a “100-Year Project,” a long-term collaboration between academic scientists and Tibetan Buddhist monastics to explore both ancient and contemporary questions in the service of humanity. 

Read “Science at the Crossroads,” based on a talk given by the Dalai Lama at the Society for Neuroscience’s 2005 annual meeting, for insight into his commitment to a dialogue between neuroscience and society “to help deepen our basic understanding of what it means to be human and our responsibilities for the natural world we share with other sentient beings.”

Woman presents a framed certificate to the Dalai Lama while Buddhist monks and attendees look on

Emory-Tibet Science Initiative‍

This unique educational endeavor brings together the best of the Western and Tibetan Buddhist intellectual traditions for their mutual enrichment and for the discovery of new knowledge. ETSI programs explore the convergence of science and inner values in an effort to address humanity’s greatest problems, advancing an understanding of reality that incorporates both heart and mind, to find better ways to relieve human suffering.

Six Buddhist monks in maroon robes pose in front of an Emory University sign.

Mind & Life Institute 

Founded in 1987 by the Dalai Lama, neuroscientist Francicso Varela, and entrepreneur Adam Engle with dialogues exploring the possible intersectionality between ancient Buddhist wisdom and modern science, Mind & Life has pursued a bold vision: that science and contemplative wisdom together could advance human flourishing. From these beginnings, an entire field of contemplative science and research emerged — catalyzing scientific laboratories and applied research centers, creating new fields of study between and across disciplines, and reshaping how we understand the mind. 

Explore Mind & Life’s Insights and Podcast featuring dialogues with leading thinkers and funded cutting-edge research. 

Read “Buddhism Meets Science” by Thupten Jinpa, Primary Translator for the Dalai Lama and recent Mind & Life board president, which explores how these two investigative traditions converge to better understand the human mind and its potential.

Buddhist monks performing a ritual in a spacious hall while seated monks watch.

Insights From and About Our Team and Primary Subjects

  • How Buddhism Met Science

    In “How Buddhism Met Science: A Monastic Scholar’s Journey,” Dhondup T. Rekjong shares the journey of Geshe Thabkhe, a Tibetan monastic scholar at the intersection of the ongoing dialogue between Buddhism and modern science, from young Tibetan monk to Buddhist PhD and research scientist, in Lion’s Roar.

  • Bridging Science/Buddhism

    In “Bridging Science and Buddhism: The Dalai Lama’s 100 Year Vision” for Mind & Life Institute, Executive Producer/Director Park Krausen and film subject Dr. Robin Nusslock offer a personal take on their experience participating in a multiyear collaboration between the Emory-Tibet Science Initiative, Northwestern University neuroscientists, a cohort of young Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns, and the Frontiers of the Mind filmmaking team.

  • Open Online Teachings

    Join open online teachings with Tibetan Nun Ani Choyang, one of our film’s subjects, which focus on simple, practical methods for cultivating inner qualities such as resilience, focused attention, wisdom, and compassionate communication with both ourselves and others. Held on the first Sunday of each month at 10am ET/8:30pm India, you are always welcome to join the Zoom meeting here.

  • Watch Session Videos

    Watch session videos from key Mind & Life events where our documentary team and the film’s primary subjects participated, served on panels, and hosted meditations. We joined the 39th Mind & Life Dialogues, a gathering of 120 scientists, scholars, contemplative practitioners, business leaders, and policymakers outside of Dalai Lama’s Temple in Dharmashala, India, to explore the nature of mind and both the promise and challenge of artificial intelligence. We also participated in the last four years of the Mind & Life Summer Research Institute.

Learn about the Practice of Lucid Dreaming and Dream Yoga

Explore these resources

to learn more:

The practice of inducing lucid dreams through the contemplative lens of compassion represents a profound synthesis, bridging the ancient wisdom of Tibetan Dream Yoga with the rigorous inquiries of modern cognitive neuroscience. This approach was explored in a 2026 proof-of-concept study which illuminated our ability to intentionally steer the dreaming mind toward altruistic themes using dedicated visualization and cueing techniques.

Read the Brain Sciences journal, “Inducing Lucid Dreaming Based on a Contemplative Practice of Compassion,” coauthored by academic and monastic scientists featured in our film who share the methods and findings of the collaborative study.  

Read The New York Times article, “The Mind-Altering Power of Lucid Dreaming,” for a personal reflection on the experience: “At a time when attention is at a premium, when the structures of power circumscribe our sense of possibility, we all should be lucid dreaming. To dream is to glimpse another possible world; to lucid dream is to reconsider our own.”

Monks attach electrodes to a seated person's EEG cap during a medical brainwave test.

Tibetan Buddhist Teachings, Practice, and History

Learn About and Practice Buddhism 

Practical Manifestations of the Dialogue between Buddhism and Science

Related Documentaries and Films

  • The Dalai Lama Scientist is an uplifting documentary about the Dalai Lama's meetings with scientists from around the world to find commonalities among Buddhist science and western science to promote health, understanding and compassion for all.

  • The Geshema is Born explores the journey of Tibetan Buddhist nuns who have, for centuries, sought the audacious idea of equality within their ancient faith. Empowered by the Dalai Lama, they now receive the highest monastic degree: a Geshema, or Phd. 

  • Mission Joy is an exploration of the remarkable friendship between Archbishop Desmond Tutu and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. 

  • Wisdom of Happiness is an intimate conversation with the Dalai Lama sharing practical wisdom for finding peace, compassion, and hope in the midst of chaos — inviting us to imagine and help create a world where compassion is activated as our strongest force for change, and happiness is within reach for everyone.

  • Battle for Tibet is a PBS FRONTLINE investigation of China’s rule over Tibet. With footage from inside the region, it examines how the Communist regime controls Tibet’s Buddhist population and the battle over the succession of the Dalai Lama.

  • Upper Story is a documentary exploring the collaboration between the Dalai Lama, Buddhist scholars, and Western neuroscientists to find ways to improve mental well-being through mental training.

  • Kundun is a dramatic biographical film by Martin Scorsese about the Dalai Lama’s early life, from childhood to adulthood, dealing with Chinese oppression and escaping to India.

  • Seven Years in Tibet tells the story of an Austrian climber and Nazi supporter who breaks out of a British POW camp in India and treks to the holy city of Lhasa where he becomes an instructor to the young 14th Dalai Lama and close confidante.