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Clarke Scott is a fully ordained Buddhist monk trained in the Tibetan tradition. A student of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Clarke has received personal instructions—direct one-to-one instructions—on Madhyamaka philosophy and meditation from His Holiness. Recently Clarke moved to Tasmania to pursue a Ph.D in Buddhist philosophy from the University of Tasmania.

Happiness and it’s causes

In 2007 His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama was a part of an Australian conference called happiness and it’s causes. It brings together clinical psychologists, psychiatrists and Buddhist practitioners. I think this is a wonderful idea having a conference on the causes of happiness is something that really serves the community as a whole well. Don’t you think?

I’ve just applied for a press pass as I hope to go up to Sydney and report on the goings on. There are a couple of well known Buddhists speaking, and in particular I would like to see these two.

Matthieu Ricard
Shechen Monastery, Nepal
Matthieu Ricard is a Buddhist monk at Shechen Monastery in Kathmandu and French interpreter since 1989 for His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He received his PhD in Cellular Genetics at the Institute Pasteur in France, before forsaking his scientific career to concentrate on Tibetan Buddhist studies. He received the French National Order of Merit for his humanitarian work setting up clinics, schools and orphanages in the Himalayan region. Mr. Ricard’s photographs of the spiritual masters, the landscapes and the people of the Himalayas have appeared internationally in books and magazines. The dialogue with his father, Jean-Francois Revel, The Monk and the Philosopher, was a best seller in Europe, and The Quantum and the Lotus reflects his long-standing interest in science and Buddhism. His new book, Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life’s Most Important Skill, explores the meaning and fulfillment of happiness.

Dr. Alan Wallace
President Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies, USA
Dynamic lecturer, progressive scholar, and one of the most prolific writers and translators of Tibetan Buddhism in the West, B. Alan Wallace, Ph.D., continually seeks innovative ways to integrate Buddhist contemplative practices with Western science to advance the study of the mind. Having devoted fourteen years to training as a Tibetan Buddhist monk, ordained by H. H. the Dalai Lama, Dr. Wallace went on to earn an undergraduate degree in physics and the philosophy of science at Amherst College and a doctorate in religious studies at Stanford. His books include Genuine Happiness: Meditation as the Path to Fulfillment and The Attention Revolution – Unlocking the Power of the Focused Mind.

You can see a full list of speakers for the 2008 conference here.
http://www.happinessanditscauses.com.au/speakerList.stm

I’ve been reading Alan’s book for years and he is particularly interested in the science Buddhist conversation that seems to be getting more and more popular. For me I definitely see the benefit of this conversation as long as we don’t start trying to, as the Dalai Lama says put a Yaks head on a cow’s body. Alan is aware of this potential problem and has started the http://www.sbinstitute.com/ an organization that is not based on one system of thought.

This topic is very close to my heart as we all have a natural and basis aspiration to have more and more happiness. Yet many of us misunderstand the true causes of genuine happiness.

The great 8th Indian saint Shantideva said as much in his classic style of in your face poetry…

Although they do not want suffering, they run to suffering itself.
And although they wish for happiness, they destroy it like an enemy!

Yet, even in the so called modern era we are no closer to understanding his basic fact! There are still people/countries fighting over oil etc etc. The human race is like a dysfunctional family…we ARE The Simpsons.

I have set aside a category for posts just on this wonderful conference, and I will be blogging about it.

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