Portland, OR

Portland State University's Department of Psychology and Tergar International welcome you to:
Sustainable Happiness: A Dialogue between Science and Contemplative Wisdom

Join well-known Tibetan Buddhist meditation master Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, developmental psychologist Dr. Robert W. Roeser from Portland State University, and cognitive neuroscientist Dr. David R. Vago from Harvard University in an evening dialogue that will explore the concept of sustainable happiness from modern scientific, contemplative and practical perspectives.

What is sustainable happiness? Is sustainable happiness possible in this life? How might it be cultivated through contemplative practices like meditation? What does scientific research tell us about how meditation affects health and happiness? How might sustainable happiness be linked to the broader concept of ecological sustainability?

Mingyur Rinpoche will provide an introduction to the practice and science of meditation as a key means of realizing sustainable happiness and will guide the audience in a short experience of meditation. Drs. Roeser and Vago, based on their work in educational and medical settings, and with the
Mind and Life Institute, will discuss new psychological and neuroscientific research findings about how meditation seems to affect health and happiness. Audience members will have an opportunity to ask Rinpoche and other dialogue members questions at the end of the program.

Event Details

When: Monday, July 26, 2010, 7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Where: Portland State University, Smith Memorial Student Union Ballroom, 3rd Floor, 1825 SW Broadway, Portland, OR 97201 Map
Fee:

• $20 General Admission
• $10 Students

Registration: REGISTER HERE
Contact Information: call Diane 503.341.7776
or email portland@tergar.org

GUEST SPEAKERS

Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche is a rising star among the new generation of Tibetan Buddhist masters.  With a rare ability to present the ancient wisdom of Tibet in a fresh, engaging manner, Rinpoche’s profound teachings and playful sense of humor have endeared him to students around the world. His first book, The Joy of Living: Unlocking the Secret and Science of Happiness, debuted on the New York Times bestseller list and has been translated into over twenty languages.  Rinpoche currently teaches throughout the world, with centers on four continents. Read more...

Robert W. Roeser, Ph.D. is the Education Coordinator for the Mind and Life Institute and an Associate Professor of Psychology at Portland State University in Portland, OR. He received his B.A. in psychology from Cornell University and his Ph.D. in education and psychology from the University of Michigan. He also holds master's degrees in developmental psychology, clinical social work and religion. His research focuses on issues of human development and education.

Specifically, he studies school organizations, teaching practices, and their roles in shaping the academic motivation, mental health, and identity development of school-aged children, adolescents and emerging adults. He has conducted and/or collaborated on studies of adolescent development in the United States, Europe, South Africa and India.

Beginning with a Fulbright Research Fellowship in India in 2005, he has studied the use of contemplative practices such as mindfulness in schools and universities for purposes of stress reduction and the enhancement of positive development among teachers and students alike. Read more...

David Vago, Ph.D., Senior Research Coordinator, Mind & Life Institute, is a post-doctoral research fellow at the Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory in the Department of Psychiatry, Brigham Women's Hospital/Harvard Medical School. He received his Bachelor's Degree in Brain and Cognitive Sciences in 1997 from the University of Rochester.

In 2005, David received his Ph.D. in Cognitive and Neural Sciences with a specialization in learning and memory from the Department of Psychology, University of Utah. David's research interests broadly focus on the neurobiological substrates of cognitive and emotional risk and resilience to developing psychopathology. Using models of fronto-limbic function, David aims to elucidate cognitive, emotional and behavioral styles that promote adaptive mind-brain-body interaction. His research capitalizes on experience with animal models of memory-related processes (i.e., encoding, consolidation, retrieval, & re-consolidation) to inform the field of clinical neuropsychiatry. Read more...