We are a non-profit organisation that bridges and integrates contemplative practices and wisdom with modern research capabilities.  We do that by working with leaders in the field of science, education, contemplation and human development using the knowledge in effective programs at the grass-roots level in Europe in order to decrease suffering and promote human flourishing.

The Mind and Life Institute was cofounded in 1987 by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, neuroscientist Francisco Varela, and entrepreneur Adam Engle, for the purpose of creating open dialogue and research collaboration between modern sciences, the world’s living contemplative traditions, philosophy, humanities, and social sciences.

Mind and Life Europe is a timely new initiative which was established in 2008 and will further expand Mind and Life's reach in Europe. Benefitting from the accumulated resources of the globally recognised US-based organisation, we now have a Europe-specific presence based in Zurich, working with neighbouring countries.

Over the past 25 years, the Mind and Life Institute has become a world leader in cultivating integrated, multidisciplinary investigation and has developed research fields that explore the effects of contemplative-based practices on the brain, human biology, and behaviour.