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A Buddhist View on Conative Intelligence

The psychological term “conation” refers to the faculty of desire and intention, and our intelligence in this regard reflects the degree of wisdom we have in choosing which aspirations and ideals to embrace as we seek to find happiness and freedom from suffering. This theme has a great bearing on the Buddhist emphasis on cultivating an authentic and benevolent motivation for all human endeavours and in particular for spiritual practice. In this lecture, Alan Wallace will explore this topic from a Buddhist perspective, highlighting its relevance in today’s world, when there is such an urgent need for humanity to cultivate greater conative intelligence if we are to stop destroying our natural environment and undermining human civilization.

Date and Time: 7th December 2019, 6pm

Cost: $25 / $20 (VI members)

Alan Wallace

Alan Wallace is a prominent voice in the emerging discussion between contemporary Buddhist thinkers and scientists who question the materialist presumptions of their 20th-century paradigms. He left his college studies in 1971 and moved to Dharamsala, India to study Tibetan Buddhism, medicine and language. He was ordained by H.H. the Dalai Lama, and over fourteen years as a monk he studied with and translated for several of the generation’s greatest lamas. In 1984 he resumed his Western education at Amherst College where he studied physics and the philosophy of science. He then applied that background to his PhD research at Stanford on the interface between Buddhism and Western science and philosophy. Since 1987 he has been a frequent translator and contributor to meetings between the Dalai Lama and prominent scientists, and he has written and translated more than 40 books. Along with his scholarly work, Alan is regarded as one of the West’s preeminent meditation teachers and retreat guides. He is the founder and director of the Santa Barbara Institute for Conscious Studies and is the motivating force behind the develop of the Centre for Contemplative Research in Tuscany, Italy.