Leading thinkers from a range of disciplines discuss the compatibility of power and care, in conversation with the Dalai Lama.

For more than thirty years, the Dalai Lama has been in dialogue with thinkers from a range of disciplines, helping to support pathways for knowledge to increase human wellbeing and compassion. These conversations, which began as private meetings, are now part of the Mind & Life Institute and Mind & Life Europe. This book documents a recent Mind & Life Institute dialogue with the Dalai Lama and others on two fundamental forces: power and care - power over and care for others in human societies.

The notion of power is essentially neutral; power can be used to benefit others or to harm them, to build or to destroy. Care, on the other hand, is not a neutral force; it aims at increasing the wellbeing of others. Power and care are not incompatible: power, imbued with care, can achieve more than a powerless motivation to care; power, without the intention to benefit others, can be ruthless. The contributors--who include such celebrated figures as Frans B. M. de Waal, Olafur Eliasson, Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, and Jody Williams--discuss topics including the interaction of power and care among our closest relatives, the chimpanzees; the effect of meditation and mental training practices on the brain; the role of religion in promoting peace and compassion; and the new field of Caring Economics.

Power and Care: Toward Balance for Our Common Future, Science, Society, and Spirituality, Tania Singer, Matthieu Ricard and Kate Karius (Editors), MIT Press, Hardcover, 224 pp, $27.95

Contributors Paul Collier, Brother Thierry-Marie Courau, Frans B. M. de Waal, Olafur Eliasson, Scilla Elworthy, Alexandra M. Freund, Tenzin Gyatso (His Holiness the Dalai Lama), Markus Heinrichs, Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, Frederic Laloux, Alaa Murabit, Matthieu Ricard, Johan Rockstrom, Richard Schwartz, Tania Singer, Dennis J. Snower, Rabbi Awraham Soetendorp, Theo Sowa, Pauline Tangiora, Jody Williams

Tania Singer is Director of the Department of Social Science at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig.

Matthieu Ricard, a Buddhist monk, trained as a molecular biologist before moving to Nepal to study Buddhism. He is the author of The Monk and the Philosopher (with his father, Jean-Francois Revel);The Quantum and the Lotus (with Trinh Thuan); Happiness; The Art of Meditation; Altruism: The Power of Compassion; A Plea for the Animals; and Beyond the Self: Conversations between Buddhism and Neuroscience (with Wolf Singer). He has published several books of photography, including Motionless Journey and Tibet: An Inner Journey, and is the French interpreter for the Dalai Lama.

Kate Karius serves to make the world a healthier, more beautiful place by supporting luminaries and mission-driven organizations in bringing their messages out into the world.

CONTENTS: Power and Care
Foreword			ix
Introduction Tania Singer and Matthieu Ricard, Content Curators of the Power and Care Dialogue			xi
I	Perspectives from Ethology, Anthropology, and Ecology		1
		Opening Address His Holiness the Dalai Lama	3
	1	The Power and Care of Primate Alpha Males Frans B. M. de Waal	7
	2	The Transformative Power of Nurturing Sara Blaffer Hrdy	15
	3	We Depend on a Harmonious Planet to Support Humanity Johan Rockstrom	29
II	Perspective from Psychology, Endocrinology, and Neuroscience		47
	4	Psychological Considerations of the Power Motive Alexandra M. Freund	49
	5	The Biology of Care: Social Hormones in the Human Brain Markus Heinrichs	55
	6	Perspectives from Contemplative Neuroscience on Power and Care: How to Train Care and Compassion Tania Singer	63
	7	Using Compassion and Mindfulness to Balance the Impulses of Power and Care Richard Schwartz	75
	Dialogue with the Presenters, the Moderator, and the Dalai Lama		79
III	Perspectives from Spiritual and Religious Traditions		87
		Opening to Part III His Holiness the Dalai Lama	89
	8	A Call from the Indigenous Peoples of the Earth Pauline Tangiora	93
	9	A Life of Principled Compassion Matthieu Ricard	97
	10	We All Carry within Us the Rays of Light Rabbi Awraham Soetendorp	101
	11	To Listen and to Love without Requiring Reciprocity Brother Thierry-Marie Courau, O.P.	105
	12	Bringing Faith Forward Alaa Murabit	109
	Dialogue with the Presenters, the Moderator, and the Dalai Lama		113
IV	Perspectives from Economics and Society		117
	13	Self-Interest, Power, and Care Dennis J. Snower	119
	14	Three Economic Stories Paul Collier	129
	15	Valuing Women's Work Theo Sowa	133
	16	Creating Changes with PeaceJam Jody Williams	139
	Dialogue with the Presenters, the Moderator, and the Dalai Lama		143
V	Personal Commitment and Global Responsibility		151
	17	Art as a Driver for Social Change Olafur Eliasson	153
	18	Finding a Way to Put an End to War Scilla Elworthy	161
	19	Power and Care in Organizations
	Dialogue with the Presenters, the Moderator, and the Dalai Lama		173
Conclusion Tania Singer			177
Inspiring Workshops			181
Acknowledgments			183
About Mind & Life Europe			185
Contributors			187
Index			195