The EASE Lab is a network of contemplative science researchers at the University of Toronto. Beginning in 2024, we are meeting monthly to discuss research and inspire collaboration. As the advanced research arm of the Buddhism, Psychology and Mental Health (BPMH) Program, the EASE network aims to connect researchers and students from all three University of Toronto campuses.
The BPMH Program is an undergraduate Minor hosted at New College at the University of Toronto. Founded in 2007 and now an internationally recognized contemplative science program, BPMH engages rigorous interdisciplinary research interactions between scientists, academics, health practitioners and contemplative traditions. Emerging from two decades of global research on interactions between Buddhist traditions and the sciences, the program trains students in qualitative and quantitative research, scientific literacy, and writing skills. The program aims to foster in students a multi-epistemic literacy that is ethically grounded in dialogue and collaborative learning.
What is Contemplative Science?
Contemplative Science is an interdisciplinary field of scientific and scholarly research on diverse forms of meditative and embodied practices, their histories and contexts within philosophical, religious, and spiritual traditions globally, and their potential clinical and pedagogical applications in society. After decades of development, the field now has its own scholarly and scientific journals, academic conferences, and multi-million-dollar research grants. Contemplative Science became widely known as interactions between Buddhist Studies scholars, practitioners, and scientists were publicized at the first Mind & Life Dialogue with His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama in 1987. This was followed by establishment of the influential Mind & Life Institute and decades of collaborative interdisciplinary research. Today there are academic centres for Contemplative Science around the world and thousands of research articles addressing diverse contemplative practices connected to a variety of philosophical, cultural, religious, or spiritual traditions.