The Center for Investigating Healthy Minds, a center funded partially by the Dalai Lama, held its grand opening at the Waisman Center Monday.
Attendees included UW Foundation President Mike Knetter, provost Paul DeLuca and a few Tibetan monks, who played an essential role in the center's founding.
The Dalai Lama donated $50,000 to the center earlier this academic year in support of the center's research.
The center's director, Richard Davidson, said the center is focused on contemplative neuroscience, a study the center hopes will become mainstream.
According to Davidson, contemplative neuroscience is ""training the mind and nourishing the heart in ways that we think will change the brain for the better and enable us to go forth with positive qualities of the mind like compassion and kindness.""
The center includes a meditation room for individuals and aims at enhancing parts of the mind that prevent problems such as fear and anxiety.
Mel Charbonneau, the center's director of communications and marketing, said she hopes to spread awareness about the center and encourages students to volunteer at the center or simply check it out.
""Our hope with the center is to engage the student community here on campus,"" Charbonneau said. ""It's really important that we reach out to the students here.""
—Jessica Phan
