“Brain Hacks for a Kinder World” Kicks-Off Year-Long 90 Years of Kindness Series
Leh, Ladakh – 28 June 2025 — Ladakh witnessed a historic convergence of philosophy and neuroscience on 28th June as Ven. Geshe Dorji Damdul, Director of Tibet House, Cultural Centre of His Holiness the Dalai Lama (New Delhi), delivered an electrifying keynote titled “Brain Hacks for a Kinder World: Merging Compassion with Cognitive Science.”
Hosted by Flowering Dharma Centre at Hotel The Zen Ladakh, the program drew 500 in-person participants and an international online audience, inaugurating the Centre’s year-long “Celebrating Years of Kindness” campaign honouring His Holiness the 14ᵗʰ Dalai Lama’s 90ᵗʰ birthday.
“In the 21st century we need inner technology as much as outer technology,” Geshe-la told the packed hall. “Modern neuroscience now validates what Nalanda masters taught centuries ago: through mindful training we can re-wire the brain for empathy, resilience and unbiased altruism.”
A Milestone for Ladakh
This marks Geshe-la’s unique visit to Ladakh, fulfilling a long-standing request from Ladakhi alumni who studied under him in Delhi. Despite an intense global schedule, the renowned scholar devoted a full evening to the region’s youth, senior monks and government officials. The audience engaged in a 40-minute Q&A on mental health and the ethics.
From Ritual to Rigour : Geshe-la anchored his talk with Shāntideva’s classic reflection on the rarity of human life (“Leisure and endowment are hard to find…”), urging Ladakh’s young professionals to seize the opportunity for contemplative practice now. Live “hack” demonstrations guided participants through evidence-based breath work and compassion-priming exercises that measurably calmed heart-rates within minutes.
90 Years of Kindness — A Prayer in a Logo : Flowering Dharma’s commemorative logo unites the numerals “90” and “113”— the latter echoing His Holiness’s aspiration to live to 113 years “for the benefit of humanity and all sentient beings.” The campaign’s first event was blessed earlier this month by H.E. Choegon Rinpoche; tonight’s lecture continues that momentum.
About Flowering Dharma : Founded in 2009 by Ladakhi students of Delhi University, Flowering Dharma now operates across six Himalayan regions (Ladakh, Jammu, Chandigarh, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh). Its mission is to:
- Foster universal ethics and compassion through community programmes and SEE Learning curricula.
- Bridge Buddhist philosophy and modern science via public lectures, research exchanges and youth retreats.
- Preserve Himalayan culture while nurturing pan-regional solidarity.
About Ven. Geshe Dorji Damdul :
- Geshe Lharampa (Drepung Loseling); advanced Tantra studies at Gyudmed Tantric College.
- Visiting Fellow, Girton College, University of Cambridge; translator to His Holiness the Dalai Lama since 2005.
- Author-translator of seminal works including Nāgārjuna’s Mūlamadhyamakakārikā and Shāntideva’s Bodhicaryāvatāra (Wisdom Chapter).
- Internationally sought-after speaker on contemplative neuroscience, quantum mechanics and secular ethics.
A beautiful note being shared by Stanzin Jordan Lakrook :
