Professor John Dunne: Buddhist Philosophy and the Nalanda Tradition (#223)
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This episode, previously recorded as a Wisdom Dharma Chat, features Professor John Dunne. John is the distinguished chair in contemplative humanities at the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He works with Buddhist philosophy and contemplative practice. He is also an author of the winner of the 2025 Khyentse Foundation Prize for Outstanding Translation, Nāgārjuna’s Precious Garland. Join host Daniel Aitken and John as they discuss Buddhist philosophy and the historical significance of the Nalanda tradition. They transition to conceptual thinking and non-duality, exploring the relationship between consciousness and perception, the importance of education in understanding these concepts, and so much more!
They also discuss:
- Yogic perception and meditation;
- temporal and spatial experience;
- the role of education in cultivating wisdom;
- the intersection of AI and Buddhist philosophy; and
- so much more!
Additional content mentioned in this episode:
- The Wisdom of the Nalanda Tradition – A Wisdom Academy course. Available now. This course is offered as pay what you can.
- Neural effects and phenomenology of nondual meditation and 5-MeO-DMT in an expert meditation practitioner – Winner 2025 Neuroscience of Pure Awareness prize by the Culture of Consciousness Foundation by Thomas Metzinger. Authors: Christopher Timmermann, Tommaso Barba, James Sanders, Stéphane Offort, John Dunne, David Erritzoe, Antoine Lutz. Available in preprint – https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/whqdp_v2
About the Interviewee
Professor John D. Dunne serves on the faculty of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he holds the Distinguished Chair in Contemplative Humanities at the Center for Healthy Minds. He is also chair of the Department of Asian Languages & Cultures. His work focuses on Buddhist philosophy and contemplative practice, especially in dialogue with Cognitive Science and Psychology. His more than fifty publications appear in venues ranging across both the Humanities and the Sciences, including Foundations of Dharmakīrti’s Philosophy (2004), Science and Philosophy in the Indian Buddhist Classics: The Mind (2020), and Winner of the 2025 Khyentse Foundation Prize for Outstanding Translation Nāgārjuna’s Precious Garland (2024). John Dunne speaks in both academic and public contexts, and he occasionally teaches for Buddhist communities. His broader engagements include being a Fellow of the Mind and Life Institute, where he was previously a member of the board of directors, and serving as an academic advisor to the Rangjung Yeshe Institute in Kathmandu, Nepal.
