CBD 2026: Resting in Presence: A Contemplative Practice Inspired by Tibetan Buddhism with Chiara Mascarello, PhD

This session offers a gentle introduction to a contemplative practice inspired by Tibetan Buddhist traditions, exploring the movement of the mind and its deeper qualities. Beginning with the breath as a support for settling and stabilising attention, participants will be invited to observe thoughts as they arise and pass, and to gradually rest in a more open, spacious quality of presence.

Chiara Mascarello, PhD, has pursued research in Buddhist philosophy and Tibetan language at Sera Jey Monastic University in India, the UMA Institute for Tibetan Studies in the United States, and the University of Hamburg, Germany. Since 2013, she has worked as a Tibetan translator and interpreter, and she is currently Assistant Professor at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. She is a founder and board member of the MA Program in Contemplative Studies at the University of Padua, a member of Mind & Life Europe, and a member of the Steering Committee of the international Contemplative Education Network. After co-directing the Italian Buddhist Union’s Research Center for five years, she now serves as a Scientific Consultant, supporting its mission to promote education and research in Buddhist studies, contemplative studies, and consciousness studies. Her research focuses on Indo-Tibetan Buddhist contemplative literature, its contemporary transmission, and its dialogue with current studies of consciousness.

Among her most recent publications are Self-Awareness in Tibetan Buddhism: The Philosophical Relevance of Rang rig and Its Contribution to Contemporary Debates on the Nature of Consciousness (2025), and F. Tormen and C. Mascarello, “Recognizing Cognitive Models as Models: Critical Meta-Awareness as a Key to Exploring Buddhist Practices and Their Contemporary Applications,” Mindfulness 16 (2025).

This session is part of the FREE Contemplation by Design Summit, Oct. 14-25, 2026.

This iPause Guided Practice is part two of a two-part series with Contemplation by Design Summit. To extend the knowledge and skills you develop during this iPause Guided Practice lecture, please consider attending Chiara Mascarello's keynote titled, Tibetan Contemplative Practices as Catalysts for a Revolution in Eductaiton in the Age of AI and the Attention Economy on Oct. 19 at noon.

You are welcome to join one or both or Chiara's sessions in the Contemplation by Design Summit.

The full summit schedule for this year will be posted at: https://med.stanford.edu/contemplation/summit.html.