For those interested in mindfulness research, attending a conference focused on mindfulness research is a real treat. Such was my experience of attending the Second International Conference on Mindfulness recently.

The Second International Conference on Mindfulness was held between 11 May to 15 May 2016 at the Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. The conference program was very rich, and was well-attended by over 400 participants from many countries. It featured keynote speakers like Ven. Bhikkhu Analayo, Rebecca Crane, Peter Malinowski, to name a few.  They spoke on diverse topics related to mindfulness, such as the early Buddhist perspectives, attention, and meditation training. The symposium and posters sessions were also equally rich in diversity. Those interested to check out the whole program at-a-glance can click here, while the book of abstracts can be downloaded here. I am pretty sure you can find something that interest you.

One unique thing about this conferences is perhaps the numerous opportunities for mindfulness or meditation experience. For example, there were daily meditation sessions held during the conference at 7.30 am, where different styles of meditation (e.g., Tibetan, Chan) are introduced. There was even a Shao Lin martial arts demonstration, which got us trying out some mindful movements on the spot.

The next edition of this conference will probably be held at the University of Amsterdam in 2018.

~ contributed by Adrian Kee