Mind & Life Europe

What Mind & Life Europe does

Mind & Life Europe (MLE) is a Swiss-registered non-profit organization established in 2014 as the European arm of the Mind & Life Institute (founded 1987 with the Dalai Lama, Francisco Varela, and Adam Engle). MLE operates as an interdisciplinary platform bridging contemplative traditions — particularly Buddhist thought — with Western science, using the enactive approach (a theoretical framework from Varela, Thompson, and Rosch emphasizing cognition as embodied action) as its intellectual foundation. The organization is headquartered in Winterthur, Switzerland (registered at Bahnhofplatz 18), employs 11-50 staff, and is governed by a Board chaired by Amy Cohen Varela with day-to-day leadership from Managing Director Gábor Karsai.

MLE's core offerings span four activity domains: (1) flagship events — the European Summer Research Institute (ESRI), an annual retreat-style gathering of approximately 120 scientists and practitioners at Lama Tzong Khapa Institute in Tuscany, and the connected MLE Retreat; (2) grant-making — the European Varela Awards (EVAs), which have awarded over €23,500 per grant (up to €823,000 cumulative since 2014 across 57 projects) to junior contemplative researchers; (3) educational programs — most notably the Core Enaction Programme, a four-semester e-learning curriculum (2022-2024) on the enactive approach, supplemented by Mind Matters Talks, EVA Alumni Talks, Beyond Confines Webcasts, and the Enactive Fold podcast; and (4) community and publication — including the MLE Friends membership, the Hyphae academic journal, and thematic networks (ENCECON, Community of Contemplative Education, Initiative for Contemplative Phenomenology).

Revenue is generated through event registration fees (€300-1,600 per ticket depending on participant category and event), an MLE Friends subscription community, and donations/grants (notably from the Hershey Family Foundation for the EVAs). MLE is not a subsidiary of the Mind & Life Institute but an independent European affiliate. Primary customer segments are academic researchers (graduate students, postdocs, faculty) in contemplative science and contemplative practitioners/professionals (educators, clinicians, therapists, HR managers).

Name

Mind & Life Europe

Legal name

Mind & Life Europe

Website

https://mindandlife-europe.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Mind & Life Europe is a Swiss non-profit that bridges contemplative traditions with Western science through the annual ESRI retreat, European Varela Awards grants, the Core Enaction e-learning programme, and a Hyphae academic journal, serving academic researchers and contemplative practitioners across Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Contemplative Science Research and Education

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Mental Wellness & Resilience Education (Non-clinical) (EDAAAHAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Mindfulness, Meditation & Stress Management Education (EDAAAHAD)

Keywords

• Contemplative science research
• Interdisciplinary research events
• Academic grant programs
• Contemplative education programs
• Researcher community building

Headquarters

HQ city

Winterthur, Switzerland

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Event Registration Fees: MLE generates revenue through registration fees for events including ESRI and MLE Retreat. Fees vary by participant category: Research Fellows (€600-900), Senior Investigators (€800-1,200), and Professionals (€1,000-1,600). Prices cover full board and program at venues.
2. Grants and Donations: As a non-profit organization, MLE relies on grants and donations. The Hershey Family Foundation supports the European Varela Awards program. The organization accepts donations through its website.
3. MLE Friends Community Membership: Community membership program offering exclusive talks, webinars, and networking opportunities for members who join the MLE Friends community.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Mind & Life Europe is a Swiss non-profit that hosts the annual European Summer Research Institute (ESRI), a retreat-style interdisciplinary gathering of ~120 scientists and contemplative practitioners, and administers the European Varela Awards grant program (up to €23,500 per award) funding contemplative research. The organization also runs the Core Enaction Programme e-learning curriculum, Mind Matters Talks, the Enactive Fold Podcast, and the Hyphae academic journal, while building community through the MLE Friends membership program.

Product overview

Mind & Life Europe operates as a platform of interconnected programs rather than a single unified product. The core offerings include the European Summer Research Institute (ESRI) as the flagship annual event, complemented by the European Varela Awards (EVAs) grant program supporting contemplative researchers. Educational offerings include the Core Enaction Programme e-learning curriculum and various talk series (Mind Matters Talks, EVA Alumni Talks, Arts & Enaction Events, Beyond Confines Webcasts). The organization fosters community through MLE Friends membership and academic publication via Hyphae journal. Multiple thematic networks (ENCECON, CCE, ICP) support specialized research areas, while retreats and the Enactive Fold Podcast provide contemplative practice and dissemination channels.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• European Summer Research Institute (ESRI): Annual retreat-style event bringing together ~120 scientists and practitioners for interdisciplinary dialogue on contemplative science.
• European Varela Awards (EVAs)
• MLE Retreat
• Mind Matters Talks
• Core Enaction Programme
• MLE Friends
• Hyphae: The Academic Journal of MLE
• The Enactive Fold Podcast

Products and services

• European Summer Research Institute (ESRI) Annual week-long retreat bringing together approximately 120 scientists, scholars, and practitioners for interdisciplinary dialogue on contemplative science, featuring presentations, contemplative practice, and networking opportunities.
• European Varela Awards (EVAs) Annual grants of up to €23,500 awarded to research scientists who have attended ESRI, funding scientific and scholarly examinations of contemplative techniques to advance the field of contemplative science. Since 2014, 57 projects have been supported with a total of just over €823,000 awarded.
• MLE Retreat In-person contemplative retreat connected to ESRI at Lama Tzong Khapa Institute in Pomaia, Italy, led by experienced scholar-practitioners, offering silent and guided meditations, dialogical exercises, journaling, and gentle movement practices.
• Core Enaction Programme A four-part e-learning curriculum (MOOC-style) delivered via Zoom, tracing the origin story and major building blocks of the enactive view across cognitive science, philosophy, Buddhist thought, and contemplative traditions, culminating in applications across participatory sense-making, neurodiversity, healing, movement, pedagogy, AI & robotics, and enactive ethics.
• Mind Matters Talks Interdisciplinary online platform featuring talks from preeminent voices in contemplative science, exploring themes such as Gaia, climate, and consciousness. The 2025 series focuses on 'Arts and Aesthetics in the Enactive Fold'.
• The Enactive Fold Podcast A podcast series exploring topics at the intersection of enaction, philosophy, art, and contemplative science, featuring faculty discussions and event-related content.
• Hyphae: The Academic Journal of MLE The academic journal of Mind & Life Europe, publishing scholarly work in contemplative science and enactive approaches.
• MLE Friends Community Membership A membership community for people seeking to foster human flourishing in connection with science and wisdom traditions, offering exclusive talks, webinars, and networking opportunities for members.

Quantifiable outcome

• 57 research projects funded with €823,000+ awarded since 2014
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Institution Lama Tzong Khapa (ILTK)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMLE partners with Lama Tzong Khapa Institute for hosting ESRI and MLE Retreat events. ILTK is a Tibetan Buddhist center located in Tuscany, near Pisa, Italy, and one of the largest Tibetan Buddhist centers in Europe since its founding in 1977. The partnership enables the retreat setting for interdisciplinary dialogue and contemplative practice.
• Italian Buddhist UnioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-hosting partner for ESRI and MLE Retreat events. The Italian Buddhist Union (Unione Buddhista Italiana) represents Buddhist organizations in Italy and supports interreligious dialogue initiatives.
• Mind & Life InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMLE is the European arm of the Mind & Life Institute, founded by the Dalai Lama, Francisco Varela, and Adam Engle. The Mind & Life Institute established the original Varela Grants in 2004. MLE established ESRI and European Varela Awards in 2014 as companion programs, continuing Varela's vision of bridging contemplative traditions with science.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Esalen Institute: Long-running California retreat center that pioneered mind-body practices and contemplative workshops in the West. Comparable as a venue-based retreat operator offering workshops and seminars that integrate contemplative traditions with personal and professional transformation.
• Plum Village: International mindfulness community and retreat center founded by Thich Nhat Hanh, offering monastic-led retreats, app-based practice, and community programmes. Comparable as a contemplative retreat and education provider reaching global audiences through Zen-rooted teachings.

Direct peers

• Mind & Life Institute: The original organization founded in 1987 by the Dalai Lama, Francisco Varela, and Adam Engle to convene dialogues between scientists and contemplatives. MLE is its European offshoot and continues to operate as its sister organization, sharing mission, faculty networks, and grant lineage (parent organization of MLE's foundational vision).
• Mindful Schools: Non-profit that trains educators to integrate mindfulness into K-12 classrooms. Directly comparable as a non-profit education organization focused on bringing contemplative practice into professional settings, mirroring MLE's Community of Contemplative Education (CCE) network mission.
• Center for Healthy Minds, University of Wisconsin-Madison: University-based research center founded by Richard Davidson that studies well-being and contemplative practices through neuroscience and psychology. Comparable as a research-driven, non-profit-oriented hub for contemplative science with similar academic-community engagement and grant-giving influence.
• Greater Good Science Center, UC Berkeley: UC Berkeley-based research and education center that bridges social science and well-being practices for educators, parents, and the public. Comparable as a university-affiliated, science-grounded educational organization focused on well-being and contemplative practice applications.
• Stanford Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE): Stanford University center conducting research and education on compassion and well-being, offering trainings and academic programmes. Directly comparable as a scholarly-research-and-education hybrid focused on contemplative practices, sharing MLE's interdisciplinary ethos.

Others

• Insight Timer: Global meditation app and community platform offering free and paid contemplative content from thousands of teachers. Comparable as an ecosystem participant that broadens access to contemplative practice and competes for the same practitioner audience MLE serves via the MLE Friends community and podcast.

Emerging players

• Compassion Institute: Non-profit that delivers compassion-focused trainings, teacher certification, and applied research dissemination. Comparable as a smaller non-profit offering contemplative-skills professional development with similar clinician/educator/administrator audiences as MLE's Professionals segment.
• Center for Contemplative Mind in Society: North-American non-profit that fosters contemplative practice across higher education and society. Comparable as a small-scale non-profit operating in an adjacent niche (institutional/educational adoption of contemplative practices) with overlapping audience of educators and change agents.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/playlist?list=PLutha4Aw46O0y0hFIU-pHHvLKfU1VTqp2
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mindandlife-europe

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Mind & Life Europe