Best-kept secret? |
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(From Reuters:) "Scientists say they have evidence to show that Buddhists really are happier and calmer than other people." Recently, there has been a lot of talk in the press about the latest scientific findings which indicate that meditation leads to genuine happiness. In the past few days, articles are appearing everywhere, with titles like "Buddhists really are happier" (BBC), "Buddhists transcend mental reservations" (The UK Independent), "Meditation Shown to Light Up Brains of Buddhists", and "Buddhists Hold Key to Happiness" (Reuters, quoted in Yahoo News). For example (extracted from New Scientist), Professor Flanagan says: "Buddhists are not born happy. It is not reasonable to suppose that Buddhists are born with a 'happiness gene'. The most reasonable hypothesis is there is something about conscientious Buddhist practice that results in the kind of happiness we all seek. Antidepressants are currently the favored method for alleviating negative emotions, but no antidepressant makes a person happy. On the other hand, Buddhist meditation and mindfulness, which were developed 2,500 years before Prozac, can lead to profound happiness." There was a time in the Western world when meditation in general and certainly Buddhist meditation was considered somewhat weird, probably escapist, and most certainly "alternative". When I got interested in Buddhist meditation 23 years ago in the north of England (due to meeting my teacher Venerable Geshe Kelsang), most people had barely heard of Buddhism or even meditation. Back then, I rarely mentioned that I meditated, let alone that I was a Buddhist, unless asked directly, as it would generally lead to blank stares and a quick change of subject ;-) This has changed entirely over the last two decades. With the explosion of interest in Buddhism throughout the Western world, both meditation and Buddhism have now become mainstream words and concepts. If I mention, "I'm a Buddhist", no one bats an eyelid nowadays or thinks "what a weirdo", any more than if I said, "I ate a curry last night". (Indian curry was once an equally unfamiliar and weird new idea in the West; now it is England's favorite food!) Meditation may not be the world's best-kept secret for much longer. All the articles cite similar studies (you can find them all online). Here are some more extracts:-. (From Reuters:) ". scientists at the University of Wisconsin at Madison used new scanning techniques to examine brain activity in a group of Buddhists. They have discovered that certain areas of the brain light up constantly in Buddhists, which indicates positive emotions and good mood. This happens at times even when they are not meditating." ".another study suggests that Buddhist meditation can help to calm people. Researchers at University of California San Francisco Medical Center have found the practice can tame the amygdala, an area of the brain which is the hub of fear memory. They found that experienced Buddhists, who meditate regularly, were less likely to be shocked, flustered, surprised or as angry compared to other people. (From The UK Independent:) "Buddhists who meditate may be able to train their brains to feel genuine happiness and control aggressive instincts, research has shown. According to Owen Flanagan, professor of philosophy at Duke University in North Carolina, Buddhists appear to be able to stimulate the left prefrontal lobe - an area just behind the forehead - which may be why they can generate positive emotions and a feeling of well being. Writing in today's New Scientist, Professor Flanagan cites early findings of a study by Richard Davidson, of the University of Wisconsin, who used scanners to analyse the active regions of a Buddhist's brain. "Professor Flanagan said the findings are "tantalising" because the left prefrontal lobes of Buddhist practitioners appear to "light up" consistently, rather than just during acts of meditation. "This is significant, because persistent activity in the left prefrontal lobes indicates positive emotions and good mood," he writes. "The first Buddhist practitioner studied by Davidson showed more left prefrontal lobe activity than anyone he had ever studied before." Click here for more on the mind and brain connection. |
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2008 For everything you ever wanted to know about Kadampa Buddhism visit the main Kadampa Tradition website. |