It's no secret that humans are not entirely rational when it comes to weighing rewards. For example, we might be perfectly happy with how much money we're making — until we find out how much more the guy in the next cubicle is being paid. But a new study suggests that people who regularly practice Buddhist meditation actually process these common social situations differently — and the researchers have the brain scans to prove it. Ulrich Kirk and collaborators at Baylor Medical College in Houston had 40 control subjects and 26 longtime meditators participate in a well-known ... Read More
Compassion: The New Wonder Drug
May 3, 2010 • By • 8 Comments
Compassion for others is a pathway to health and happiness. While that basic tenet of Buddhism may seem paradoxical to self-involved Westerners, newly published research suggests it has an actual physiological basis. A study published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology found compassionate women are acutely receptive to emotional support offered by others, and this buffers the health-damaging effects of psychological stress. A research team led by University of Maine psychologist Brandon Cosley conducted a study of 59 San Francisco residents, all white women in good health. ... Read More
Accepting the Pain
April 14, 2009 • By • 1 Comment
Fully accepting both the good and bad aspects of one's life — a key tenet of basic Buddhist doctrine — is a challenge for anyone. For a person in chronic pain, such a prescription may seem almost cruel. But people in that often-debilitating situation who manage to accept their condition — not only the pain itself, but also the other unpleasant or stressful realities they face — reap a wide variety of benefits, according to a newly published study. These patients "reported better emotional, physical and social functioning" than those who responded with fear or ... Read More
Parallel Paths?
March 25, 2009 • By • Leave a Comment
Every few years since 1987, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and his senior monks have met with a select group of distinguished neurologists, psychologists and other Western scholars to discuss the latest research into the neuroscience of meditation and the mind-body connection. The gatherings, organized by the Mind & Life Institute, explore the common ground between science and Buddhism, a 2,400-year-old tradition with roots in ancient India. These gatherings have spawned popular books and helped lay the groundwork for the burgeoning study of how Buddhist teachings illuminate the workings ... Read More
