Last Updated on September 2, 2023 by pg@petergamma.org
In several public talks, the Dalai Lama the 14. says that training the mind, training the brain is helpful for a healthy mind, a healthy brain or in other words, mental health. The Dalai asked scientists such as Richard Davidson to study this phenomenon scientifically:
In the following interview:
Richard Davidson says at 16:30:
«We where urged by His Holiness the Dalai Lama to please study the mind and the brains of practitioners who spent years training their minds to unvestigate using modern sophisticated neuroscientific methods, what might be different?
And Daniel Goleman at 55:21:
«The Dalai Lama urged Richard Davidson to kick off. He said to him at one point: our tradition has many methods for managing destructive emotions. Take them out of the cultural and religious context, test them rigurously in the lab, and if they are of benefit to people, spread them widely»
The request of the Dalai Lama triggered that over several years, long-term practicitioners where brought to Richard Davidsons lab, where their brains where investitated. One of those brains was that of Matthieu Ricard, Buddhist monk with a PhD. in cellular genetics. The result of these studies where published in a PNAS paper in 2004 :
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.0407401101
Matthieu Ricard was co-author of this PNAS paper. Before it was published, Ricard said in this TED talk that the results might be revolutionary. In his talk he says that:
«Happiness can be trained»
Matthieu Richard says in this TED talk, that people who are anxious and depressed, have more gamma wave acitivity on the right site of the prefrontal cortex, people who are happy and feel well, have more gamma wave on the left site of the prefrontal cortex. And Richard Davidson group found the highest gamma wave activity levels in the left prefrontal cortex of long-term practitioners which ever has been seen in humans.
But what happened after this study from which Matthieu Ricard said it might be revolutionary? Study participant Matthieu Ricard wrote his books «Happiness» and «Meditation», and several other books. And neuroscientist Richard Davidson published many papers and books. And one of his messages is
“Well-Being Is a Skill”:
As in this Francisco Varela Lecture Series: “Science & Mindfulness: Well-Being Is a Skill” with Dr. Richard J. Davidson published on 22.01.2015
or
«Well-being is a skill which can be learned»
published on 31.03.2015 on YouTube. Richard Davidsons is a well-known neuroscientists and his statements are based on scientific findings. Richard Davidson and Daniel Goleman pubished in 2017 the books «Altered Traits»:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altered_Traits
One of the messages of the book altered traits is that 20 minutes of daily practice of meditation is enough to change our brains in an objectively measurable way. But is this enough to get a healthy mind, a healthy brain?
The mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program assists people with stress, anxiety, depression and pain
It is an eight-week program that offers secular, intensive mindfulness training. It was developed at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in the 1970s by Professor Jon Kabat-Zinn
The Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy was developed to treat depression
by Zindel Segal and others:
Zindel Segal said in one of his talks that the term «meditation» is far to big to be helpful, so the and his co-workers called the method Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy. The neuroscientist Richard Davidson gives talks as for instance this one in the year 2018 at the:
Landguet Ried, Center for mindful living & retreat center near Bern in Switzerland:
about:
Meditation and the plasticity of well-being
https://www.landguet.ch/ticketing/richard-davidson
which was also online available there on March 25, 2021:
https://www.landguet.ch/en/events/rdavidson
and there is a PNAS paper by Richard Davidson with a similar topic which was published on December 7, 2020:
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2014859117
But coming back to the initial request of the Dalai Lama the 14. and that was to find out on other words: Is there as scientific proof that mental health can be trained? The Buddhist teachings say for instance tha happyiness comes from taiming the mind. And Matthieu Ricard says, the Buddhist teachings are based on teachings of self-exerienced practicioners and have the character of science. But is there a a scientific proof that mental health can be trained? Richard Davidson is the founder of the Center of Healthy Minds in Madison, USA, but:
Are there any studies which show that practicing meditation causes a sustainable increase of gamma wave activity in the left pre-prefrontal cortex and is helpful to treat mental illnesses?
Other studies than this studies than the one published in PNAS: