Neuroscientific Studies of Buddhist Meditation

Science Proving the Health Benefits of Meditation

Oct 20, 2009

This study of meditation exemplifies a case of science and religion working together, in a positive relationship, to deepen the understanding of the mind.

Buddhist meditation is a practice of cultivating the mind with the goal of reaching enlightenment. As meditation is practiced, the relationship between the mind and body is strengthened so that when the mind is calm, the body is also free of stress and anxiety. Buddhism, especially the practice of meditation, has percolated into the increasingly fast paced and success driven west. Since the 1970s, neuroscientists have done studies on the effects of meditation on the mind and body and have confirmed that it has a positive affect on one’s short and long term health.

Buddhism was founded in the 6th century B.C. in India when Siddhattha Gotama became enlightened and began his teachings on what he recognized as the essential nature of reality. There is no higher being in Buddhism and thus Buddhists must rely on their own efforts to progress on a spiritual path. Through mental training, enlightenment may be achieved.

Neuroscience and Brain Imaging

Neuroscience and Buddhism have been able to come together in agreement and dialogue about the power of the mind and the importance of focusing on its cultivation. Neuroscience, or the study of the brain, became possible in the 1970s with new technology that allowed for brain imaging. Brain imaging began with computed axial tomography (CAT) scans as a way of x-raying the brain. In the 1990s, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) transformed brain research.

Neurologically Changing the Brain through Meditation

The findings of one recent study done in 2004 by Antonine Lutz concluded that those who have practiced Buddhist meditation for a long time have transformed their brains neurologically. This study implies that humans have the power to change the neurological make-up of their brains with the concentration of their own minds. Thus the mind may have a greater power to affect the body than was previously thought.

In Magic and Mystery in Tibet,Alexandra David-Neel recounts an observation of Tibetan Buddhist monks performing the practice of gTum-mo yoga. In the middle of winter, the monks sit on the snow naked. Through meditation, they raise their internal body temperature. Sheets dipped in ice water are placed on the monks who then dry them with their body heat. In 1988, Herbert Benson measured the physical changes in the monks’ bodies during this practice in a number of different settings.

Overall, he found that the monks increased their overall oxygen consumption, but found one advanced monk to decrease his respiratory rate from fourteen breaths per minute to five or six breaths. These studies done on monks practicing gTum-mo yoga serve to confirm the findings of Lutz’s study. Those who practice advanced forms of meditation are able to control their mind to such an extent that they affect the most basic physiological mechanisms of the body as they are able to generate rather than lose heat.

Health Benefits of Meditation

In “Transcendental Meditation” Robert Trotter describes the methods and results of an experiment done on students practicing Transcendental Meditation (also referred to as TM). This type of meditation is especially conducive to research in that it is “…said to be an entirely mechanical process which attains its goals automatically with constant practice. It requires no faith or belief…” When this article was written in 1973, meditation was just becoming popular in the West because of the need for greater peace and relaxation in a society “over stimulated by the fight-flight mechanism.” The practice of meditation counters this mechanism, lessening stress, tension, and anxiety.

The results from the examination of 36 subjects revealed: “blood flow in the arm increases during TM by about 32%, oxygen consumption decreases during TM by about 17%, electrical resistance of the skin increases by an average of about 200%, brain wave patterns indicate an alert wakefulness.”

Meditation has become so popular in the west because it acts as a way to balance the stress and anxiety induced by our fast-paced society. As seen through the case of meditation, science and religion have a great capacity to share and grow in their interaction with one another because they are both investigating into the common needs and problems of humanity.

The copyright of the article Neuroscientific Studies of Buddhist Meditation in Meditation & Health is owned by Larissa Keeler. Permission to republish Neuroscientific Studies of Buddhist Meditation in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.