ENGAGED BUDDHISM

  

ENGAGED BUDDHISM

by 

Dato' Dr G K Ananda Kumaraseri

PART ONE

PART TWO

PART THREE

PART FOUR

SIDDHARTHA: The Key Role Model for Success

KEANU REEVES as SIDDHARTHA
on the movie: LITTLE BUDDHA 1993
(photo: keanusuigeneris.blogspot.com)

THE KEY ROLE MODEL
FOR SUCCESS

24th May 2014

  

DHAMMA TALK

by

DATO' DR G K ANANDA KUMARASERI 

PART ONE

PART TWO

PART THREE

PART FOUR

LIVING BY BUDDHISM

DATO' DR G K ANANDA KUMARASERI

LIVING BY BUDDHISM

23th May 2014

PART ONE

PART TWO

DHAMMA EVENINGS with DATO' Dr G K Ananda Kumaraseri

Nondirective meditation is most effective according to neuroscientists | CTV News

(Photo: Michelangelo Gratton / shutterstock.com)

 Not All Meditation Methods 

Are Equal, 

According to a New Study

RELAXNEWS, CTV NEWS 
Published Friday, May 16, 2014 
10:25AM EDT 

Instead of imagining yourself on a hot, sunny beach, the more effective meditative method is to let the mind wander aimlessly, says a team of researchers from Norway and Australia.

Because during MRI tests, subjects who practiced “nondirective” meditation — the kind that encourages the mind to wander at will — were found to have higher activity in the part of the brain dedicated to processing thoughts and feelings, compared to those who were instructed to focus on a specific idea.

For their research, scientists from the University of Oslo and the University of Sydney examined the brain activity of 14 subjects in an MRI machine while they practiced two forms of meditation.

In nondirective meditation, subjects focused on breathing or a meditative sound, but beyond that were allowed to let their mind wander at will.

In concentrative meditation, subjects were instructed to focus their attention on their breathing and on a specific image or thought. The aim? To suppress other thoughts and distractions.
 

Mindfulness meditation is a form of Buddhist self-awareness designed to focus attention to the moment at hand. ― AFP pic - See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/features/article/nondirective-meditation-is-most-effective-according-to-neuroscientists#sthash.DxhH1lHb.dpuf

Mindfulness meditation is a form of Buddhist self-awareness designed to focus attention to the moment at hand. ― AFP pic - See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/features/article/nondirective-meditation-is-most-effective-according-to-neuroscientists#sthash.DxhH1lHb.dpuf

 The Buddha is said to have identified

two paramount mental qualities that arise

from wholesome meditative practice:

"I N S I G H T" 

(Pali: vipassana)

Nondirective or Mindfulness Meditation

which enables one to see, explore and

discern "formations" (conditioned phenomena

based on the five aggregates);

"S E R E N I T Y"  or

"T R A N Q U I L L I T Y" 

(Pali: samatha)

Concentrative Meditation

which steadies, composes, unifies and

concentrates the mind.  

[American Buddhist monk meditating

with electrodes attached in PBS's the New Medicine

(Photo courtesy of Middlemarch Films/TPT)]

[Stanford doctoral researchers Matthew Sacchet (left) and

Alex Genevsky (right) prepare a Tibetan monk for a brain scan,

as part of a study of the biology of compassion.

(Photo: Bryce Johnson, Science For Monks)]

In addition to MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scans, subjects also underwent different meditation activities and tasks.

"The study indicates that

Nondirective Meditation

allows for more room

to process memories and

emotions than during

Concentrated Meditation,"

said neuroscientist and study 

co-author Svend Davanger

from the University of Oslo.

"This area of the brain has its highest activity when we rest. It represents a kind of basic operating system, a resting network that takes over when external tasks do not require our attention. It is remarkable that a mental task like nondirective meditation results in even higher activity in this network than regular rest.”

On the other hand, when subjects underwent thought-specific meditation, neural activity levels were similar to the brain at rest.

The latest research, published in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, builds on a series of interesting studies that shed light on how meditation can optimize the brain and help with overall well-being.

A 2012 study published in Frontiers in Cognition found that different meditation techniques can help spur creativity, while researchers from Johns Hopkins University found that it can likewise help ease anxiety and depression.

Adapted from:

Nondirective meditation is most effective according to neuroscientists | CTV News

HAPPINESS

In this TEDxTalk, Professor Willoughby Britton tells us that happiness is not about getting what you want. She discusses our mental qualities as habits we practice and she sheds light on an important link between neuroscience and contemplative studies.

Britton received a B.A. in Neuroscience from Colgate University in 1996 and a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Arizona in 2007. Broadly speaking, she is interested in the role of variations in conscious states in the intersection between affective neuroscience, clinical science and religion. See her full bio and learn more about this event at the TEDxBrownUniversity website (http://www.brown.edu/web/tedx/).

"A wandering mind is

an unhappy mind"

By the power of this merit sharing, 

may we avoid the company of 

those ignorant of the Dhamma and 

who mislead us.

May we be blessed with 

wise friends and skillful teachers.

May we never stray away from

 the Path wherever we are.

May we always have the chance 

to study and practise the Dhamma.

H A P P Y   V E S A K

2 0 1 4

to all Dhamma-seekers!