DHARAMSALA, INDIA, April 26, 2003: “These are times when destructive emotions like anger, fear and hatred are giving rise to devastating problems throughout the world. While the daily news offers grim reminders of the destructive power of such emotions, the question we must ask is this: What can we do, person by person, to overcome them?” says Tenzin Gyatso, the Dalai Lama, in his New York Times editorial. For the last 15 years, the Dalai Lama has engaged in a series of conversations with Western scientists. “I have been encouraging scientists to examine advanced Tibetan spiritual practitioners, to see what benefits these practices might have for others, outside religious context. The goal here is to increase our understanding of the world of the mind, of consciousness, and of our emotions,” he writes. Dr. Richard Davidson at the University of Wisconsin, has been studying the effects of Buddhist practices for cultivating compassion, equanimity or mindfulness, a state of alertness in which the mind does not get caught up in thoughts or sensations, but lets them come and go, much like watching a river flow by. According to Dr. Davidson, mindfulness meditation strengthens the neurological circuits that calm a part of the brain that acts as a trigger for fear and anger.
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