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Description:
MindScience is a record of a conference that took place between the Dalai Lama and psychologists, psychiatrists, neuroscientists, and psychobiologists at Harvard Medical School in March 24, 1991. The purpose of the conference, in part, was to share with the Dalai Lama and the medical community some of the scientific studies performed by Herbert Benson with Tibetan monks practicing "Tummo" (gtum mo) or the meditative generation of inner heat. The conference also included a general discussion on Buddhist and neuroscientific perspectives on mind-body issues, such as how the mind can affect physiology and behavior, and alternatively, how we can look at behavior and experience as the result of neuronal activity.
Buddhist teachings assert the existence of subtle states of mind which are free from emotional disturbances and ordinary cognitive activity. The Buddhist assertion of the existence of the "clear light" and subtle-most state of consciousness, as well as a basic introduction to tantric physiology, is presented to the medical scientists and others by the Dalai Lama and Robert Thurman of Columbia University. The Dalai Lama specifically discusses the Buddhist emphasis on individually investigating the nature of reality, the Buddhist concepts of interdependent origination, karma, internal and external causality, and Buddhist exoteric (sūtric) and esoteric (tantric) explanations of the mind.
Herbert Benson gives an account of his experiences and the scientific findings from studying the physiological effects of meditation, starting in 1967 with practitioners of transcendental meditation and then eventually working with Tibetan monks with an expertise in the practice of "inner heat" (gtum mo). He specifically discusses how these types of meditative practices can significantly increase or decrease metabolism. Dr. Benson describes the nature of the studies performed with Tibetan monks, including the specific physiological changes he measured such as skin temperature and oxygen consumption. He also gives a general overview of the medical understanding of temperature regulation, looking specifically at the how warm-blooded animals regulate temperature through (1) heat production and (2) heat conservation.
Heat production can result through muscle activity and through chemical changes, such as chemical changes effected by the hormones epinephrine and thyroxin. Heat conservation is achieved in a variety of ways such as reducing the amount of skin exposure to the cold, piloerection (raising of hair, humans replace this by wearing clothing), and reducing blood flow to the extremities (where it will cool more rapidly). When put in a cold environment, the body naturally reduces blood flow to the extremities. However, practitioners of inner heat do the opposite: they increase the surface temperature of the skin. They also increase their metabolism.
Dr. Benson also discusses how his studies on meditators relate to what he calls the "relaxation response." This is the opposite of the "stress response" which is involved with physiological reactions of "fight-or-flight." Research on the relaxation response has opened the door for its use in clinical settings for treatment of hypertension, cardiac arrhythmias, chronic pain, insomnia, the side of effects of cancer and AIDS therapies, anxiety disorders, depression, menstrual tension and infertility, and is also being applied as a preparation for surgery.
Finally, Dr. Benson answers questions from the audience on how his work relates to hypnosis, the treatment of cancer, the effect of the meditation on blood carbon dioxide levels and blood pH, as well as other issues involved in study of meditation.
In a following section, Harvard education expert, Howard Gardner, gives an overview of Western perspectives on cognition, reasoning, and intelligence. He discusses the "cognitive revolution" that took place in psychology in the latter half of the twentieth century and his theory of multiple intelligences
Lastly, psychologist Daniel Goleman outlines Western psychological and Buddhist models of mental health, including a discussion of the early history of the interaction between Buddhism and psychology. He suggests the therapeutic approaches found in psychology focus on the content of consciousness, while the Buddhist approach to mental health focuses more on processes of changing conscious experience.
In addition to formal presentations, the book provides a record of questions and responses that took place amongst the scientists, the Dalai Lama, and the audience. (Zach Rowinski 2005-01-03)
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