Mahayana Student: Practice generosity

2011-12-02T07:24:00.001-08:00

Please support the World’s Children’s Prize: http://worldschildrensprize.org/about-us

What you can do: http://worldschildrensprize.org/donate

Buddhist Peace Fellowship

2011-12-01T04:35:00.000-08:00

Join: http://www.bpf.org/store.aspx?pid=4
Donate: http://www.bpf.org/store.aspx?pid=3

Thich Nhat Hanh: What Is Engaged Buddhism?

2011-12-01T01:10:00.001-08:00

What is Socially Engaged Buddhism?

2011-12-01T01:04:00.000-08:00

Bhikkhu Bodhi introduces Buddhist Global Relief

2011-11-24T00:01:00.001-08:00

SOS Children's Villages International

2011-11-22T23:47:00.001-08:00

Please support SOS Children's Villages: http://www.sos-childrensvillages.org/pages/default.aspx
What you can do: http://www.sos-childrensvillages.org/What-you-can-do/Pages/default.aspx

Finish the Temple for H.H. Sakya Trizin at Tsechen Kunchab Ling

2011-06-01T02:29:00.000-07:00

Help build a beautiful new Tibetan Buddhist temple building at Tsechen Kunchab Ling, Seat of His Holiness Sakya Trizin in the United States. Completion of the new temple will mark an important moment in the history of Buddhism in the U.S.

For centuries to come, this temple will offer a peaceful place for meditation and prayer, and be the site of important Dharma teachings by His Holiness Sakya Trizin and other Buddhist masters. It will become a key location for the growth of Buddhism in the West. [...]

Sakya Paintings

2011-03-25T05:36:00.000-07:00

Sakya Biographies

2011-03-25T05:25:00.000-07:00

From the excellent Sakya Resource Guide:
Biographies of Lowo Khenchen Sonam Lhundrub, Nasa Dragpugpa, Buddhashri, Sanggye Sengge, and Gorampa Sonam Sengge

International Buddhist Academy in Nepal

2011-03-19T07:20:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the International Buddhist Academy

http://www.sakyaiba.edu.np/

"Tashi delek! The IBA, in the heart of Nepal's Kathmandu Valley, provides an ideal "retreat" atmosphere for Buddhist study, contemplation and meditation. Our Academy teaches the key Classic Indian Buddhist treatises which are studied by all Mahayana and Tibetan traditions. The IBA program is balanced between studies in both Philosophy theory and practice-oriented texts which show how to implement it in our lives, “on and off the cushion”. We also offer Tibetan Language courses at several levels, for interested students from all over the world." [...]

The Famous Notebooks « Lotsāwa School

2011-02-22T07:01:00.000-08:00

The Famous Notebooks « Lotsāwa School

"During a recent visit to the offices of TBRC, I was fortunate enough to glimpse Gene Smith‘s famous ‘notebooks’, the painstakingly typewritten transcripts of texts and interviews, with their own particular system of colour coding, capitalization, underlining and marginalia. Many pages feature handwritten corrections and further notes added at a later date. Most of the books are leather-bound in green with titles on the spine. There appeared to be at least fifty in the office, but there might be others elsewhere. Jeff Wallman estimated that they represent about twenty years of work..."

Buddhist Channel | Buddhism News, Headlines | India | Road map for Nalanda University discussed

2011-02-22T06:55:00.000-08:00

"Road map for Nalanda University discussed
University will start with seven schools, primarily in humanities

NEW DELHI, India -- The Governing Board of the new Nalanda University on Monday laid down a road map to make the institution functional tentatively by 2013. The recruitment of faculty would be done one or two semesters before the first batch is enrolled so that they have a role in finalising the course structure..."

H.H. Sakya Trizin: YouTube - DechenBuddhism's Channel

2010-10-21T01:56:00.000-07:00

YouTube - DechenBuddhism's Channel:
"At the invitation of Lama Jampa Thaye, His Holiness Sakya Trizin spent five days at Sakya Dechen Ling in London in June 2010. During this time he bestowed an extraordinary set of teachings consisting of the Parting from the Four Attachments and the major initiation of Kalachakra."

Vira Vajradharma - Unique Sakya Iconography

2010-10-14T04:27:00.000-07:00

Sakya Resource Guide:
"This painting is iconographically unique because it is the only known composition depicting Vira Vajradharma as a central figure and the only painting known that depicts the two figures of Vajradhara and Vajradharma paired together in a single composition. Vajradharma originates with the Chakrasamvara cycle of Anuttaryoga Tantras and is another form of the Tantric Buddhist primordial Buddha. Vajradharma is red in colour and has two different iconographic forms. The first form, shown in this painting is considered common, Vira Vajradharma, and the second form is regarded as more profound, or uncommon [...]"

Khyentse Foundation launches new website

2010-10-08T05:49:00.000-07:00

MahaSangha News:

This month the newly redesigned Khyentse Foundation website features a video of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche discussing the future of dharma in the West.

It also has a profile of Wendell Garnett, a recent recipient of the Khyentse Foundation scholarship program, which supports students in their efforts to study and practice the Buddhadharma. Visit the website to read about Wendell’s inspiring journey from being homeless for four years and living on the streets to studying at The College for Higher Tibetan Studies at Sarah, near [...]

Tibetan Translator Training Program in Bir, India « Lotsāwa School – News

2010-08-29T22:56:00.000-07:00

Tibetan Translator Training Program in Bir, India « Lotsāwa School – News
[...]Recognising the immense benefits of translating words of Buddha and Indian panditas which is preserved in classical Tibetan language and Tibetan Buddhist tradition, Deer Park will initiate the institute’s first Tibetan Translation Program in the summer of 2011. [...]

H.H. Sakya Trizin's June and July Schedule

2010-06-14T01:32:00.000-07:00

In June, His Holiness the Sakya Trizin will, among other teachings and empowerments, give Kalachakra in London and Biarritz. June Schedule
In July, the turn comes to Sweden (Kalachakra) and France (Lamdre)!
July Schedule

H.H. Sakya Trizin's main temple in the West

2010-06-13T23:35:00.000-07:00

Temple Construction
Is Now More than 50% Complete!
"Tsechen Kunchab Ling's new temple construction project has passed the half-way mark! Venerable Lama Kalsang Gyaltsen, Vice President joyfully announced,

'Through the blessings of His Holiness Sakya Trizin and the generosity of temple members and friends, the exterior of the building is nearly complete. We have finished the stucco, doors, and windows, and the building is now weather tight.

Our goal is to complete the interior and the final finishing touches in time for the blessed arrival of His Holiness Sakya Trizin in summer 2011. Heartfelt thanks to all those who are helping in so many ways to accomplish this important project.' [...]"

TBRC Digital Library Makes Major Progress in 2009

2010-03-31T04:43:00.000-07:00

"Spotlight on the Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center: Keeping Tibetan Wisdom Heritage Alive

Khyentse Foundation is a major supporter of the Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center. TBRC’s goal is nothing less than to keep the Tibetan wisdom heritage alive. KF funds the heart of TBRC’s programs, including providing support for digitally preserving its own collection of more than 12,000 volumes of texts. Through the generosity of our sponsors, the Foundation has been supporting TBRC for three years and will continue its support to help complete the entire project by 2012.

2009 was a busy and productive year for TBRC. An experienced team has been assembled and is poised to complete the bulk of TBRC's work by 2012. The text scanning is done in Noida, India, and in TBRC’s New York offices; the formatting work is done at Parphing, Nepal, at the retreat center of Penor Rinpoche; and the cataloging, editing, and scholarly work [...]"

The Sakya Tradition: Outline

2010-02-08T05:48:00.000-08:00

This is a wonderful outline of the Sakya Tradition at the Himalayan Art Resources.

Changling Rinpoche talks about Dilgo Khyentse Yansi Rinpoche’s upcoming visit

2010-01-11T00:19:00.000-08:00

MahaSangha News:
Changling Rinpoche talks about Dilgo Khyentse Yansi Rinpoche’s upcoming visit
From Lotus Speech Canada: Trevor Jones (T.J.), president of the board, interviews Changling Rinpoche (C.R.). Lotus Speech Canada is sponsoring the visit of Dilgo Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche to Vancouver in August 2010. Rinpoche talks about his teacher Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, the qualities of his successor Yangsi Rinpoche, and his upcoming tour of North America. [...]

Tibetan language tags

2009-12-23T08:24:00.000-08:00

The Tibetan language tags in this blog so far.

The Known Universe by AMNH

2009-12-21T23:34:00.000-08:00

"The Known Universe takes viewers from the Himalayas through our atmosphere and the inky black of space to the afterglow of the Big Bang. Every star, planet, and quasar seen in the film is possible because of the world's most complete four-dimensional map of the universe, the Digital Universe Atlas that is maintained and updated by astrophysicists at the American Museum of Natural History. The new film, created by the Museum, is part of an exhibition, Visions of the Cosmos: From the Milky Ocean to an Evolving Universe, at the Rubin Museum of Art in Manhattan through May 2010."

Tsechen Kunchab Ling: The Temple Project

2009-12-17T02:53:00.000-08:00

Tsechen Kunchab Ling: The Temple Project

Sacred Ground...Constructing a New Temple Building in Walden, New York
Architect's drawing of the new temple building to be constructed.
Tsechen Kunchab Ling, Temple of All-Encompassing Great Compassion, was established in Walden , New York in April, 2001 as the U.S. Seat of His Holiness Sakya Trizin. The temple property was purchased in 2001 and in July, 2003 His Holiness Sakya Trizin blessed the ground where the new temple was to be built. On March 29, 2007, the groundbreaking ceremonies were held and temple construction began. (Click here to read more about Tsechen Kunchab Ling's history).
The new temple building is being designed according to the advice and recommendations of His Holiness the Sakya Trizin. It will combine traditional Tibetan [...]

Kalachakra 2010: Ticket sales have started

2009-12-16T00:39:00.001-08:00

Ticket sales have started for people in Sweden to H.H. Sakya Trizin giving Kalachakra in Stockholm, Sweden, July 2010. People outside Sweden should perhaps reserve seats soon. www.sakya.se

Lotus Outreach

2009-12-16T00:30:00.000-08:00

MahaSangha News:
Lotus Outreach auction benefits Indian and Cambodian children
Lotus Outreach, an organization dedicated to helping the most challenged children in our world, is holding a special auction of calligraphies by Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, chair of the organization. The focus of the auction is India and Cambodia. “Children are the most vulnerable target group, and working with them provides the greatest long-term and sustainable benefits to communities in need. We believe it is [...]

Buddhist Literary Heritage Project

2009-12-14T07:38:00.001-08:00

Mahasangha News:
Khyentse Foundation organizes the Buddhist Literary Heritage Project
In what Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche termed an “upgrade to our workload,” the Khyentse Foundation has started to organize the Buddhist Literary Heritage Project, a major new undertaking. Read about this and the global work of the Khyentse Foundation in their December Communique.

Khyentse Foundation: December Communiqué

2009-12-14T07:34:00.000-08:00

http://www.khyentsefoundation.org/communique/CommuniqueDecember09.html
Khyentse Foundation Upgrades
Its Workload
Report From the 2009 Khyentse Foundation
Board of Directors Meeting

“As followers of Shakyamuni Buddha, I think the best thing that we can do is what we in Tibetan call dzin-kyong, to protect, uphold, and keep the teaching alive. That’s our job. And not only one or two teachings of the Buddha, but every one of them, every single one.”
—Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, Address to the Khyentse Foundation Board of Directors Meeting, September 26, 2009, Pasadena, California [...]

Earthquake in Bhutan

2009-12-14T07:31:00.000-08:00

Andrew Semple sent a message to the members of Khyentse Norbu Fan Club.

Subject: TLC Bhutan (Earthquake Rebuilding Assistance & Victim Support)
Winter has arrived..., and our compassionate support is dearly needed.
Please support Bhutan's earthquake relief efforts by becoming a fan of: TLC Bhutan (Earthquake Rebuilding Assistance & Victim Support)http://www.facebook.com/pages/TLC-Bhutan-Earthquake-Rebuilding-Assistance-Victim-Support/213887577768?ref=mf

Bhutan Earthquake Relief Fund

2009-12-11T03:02:00.000-08:00

http://www.facebook.com/groups.php?ref=sb#/group.php?gid=39306774654
Andrew Semple Bhutan Earthquake Relief Fund (c/o Sonam Paklen...,)
My Dearest Friends,This is a calling in Spirit and Unity with a HOPE that Souls can be saved and once again be empowered. Recently Bhutan was hit by an earthquake, causing number of casualties and damages to properties. For a small country and economy like ours [...]

Ticket sales, H.H. Sakya Trizin Kalachakra in Sweden 2010

2009-12-09T03:18:00.000-08:00

Ticket sales starts 15 December for people in Sweden to H.H. Sakya Trizin giving Kalachakra in Stockholm, Sweden, July 2010. People outside Sweden can reserve seats now! www.sakya.se

Sakya Issue: Bodhi

2009-12-04T06:47:00.000-08:00

Issue: Bodhi 10-3 - Bodhionline
FEATURE SECTION: THE FOUR MAJOR SCHOOLS OF TIBETAN BUDDHISM
The Glorious Sakya: Lineage of Path and ResultStudy and Practice – Just as a bird needs two wings to fly, so a practitioner on the path must rely on both study and practice to awaken. The Sakya tradition, known for its scholastic excellence through mastering the intricate Path Result (Lamdre) system culminates in the [...]

Dilgo Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche in the West

2009-12-02T23:17:00.000-08:00

KhyentseVisit2010 (KhyentseVisit) on Twitter
http://khyentsevisit2010.org/
http://www.facebook.com/groups.php?ref=sb#/event.php?eid=212759175375&ref=ts

Celebrating the Return!

2009-12-02T23:15:00.000-08:00

Facebook: New videos of Dilgo Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche [...]

Himalayan Art Resources: Four Traditional Ways of Classifying the Schools of Tibetan Buddhism

2009-12-02T04:24:00.000-08:00

Himalayan Art Resources: Four Traditional Ways of Classifying the Schools of Tibetan Buddhism
The religious traditions, schools and lineages of Tibetan Buddhism can be very confusing with a seemingly endless number of Tibetan names and complex inter-relationships. The new page outlining the Four Traditional Ways of Classifying the Schools of Tibetan Buddhism lists the four systems and the traditions, or sub-traditions, included in each. Other Buddhist traditions such as Mongolian Buddhism and the Himalayan Buddhism of Bhutan are also included on the page but separate from the four traditional forms of classification. More sub-traditions will be added, along with dates, and links to the available art on the HAR site. [...]

MahaSangha News

2009-12-02T04:17:00.000-08:00

MahaSangha News: the Buddhist Literary Heritage Project
Update from the Buddhist Literary Heritage Project
In March of 2009, over 12,000 of us signed a letter of support to the Translating the Words of The Buddha conference ––a gathering of over 50 of the world’s top Tibetan-English translators––letting Dharma translators around the world know that we appreciate and support their translation effort. At the conclusion of this conference, the assembled group of translators and patrons pledged to translate the entire collection of Buddha’s teaching and commentaries into English within 100 years. [...]

Sakya Resource Guide: Sakya Biographies

2009-11-30T03:46:00.000-08:00

Sakya Resource Guide: Sakya Biographies
The Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation has started a new website called the Treasury of Lives with a mission to translate or paraphrase the biographies of the major Tibetan Buddhist Teachers. Some biographies are of Sakya Lamas [...]

Kalachakra, and more: Sakya Resource Guide

2009-09-10T01:40:00.000-07:00

Sakya Resource Guide: Updates, Changes & Things of Interest
"...When Khyabgon Sakya Trizin gives the Kalachakra initiation, such as..."

Official website of Khonrig Ratna Vajra Sakya

2009-08-25T02:34:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Pal Sakya:
"August 24, 2009
Pal Sakya will soon become the official website of Khonrig Ratna Vajra Sakya!"

Kalachakra 2010 in Stockholm, Sweden

2009-06-12T04:11:00.000-07:00

Update about Kalachakra 2010 in Stockholm, Sweden:
http://www.sakya.se/: "We are very happy to announce that His Holiness the Sakya Trizin, head of the Tibetan Buddhist Sakya tradition, will give a Kalachakra empowerment in Stockholm, Sweden 10-11 July 2010.
The Kalachakra empowerment that His Holiness will give in Sweden is from Vajramala, which contains more than forty great mandalas. It is by the great master Acharya Abhayakaragupta [...]"

2009’s 10 Day Retreat on Parting From the Four Attachments Comes to a Close - International Buddhist Academy

2009-06-12T02:06:00.000-07:00

2009’s 10 Day Retreat on Parting From the Four Attachments Comes to a Close June 12, 2009 - International Buddhist Academy:

"Posted by redde in IBA news

The 2009 10-day retreat, Parting from the Four Attachments, led by Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche and Lama Chodak Rinpoche, was an amazing experience this year. From June 2 – 10th, over 300 students from over 45 different countries gathered at the International Buddhist Academy for the teachings. Please check back soon for an update and additional photo galleries! [...]"

H.H. Sakya Trizin, Kalachakra in Sweden 2010

2009-04-07T01:59:00.000-07:00

E-sangha, Buddhist Forum and Buddhism Forum; H.H. Sakya Trizin, Kalachakra in Sweden 2010:
"This is wonderful news: His Holiness Sakya Trizin will give Kalachakra in Stockholm, Sweden 10-11 July 2010! This is confirmed. Venue to be announced, it will be located in central Stockholm. More information at the Swedish Sakya centre, Sakya Changchub Chöling: sakyaswe@hotmail.com"

Tibetan Buddhism, the international religion

2009-03-31T07:20:00.000-07:00

Tibetan Buddhism, the international religion « earlyTibet.com:

"These days it’s easy to think of Tibetan Buddhism as an international religion. We usually see this as something that came about in the second half of the twentieth century, when so many Tibetan lamas fled the country. Before that time, Tibetan culture is often presented as if it was enclosed within the mountain fastness of Tibet, taking its own path in splendid isolation.

But if you know a bit of history, this picture doesn’t look quite right. Tibetan Buddhism was very popular at the [...]"

His Holiness the 40th Sakya Trizin at Dekyi Lingka Garden, Lhasa, Tibet in 1947 with his royal family upon his accession, visiting His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

2009-03-27T04:28:00.000-07:00

VIDEO: His Holiness the 40th Sakya Trizin at Dekyi Lingka Garden, Lhasa, Tibet in 1947 with his royal family upon his accession, visiting His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama on Flickr - Photo Sharing!:

"Rare and unique footage from Tibet in the 1950's from a newsreel, of the royal Sakya Family in Lhasa, Tibet, while on a summer visit to His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. This footage includes the young His Holiness the Dalai Lama surrounded by his tutors (Kyabje Ling Rinpoche) and lamas, as well as the Sakyas. The Sakyas were among the first Tibetans in the United States, through an invitation [...]"

HH Sakya Trizin offers HH Dalai Lama Long Life Arrow

2009-03-26T05:35:00.000-07:00

Tribute to Khenpo Kunga Wangchuk

2009-03-26T05:32:00.000-07:00

Mind in the Balance - Meditation in Science, Buddhism, and Christianity

2009-03-26T05:07:00.000-07:00

Alan Wallace Writings:
"NEW BOOK: Mind in the Balance - Meditation in Science, Buddhism, and Christianity
by B. Alan Wallace

Read Chapter Ten

Buy Autographed Book

An Introduction to
Mind in the Balance
by B. Alan Wallace (Video)

Columbia Univerity Press:
Our best-selling mind and consciousness scholar boldly corrects
the balance between empirical study and religion.
By bringing the meditative practices of Buddhism and
Christianity into a dialogue with the theories of modern phi-
losophy and science, B. Alan Wallace reveals their unified
approach to [...]"

Diffusion of Tibetan Buddhism in Mongolia

2009-03-25T06:30:00.000-07:00

Tibet Heritage Fund - Diffusion of Tibetan Buddhism in Mongolia:
"Diffusion of Tibetan Buddhism in Mongolia
In 1247, Köden, brother of Güyük Khan, the military commander of Kokonur (presently known as Qinghai lake), became a patron of the Tibetan lama Sakya Pandita, head of the [...]"

Translating the Words of the Buddha: Participants and Links

2009-03-25T02:44:00.000-07:00

Translating the Words of the Buddha: Participants and Links « Lotsāwa School - News:
"I have just returned to Nepal from the Translating the Words of the Buddha conference in Bir, India. The proceedings were well documented and posted on the conference’s Facebook page and here.
[...]"

Sakya Trizin's Letter to Dzongsar Khyentse

2009-03-24T11:55:00.000-07:00

Digital Tibetan Buddhist Altar: Sakya Trizin's Letter to Dzongsar Khyentse:
"'Your Eminence Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche:

'Firstly I want to encourage you in this very important and worthwhile endeavour. As there are so many non Tibetan speaking people who are very eager to learn dharma it is very important to have good translation and good ways of presenting dharma. So all of you there at the conference should [...]"

Celebration of Kunkhen Gorampa

2009-03-24T07:52:00.000-07:00

Celebration of Kunkhen Gorampa « Tsechen Dongag Choeling

More from translators’ conference in Bir, India

2009-03-24T06:19:00.000-07:00

Shambhala SunSpace » More from translators’ conference in Bir, India:
"More from translators’ conference in Bir, India
Here’s more from the translators’ conference now underway in Bir, India—which has to be one of the best-publicized Buddhist events I’ve seen; we’re getting emails daily from people talking up this historic conference and asking people to sign the petition we mentioned a few days ago. Here’s Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche’s keynote address from yesterday, where he asks participants [...]"

Sakya on blip.tv - Chenrezi Teaching: The Four Schools of Tibetan Buddhism

2009-03-24T06:08:00.000-07:00

Chenrezi Teaching: The Four Schools of Tibetan Buddhism - Sakya on blip.tv

His Holiness Jigdal Dagchen Sakya, Tibetan Buddhist High Lama

2009-03-24T06:04:00.000-07:00

His Holiness Jigdal Dagchen Sakya, Tibetan Buddhist High Lama - a set on Flickr

Sakya Pandita - images

2009-03-20T04:53:00.000-07:00

Sakya Pandita - Google image search

Sakya Gompa in Tibet

2009-03-20T02:38:00.000-07:00

Sakya Gompa - a set on Flickr

Sakya Trizin and Lama Zopa Rinpoche

2009-03-20T02:31:00.000-07:00

Sakya Trizin and Lama Zopa Rinpoche « Go beyond words: Wisdom Publications’ Buddhist Blog:
"Recently Lama Zopa Rinpoche visited Dehra Dun India where he met with His Holiness Sakya Trizin, and received many empowerments and transmissions. [...]"

Sakya 1948-2004

2009-03-20T02:24:00.000-07:00

Sakya 1948-2004 on Flickr Photos - Sakya Monastery in Tibet

MEDITATION RESEARCH UPDATE WINTER 2008-2009

2009-02-20T04:39:00.000-08:00

The Mind and Life Research Network :

"MEDITATION RESEARCH UPDATE WINTER 2008-2009

[...] update of recent meditation-related research publications, covering articles published in journals listed in the PyschINFO database published since the last update and referenced with relevant keywords (meditation, mindfulness, contemplative practice, etc). [...]

Birnbaum, L. (2008). "The use of mindfulness training to create an 'accompanying place' for social work students." Social Work Education 27(8): 837-852.
Social work students experience emotional stress while having to perform and meet expectations from both academy and field. They may often feel physically and emotionally overwhelmed while struggling to make the time and space to fully process the varied experiences involved. There seems to be an unmet need for an 'accompanying place' where thoughts, feelings and dilemmas can be observed in a non-evaluative way. Mindfulness has evolved lately as an efficient therapeutic technique in therapy. This paper describes a technique that applies mindfulness meditation in a group format in order to create a broader and richer learning experience that answers students' emotional needs. The group met for eight weeks. Its goals were to enhance self-awareness and increase emotional support in handling field and academic stressors while experiencing different states of consciousness. Findings show that students were able to acquire new knowledge about themselves, experience autonomy in learning self-containment and regulation, and gain insights regarding their professional self-concept. Significance for social work training is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA ) (journal abstract)

Brotto, L. A., M. Krychman and P. Jacobson (2008). "Eastern approaches for enhancing women's sexuality: Mindfulness, acupuncture, and yoga." Journal of Sexual Medicine 5(12): 2741-2748.
Introduction. A significant proportion of women report unsatisfying sexual experiences despite no obvious difficulties in the traditional components of sexual response (desire, arousal, and orgasm). Some suggest that nongoal-oriented spiritual elements to sexuality might fill the gap that more contemporary forms of treatment are not addressing. Aim. Eastern techniques including mindfulness, acupuncture, and yoga, are Eastern techniques, which have been applied to women's sexuality. Here, we review the literature on their efficacy. Methods. Our search revealed two empirical studies of mindfulness, two of acupuncture, and one of yoga in the treatment of sexual dysfunction. Main Outcome Measure. Literature review of empirical sources. Results. Mindfulness significantly improves several aspects of sexual response and reduces sexual distress in women with sexual desire and arousal disorders. In women with provoked vestibulodynia, acupuncture significantly reduces pain and improves quality of life. There is also a case series of acupuncture significantly improving desire among women with hypoactive sexual desire disorder. Although yoga has only been empirically examined and found to be effective for treating sexual dysfunction (premature ejaculation) in men, numerous historical books cite benefits of yoga for women's sexuality. Conclusions. The empirical literature supporting Eastern techniques, such as mindfulness, acupuncture, and yoga, for women's sexual complaints and loss of satisfaction is sparse but promising. Future research should aim to empirically support Eastern techniques in women's sexuality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA ) (journal abstract)

Chadwick, P., M. Hember, J. Symes, E. Peters, E. Kuipers and D. Dagnan (2008). "Responding mindfully to unpleasant thoughts and images: reliability and validity of the Southampton Mindfulness Questionnaire (SMQ)." British journal of clinical psychology, vol 47(4): 451-455.
Objective. To assess the reliability and validity of the Southampton mindfulness questionnaire (SMQ), a 16-item measure of mindful awareness of distressing thoughts and images. Methods. A total of 256 people participated, comprising a non-clinical community sample of 134 (83 meditators and 51 non-meditators) and a clinical sample of 122 people with a current distressing psychosis. To assess concurrent validity, non-clinical participants and half clinical participants (total 197 participants) completed the mindful attention awareness scale (MAAS). Predicted links were assessed with affect, and 59 patients completed a validated measure to assess link between mindfulness and intensity of 'delusional' experience. Results. The scale has a single factor structure, was internally reliable, significantly correlated with the MAAS, showed expected associations with affect, and distinguished among meditators, non-meditators and people with psychosis. Conclusions. The data support use of the SMQ in clinical practice and research to assess mindful responding to distressing thoughts and images.; Reprinted by permission of the British Psychological Society

Choi-Kain, L. W. and J. G. Gunderson (2008). "Mentalization: Ontogeny, assessment, and application in the treatment of borderline personality disorder." American Journal of Psychiatry 165(9): 1127-1135.
This article aims to review the development of the concept of mentalization, its applications in the understanding and treatment of borderline personality disorder, and the issue of its assessment. While conceptually derivative of theory of mind, Fonagy's concept of mentalization concerns more affectively and interpersonally complex understandings of oneself and others, reflecting abilities that enable an individual not only to navigate the social world effectively but also to develop an enriched, stable sense of self. The components of mentalization can be organized around self-/other-oriented, implicit/explicit, and cognitive/affective dimensions. Concepts of mindfulness, psychological mindedness, empathy, and affect consciousness are shown to partially overlap with mentalization within these three dimensions. Mentalization is assessed by the measure of reflective function, a scale to be used adjunctively on semistructured narrative interviews such as the Adult Attachment Interview. Its validity has not been fully tested, and its usage has been hampered by the time and expense it requires. Although the concept of mentalization is a useful heuristic that enables clinicians to adopt a coherent treatment approach, it may be too broad and multifaceted to be operationalized as a marker for specific forms of psychopathology such as borderline personality disorder. Research elucidating the relationship between reflective function, overlapping concepts, and features of borderline psychopathology is needed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA ) (journal abstract)

Cohn, S. (2008). "Making objective facts from intimate relations: the case of neuroscience and its entanglements with volunteers." History of the human sciences, vol 21(4): 86-103.
This article explores the way in which the practice of neuroscience, in the form of contemporary brain-imaging, has to actively define and isolate aspects of mindfulness as solely contained within the individual. Although hidden from final scientific accounts, at the centre of this process is the need for the researchers to forge brief but intimate and personal relationships with the volunteers in their studies. With their increasing interest in studying more and more complex mental processes, and in particular as researchers focus on what they term 'the social brain', a potential paradox arises from the commitment to the straightforward location of brain function and recognition of the more distributed and intersubjective nature of the objects of their study. Consequently, in order to elicit specific mental activities, such as empathy, the scientists inevitably employ a range of socially based resources, which includes establishing a personal relationship with the volunteers. The scientists themselves see this as ensuring that they can trust that the volunteers will participate in the ways intended. But in contrast, the article argues that the central feature is actually the creation of a sense of intimacy, which serves to align the expectations and experiences of volunteer and researcher. Yet, while this relationship is necessary in order to ensure the required mental state is generated, during the experiment itself a great deal of work is then done to ensure it can be excluded from the final conceptualization of mental activity.; Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications Ltd

Craigie, M. A., C. S. Rees, A. Marsh and P. Nathan (2008). "Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for generalized anxiety disorder: A preliminary evaluation." Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy 36(5): 553-568.
Mindfulness training has been proposed as a potentially important new approach for the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). However, to date only a few studies have investigated mindfulness training for GAD. The aim of this study was to further investigate symptom change and recovery in pathological worry after mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) using an uncontrolled pre-post design. Twenty-three adults with a primary diagnosis of GAD participated in the study. The MBCT program involved 9 weekly 2-hour group sessions, a post-treatment assessment session, and 6-week and 3-month follow-up sessions. Intent-to-treat analysis revealed significant improvements in pathological worry, stress, quality of life, and a number of other symptoms at post-treatment, which were maintained at follow-up. Attrition was also low, and MBCT was perceived as a credible and acceptable intervention. However, when applying standardized recovery criteria to pathological worry scores, the rate of recovery at post-treatment was very small, although improved at follow-up. Overall, the findings suggest MBCT is definitely worthy of further investigation as a treatment option for GAD, but falls well short of outcomes achieved by past research. Possible reasons for the poor rate of recovery, implications, and limitations are briefly outlined. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA ) (journal abstract)

Eisendrath, S. J., K. Delucchi, R. Bitner, P. Fenimore, M. Smit and M. McLane (2008). "Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for treatment-resistant depression: A pilot study." Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics 77(5): 319-320.
The paper report on a pilot study of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). This pilot study was a nonrandomized, single-site, open study of MBCT augmentation of psychotherapy and medication treatment for currently depressed patients with TRD. All participants had failed to remit with at least 2 antidepressant treatments. The study took place at the Langley Porter Adult Psychiatry Clinic at the University of California, San Francisco. The participants were outpatients with a DSM-IV diagnosis of major depression at the start of the present episode and confirmed prior to entry to MBCT. There were 6 MBCT groups, which ranged from 7 to 12 members per group. The treatment consisted of eight 2-hour weekly sessions which were led by a psychiatrist and cotherapist. We estimated the correlation between the change in mindfulness measured by the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory (FMI) and the change in Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) score and found a coefficient of -0.31 (p = 0.11). This was limited by our small sample size and could become significant with more subjects. We found no evidence that more severely depressed patients had difficulty learning MBCT. We found significantly decreased depression and anxiety levels as measured by the BDI and Beck Anxiety Inventory for individuals with TRD who completed MBCT. Increased mindfulness was associated with decreased depression levels. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA )

Franzblau, S. H., S. Echevarria, M. Smith and T. E. Van Cantfort (1800). "A preliminary investigation of the effects of giving testimony and learning yogic breathing techniques on battered women's feelings of depression." Journal of Interpersonal Violence, vol 23(12): 1800-1808.
Researchers have shown that mood and sense of control over one's life are significantly affected by testimony and other forms of disclosure and that learning to control breathing has positive effects on mood and anxiety. This preliminary experiment tests whether African American and European American abused women who give testimony about their experiences of intimate partner violence and learn how to use yogic breathing techniques have reduced feelings of depression. Results indicate that learning yogic breathing techniques alone and combined with giving testimony significantly reduces feelings of depression. Recasting women as authorities on domestic violence and teaching them how to calm their minds by focusing on yogic breathing may be simple and effective ways to help women take control over their bodies and lives. [Author Abstract]KEY WORDS: IPV; abused women; domestic violence; depression; disclosure; testimony; yoga; yogic breathing; pranayama

Fredrickson, B. L., M. A. Cohn, K. A. Coffey, J. Pek and S. M. Finkel (2008). "Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Vol. 95(5): 1045-1062.
B. L. Fredrickson's (1998, 2001) broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions asserts that people's daily experiences of positive emotions compound over time to build a variety of consequential personal resources. The authors tested this build hypothesis in a field experiment with working adults (n = 139), half of whom were randomly-assigned to begin a practice of loving-kindness meditation. Results showed that this meditation practice produced increases over time in daily experiences of positive emotions, which, in turn, produced increases in a wide range of personal resources (e.g., increased mindfulness, purpose in life, social support, decreased illness symptoms). In turn, these increments in personal resources predicted increased life satisfaction and reduced depressive symptoms. Discussion centers on how positive emotions are the mechanism of change for the type of mind-training practice studied here and how loving-kindness meditation is an intervention strategy that produces positive emotions in a way that outpaces the hedonic treadmill effect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA ) (journal abstract)

Ginsburg, L. M. (2008). "Meditation, the Freud family and poets." The American Journal of Psychoanalysis 68(3): 295-300.
The savoring of yellow Tyrolean laburnum blossoms became a summer vacation rite of the Freud family. It was reminiscent of their paterfamilias's infantile "Dandelion in the Green Meadow" dream-scape. We may ponder whether Freud's adolescent olfactory memories were similarly "re-rooted" in Freiberg as a 17-year-old where many hours were "passed by him in solitary walks through the lovely woods" he had found once more. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA ) (journal abstract)

Hanstede, M., Y. Gidron and I. Nyklacek (2008). "The effects of a mindfulness intervention on obsessive-compulsive symptoms in a non-clinical student population." Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 196(10): 776-779.
This controlled pilot study tested the effects of a mindfulness intervention on obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms and tested the psychological processes possibly mediating such effects. Participants with OCD symptoms (12 women, 5 men) received either mindfulness training (N = 8) or formed a waiting-list control group (N = 9). Meditation included 8 group meetings teaching meditative breathing, body-scan, and mindful daily living, applied to OCD. The intervention had a significant and large effect on mindfulness, OCD symptoms, letting go, and thought-action fusion. Controlling for changes in "letting go," group effects on change in OCD symptoms disappeared, pointing at a mediating role for letting go. This may be the first controlled study demonstrating that a mindfulness intervention reduces OCD symptoms, possibly explained by increasing letting go capacity. If replicated in larger and clinical samples, mindfulness training may be an alternative therapy for OCD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA ) (journal abstract)

Howell, A. J., N. L. Digdon, K. Buro and A. R. Sheptycki (2008). "Relations among mindfulness, well-being, and sleep." Personality and Individual Differences 45(8): 773-777.
The current study tested predictions that well-being and mindfulness are positively associated with sleep quality and with a morning circadian preference. A model was also tested wherein mindfulness directly predicts well-being and indirectly predicts well-being through improved sleep quality. Results from a sample of 305 undergraduates revealed positive associations among measures of emotional, psychological, and social well-being, mindfulness, sleep quality, and morningness. A path analysis yielded support for mindfulness as a direct predictor of well-being and for mindfulness as an indirect predictor of wellbeing, mediated by sleep quality. Results are considered in terms of additional plausible relationships between mental health and sleep, and in terms of suggestions for future work. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA ) (journal abstract)

Kuyken, W., S. Byford, R. S. Taylor, E. Watkins, E. Holden, K. White, B. Barrett, R. Byng, A. Evans, E. Mullan and J. D. Teasdale (2008). "Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy to prevent relapse in recurrent depression." Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. Vol. 76(6): 966-978.
For people at risk of depressive relapse, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) has an additive benefit to usual care (H. F. Coelho, P. H. Canter, & E. Ernst, 2007). This study asked if, among patients with recurrent depression who are treated with antidepressant medication (ADM), MBCT is comparable to treatment with maintenance ADM (m-ADM) in (a) depressive relapse prevention, (b) key secondary outcomes, and (c) cost effectiveness. The study design was a parallel 2-group randomized controlled trial comparing those on m-ADM (N = 62) with those receiving MBCT plus support to taper/discontinue antidepressants (N = 61). Relapse/recurrence rates over 15-month follow-ups in MBCT were 47%, compared with 60% in the m-ADM group (hazard ratio = 0.63; 95% confidence interval: 0.39 to 1.04). MBCT was more effective than m-ADM in reducing residual depressive symptoms and psychiatric comorbidity and in improving quality of life in the physical and psychological domains. There was no difference in average annual cost between the 2 groups. Rates of ADM usage in the MBCT group was significantly reduced, and 46 patients (75%) completely discontinued their ADM. For patients treated with ADM, MBCT may provide an alternative approach for relapse prevention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA ) (journal abstract)

Leahey, T. M., J. H. Crowther and S. R. Irwin (2008). "A Cognitive-Behavioral Mindfulness Group Therapy Intervention for the Treatment of Binge Eating in Bariatric Surgery Patients." Cognitive and Behavioral Practice 15(4): 364-375.
Binge eating is a negative indicator of post-surgical weight loss and health outcome in bariatric surgery patients (Hsu, Bentancourt, Sullivan, 1996). Cognitive-behavioral techniques and mindfulness-based practices have been shown to successfully treat binge eating (Agras, Telch, Arnow, Eldredge, & Marnell, 1997; Kristeller & Hallett, 1999). This report describes the development and implementation of a 10-week cognitive-behavioral mindfulness-based group intervention designed to reduce binge eating and address the specific needs of bariatric surgery patients. Posttreatment data showed improvement in binge eating symptoms, depressive symptomatology, and emotion regulation skills and increased motivation to change maladaptive eating behavior. (Contains 6 tables.)

Love, K. L. (2008). "Interconnectedness in Nursing: A Concept Analysis." Journal Of Holistic Nursing, vol 26(4): 255-265.
Aim: Interconnectedness will be clarified and defined by providing a description and context and take an important step toward increasing use in nursing literature and research. Background: The literature is limited by focusing on relationships between people, but connection can be physical as with physics or spiritual by reflecting a higher power or purpose. Thorough examination will increase understanding of interconnectedness in nursing. Methods: Chinn and Kramer's method for creating conceptual meaning includes definitions, visual images, popular/classical literature, music, poetry, and professional research across many disciplines. Findings: Interconnectedness reflects that people and the universe are connected in a powerful way. Its essential meaning reflects that regardless of the worldly barriers of politics, religion, or culture, people can share in a universal reciprocity of love and responsibility. Conclusion: Nursing maintains the values of compassion, responsibility, holism, and to greater meaning in experiences, and interconnectedness will likely have increased significance in nursing.

Manzaneque, J. M., F. M. Vera, F. M. Rodriguez, G. J. Garcia, L. Leyva and M. J. Blanca (2009). "Serum Cytokines, Mood and Sleep after a Qigong Program: Is Qigong an Effective Psychobiological Tool?" Journal Of Health Psychology, vol 14(1): 60-67.
Qigong is an ancient Chinese psychosomatic exercise that integrates movement, breathing and meditation into a single multifaceted practice. The present study was designed to assess the effects of qigong practice on serum cytokines, mood and subjective sleep quality. Experimental participants underwent a qigong training program for one month. Blood samples for the quantification of TNF-α and IFN-γ, and several instruments to assess anxiety and depression symptoms as well as SSQ, were obtained before and after the program. Our findings revealed that while the practice of qigong for one month did not alter serum cytokines, it enhanced psychological well-being, including sleep duration.

McCracken, L. M. and S.-Y. Yang (2008). "A contextual cognitive-behavioral analysis of rehabilitation workers' health and well-being: Influences of acceptance, mindfulness, and values-based action." Rehabilitation Psychology. Vol. 53(4): 479-485.
Purpose: Rehabilitation settings can be extremely demanding, and sometimes stressful, places to work. It is important, therefore, to consider influences on rehabilitation workers' health and general well-being and on their ability to face emotional, physical, or mental challenges at work. The purpose of this study was to examine a set of psychological processes, including psychological acceptance, mindfulness, and values-based action, that may be relevant to this problem. Method: Ninety-eight rehabilitation workers at the Rehabilitation Centre, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore, completed measures of background variables, health, and functioning, in addition to the 3 psychological variables of primary interest. Results: Correlation analyses demonstrated significant relations of the acceptance, mindfulness, and values measures with the measures of stress, burnout symptoms, health, and well-being, particularly general health perception, vitality, social functioning, and emotional functioning. In regression analyses, the process variables accounted for significant, and in some cases practically meaningful, increments in explained variance in 10 key outcomes related to work experience and health. Conclusion: Acceptance, mindfulness, and values-based action deserve further consideration in relation to burnout, health, and well-being among rehabilitation workers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA ) (journal abstract)

Mitmansgruber, H., T. N. Beck and G. SchÃ¼ÃŸler (2008). ""Mindful helpers": Experiential avoidance, meta-emotions, and emotion regulation in paramedics." Journal of Research in Personality 42(5): 1358-1363.
Three facets of the mindfulness/acceptance spectrum have been investigated in 134 experienced paramedics exposed to a number of potentially traumatic events. The contribution of (1) experiential avoidance, (2) mindful awareness and (3) meta-emotions in psychological well-being and satisfaction with life was analysed. Changes in these variables due to experiencing highly stressful incidents were explored by comparing experts with 105 novices. With accumulating experience, experiential avoidance remained stable, mindful awareness markedly increased at first and declined thereafter. Both positive and negative meta-emotions decreased with the number of stressful incidents. Experiential avoidance and meta-emotions explained 62% of the variance in psychological well-being, and patterns indicate that non-acceptance of thoughts and emotions might not be generally detrimental in this sample. Being stern and contemptuous about one's own feelings and having little self-compassion has been found to be beneficial for psychological well-being in these experts. Although this is contrary to contemporary theorizing it might perfectly reflect the role of paramedics and their need for control. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA ) (journal abstract)

Mochon, D., M. I. Norton and D. Ariely (2008). "Getting off the hedonic treadmill, one step at a time: The impact of regular religious practice and exercise on well-being." Journal of Economic Psychology 29(5): 632-642.
Many studies have shown that few events in life have a lasting impact on subjective well-being because of people's tendency to adapt quickly; worse, those events that do have a lasting impact tend to be negative. We suggest that while major events may not provide lasting increases in well-being, certain seemingly minor events--such as attending religious services or exercising--may do so by providing small but frequent boosts: if people engage in such behaviors with sufficient frequency, they may cumulatively experience enough boosts to attain higher well-being. In Study 1, we surveyed places of worship for 12 religions and found that people did receive positive boosts for attending service, and that these boosts appeared to be cumulative: the more they reported attending, the happier they were. In Study 2, we generalized these effects to other regular activities, demonstrating that people received boosts for exercise and yoga, and that these boosts too had a cumulative positive impact on well-being. We suggest that shifting focus from the impact of major life changes on well-being to the impact of seemingly minor repeated behaviors is crucial for understanding how best to improve well-being. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA ) (journal abstract)

Oman, D., T. A. Richards, J. Hedberg and C. E. Thoresen (1119). "Passage Meditation Improves Caregiving Self-efficacy among Health Professionals: A Randomized Trial and Qualitative Assessment." Journal Of Health Psychology, vol 13(8): 1119-1135.
Relational caregiving skills remain seldom studied in health professionals. We evaluated effects on health professional relational caregiving self-efficacy from an eight-week, 16-hour training in self-management tools. Physicians, nurses, chaplains, and other health professionals were randomized after pretest to treatment (n = 30) or waiting list (n = 31). Training used a previously researched program of Easwaran (1991/1978) derived from spiritual wisdom traditions. Changes were measured using a 34-item caregiving self-efficacy scale. Positive effects were observed at posttest, eight- and 19-week follow-up (ds = .38, .47, .37, all ps < .05), and were mediated by adherence to practices and stress reductions (p < .05), findings also obtained in qualitative interviews (n = 24). Evidence suggests this program enhances health professional caregiving self-efficacy, and may merit inclusion in training curricula.

Paul, G. (2008). "The remote prayer delusion: Clinical trials that attempt to detect supernatural intervention are as futile as they are unethical." Journal of Medical Ethics 34(9): [np].
Extreme rates of premature death prior to the advent of modern medicine, very low rates of premature death in First World nations with low rates of prayer, and the least flawed of a large series of clinical trials indicate that remote prayer is not efficacious in treating illness. Mass contamination of sample cohorts renders such clinical studies inherently ineffectual. The required supernatural and paranormal mechanisms render them implausible. The possibility that the latter are not benign, and the potentially adverse psychological impact of certain protocols, renders these medical trials unethical. Resources should no longer be wasted on medical efforts to detect the supernatural and paranormal. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA ) (journal abstract)

Powell, L., M. Gilchrist and J. Stapley (2008). "A Journey of Self-Discovery: An Intervention Involving Massage, Yoga and Relaxation for Children with Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties Attending Primary Schools." Emotional & Behavioural Difficulties 13(3): 193-199.
This study reports on an intervention involving massage, yoga and relaxation delivered to young children with emotional and behavioural difficulties. Children (n = 126) were invited to participate in the Self-discovery Programme (SDP) with parental consent. A total of 107 children aged 8-11 years completed the SDP and all measures. Children were allocated to a Control (n= 54) or Intervention (n = 53) group. The results indicate that children in the Intervention group showed improvements in self-confidence, social confidence, communication and contributions in class. Children in the Intervention group were noted by teachers to use skills learned on the SDP during the school day. (Contains 3 tables.)

Robinson, M. (2008). "Within/without: awareness and the practice of seeing." Journal of visual culture, vol 7(3): 293-308.
My practice seeks to give visual expression to the experience of an inner world as it relates to the outer world. This experience has been explored through parallel practices of contemplation, including art making, meditation, and yoga asana. In this article, I describe art making as recording the experience of movement through space and time. I explore the themes of impermanence and interdependence as they have surfaced through contemplation. I also briefly discuss ethical implications and social responsibility as they relate to the notions of impermanence and interdependence.; Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications Ltd.

Roemer, L., S. M. Orsillo and K. Salters-Pedneault (1083). "Efficacy of an Acceptance-Based Behavior Therapy for Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Evaluation in a Randomized Controlled Trial." Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 76(6): 1083-1089.
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a chronic anxiety disorder, associated with comorbidity and impairment in quality of life, for which improved psychosocial treatments are needed. GAD is also associated with reactivity to and avoidance of internal experiences. The current study examined the efficacy of an acceptance-based behavioral therapy aimed at increasing acceptance of internal experiences and encouraging action in valued domains for GAD. Clients were randomly assigned to immediate (n = 15) or delayed (n = 16) treatment. Acceptance-based behavior therapy led to statistically significant reductions in clinician-rated and self-reported GAD symptoms that were maintained at 3- and 9-month follow-up assessments; significant reductions in depressive symptoms were also observed. At posttreatment assessment 78% of treated participants no longer met criteria for GAD and 77% achieved high end-state functioning; these proportions stayed constant or increased over time. As predicted, treatment was associated with decreases in experiential avoidance and increases in mindfulness. (Contains 1 figure, 6 tables, and 11 footnotes.)

Roemer, L., S. M. Orsillo and K. Salters-Pedneault (2008). "Efficacy of an acceptance-based behavior therapy for generalized anxiety disorder: Evaluation in a randomized controlled trial." Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. Vol. 76(6): 1083-1089.
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a chronic anxiety disorder, associated with comorbidity and impairment in quality of life, for which improved psychosocial treatments are needed. GAD is also associated with reactivity to and avoidance of internal experiences. The current study examined the efficacy of an acceptance-based behavioral therapy aimed at increasing acceptance of internal experiences and encouraging action in valued domains for GAD. Clients were randomly assigned to immediate (n = 15) or delayed (n = 16) treatment. Acceptance-based behavior therapy led to statistically significant reductions in clinician-rated and self-reported GAD symptoms that were maintained at 3- and 9-month follow-up assessments; significant reductions in depressive symptoms were also observed. At posttreatment assessment 78% of treated participants no longer met criteria for GAD and 77% achieved high end-state functioning; these proportions stayed constant or increased over time. As predicted, treatment was associated with decreases in experiential avoidance and increases in mindfulness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA ) (journal abstract)

Rogers, C. E., L. K. Larkey and C. Keller (2009). "A Review of Clinical Trials of Tai Chi and Qigong in Older Adults." Western Journal Of Nursing Research, vol 31(2): 245-279.
Initiation and maintenance of physical activity (PA) in older adults is of increasing concern as the benefits of PA have been shown to improve physical functioning, mood, weight, and cardiovascular risk factors. Meditative movement forms of PA, such as tai chi and qigong (TC&QG), are holistic in nature and have increased in popularity over the past few decades. Several randomized controlled trials have evaluated TC&QG interventions from multiple perspectives, specifically targeting older adults. The purpose of this report is to synthesize intervention studies targeting TC&QG and identify the physical and psychological health outcomes shown to be associated with TC&QG in community dwelling adults older than 55. Based on specific inclusion criteria, 36 research reports with a total of 3,799 participants were included in this review. Five categories of study outcomes were identified, including falls and balance, physical function, cardiovascular disease, and psychological and additional disease-specific responses. Significant improvement in clusters of similar outcomes indicated interventions utilizing TC&QG may help older adults improve physical function and reduce blood pressure, fall risk, and depression and anxiety. Missing from the reviewed reports is a discussion of how spiritual exploration with meditative forms of PA, an important component of these movement activities, may contribute to successful aging.

Tan, E. (2008). "Mindfulness in sexual identity therapy: A case study." Journal of Psychology and Christianity 27(3): 274-278.
Presents a case study of a 25-year-old Caucasian male who came to therapy because he had feelings of anxiety and depression, which stemmed from internal tension regarding his sexual identity. He had experiences of same-sex attraction and had a history of engaging in same-sex behaviors. Use of mindfulness helped to increase Carl's awareness of thoughts, feelings, behaviors and motivations/intentions, and so on regarding his experiences of same-sex attractions and behaviors. He became aware that his feelings of not wanting to be alone had propagated a desire to act out sexually with other males. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA )

Tucker, C., S. K. Sloan, M. Vance and C. Brownson (2008). "Integrated Care in College Health: A Case Study." Journal of College Counseling 11(2): 173.
This case study describes 1 international student's treatment experience with an integrated health program on a college campus. This program uses a multidisciplinary, mind-body approach, which incorporates individual counseling, primary care, psychiatric consultation, a mindfulness-based cognitive therapy class, and a meditation group.

Waelde, L. C., M. M. Uddo, R. Marquett, M. Ropelato, S. Freightman, A. Pardo and J. Salazar (2008). "A pilot study of meditation for mental health workers following Hurricane Katrina." Journal of Traumatic Stress, vol 21(5): 487-500.
This pilot study examined the effects of a manualized meditation intervention (called Inner Resources) for PTSD, depression, and anxiety symptoms among 20 African American and Caucasian mental health workers in New Orleans beginning 10 weeks after Hurricane Katrina. They participated in a 4-hour workshop followed by an 8-week home study program. Complete follow-up data were available for 15 participants. Results of intention-to-treat analyses indicated that participants' PTSD and anxiety symptoms significantly decreased over the 8 weeks of the intervention; these improvements were significantly correlated with the total number of minutes of daily meditation practice. The majority of participants reported good treatment adherence and improvements in well-being. These findings suggest that meditation may be a feasible, acceptable, and effective postdisaster intervention. [Author Abstract]

Young-Eisendrath, P. (2008). "The transformation of human suffering: A perspective from psychotherapy and Buddhism." Psychoanalytic Inquiry. Special Issue: Transformation: Psychoanalysis and religion in dialogue 28(5): 541-549.
The transformation of suffering is at the heart of psychoanalytic and Buddhist practices. Our contemporary American dread of suffering goes against the grain of both methods and leaves the general public with little understanding of what suffering teaches. This article explores the similarities and differences between some psychoanalytic and Buddhist approaches to suffering, compassion, and transference. It also shows that a sophisticated theory of a relational self was developed as early as the 13th century by Zen master Dogen. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA ) (journal abstract)

Yunesian, M., A. Aslani, J. H. Vash and A. B. Yazdi (2008). "Effects of Transcendental Meditation on mental health: A before-after study." Clinical Practice and Epidemiology in Mental Health 4.
Background: Transcendental Meditation is a mental practice to put the body and mind into a state of relaxation and rest. The method was shown to reduce anxiety and stress in previous reports. This study investigates its potential benefits in enhancing mental health of an adult Muslim population. Methods: A before-after clinical trial was conducted to evaluate the effect of a 12-week meditation course on mental health of participants who were enrolled into the study by random sampling. 28-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) was administered on two occasions in conjunction with a background data sheet. Results: Mean age of participants was 32.4; they were 70% female and 55% married. GHQ scores improved significantly after the meditation course (p value: < 0.001). The difference was also significant in all subgroups of the population studied. In subclass analysis of the GHQ results, the before-after score improvement was significant only in the areas of somatisation (p value: < 0.001) and anxiety (p value: < 0.001). Conclusion: Transcendental Meditation may improve mental health of young adult population especially in the areas of somatisation and anxiety, and this effect seems to be independent of age, sex and marital status. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA ) (journal abstract)

Only 7 days left to submit: Scientific and Contemplative Perspectives on the Self

2009-02-16T01:51:00.000-08:00

"There are only 7 days left to submit your application for the 2009 Mind and Life Summer Research Institute. THE APPLICATION PERIOD CLOSES ON FRIDAY, FEB. 20th at 7:00p.m. EST.
No late or incomplete applications will be accepted. Please don't delay if you intend to apply.

The 2009 Mind and Life Summer Research Institute (MLSRI) will be held at the Garrison Institute (http://www.garrisoninstitute.org/) in New York from June 7 (mid-aft) to the morning of June 13, 2009.

To apply now, please go to http://www.mindandlife.org/sri09.ml.summer.apply.html
This is an online only application process - no paper applications.

Please forward this message to anyone you know who might be interested in the MLSRI.

Very best regards,
Angela Teng
MLSRI Project Administrator
sri@mindandlife.org"

Two Sciences of Mind

2009-02-15T23:47:00.000-08:00

Shambhala SunSpace:

"In Francisco Varela, the Dalai Lama found a kindred spirit. Together — along with some of the greatest names of both neuroscience and modern Buddhism — they laid the groundwork for a scientific revolution.
Barry Boyce tells the story in this Shambhala Sun feature.

By Barry Boyce

In 1979, two cognitive scientists, Francisco Varela and Eleanor Rosch, and a computer scientist named Newcomb Greenleaf — all freshly minted Buddhists — organized what was to be a groundbreaking conference at The Naropa Institute in Boulder, Colorado. Recently established by Tibetan meditation master Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, the Institute was designed to be a place where meditation traditions and Western scholarship would meet on common ground.

The conference, entitled “Comparative Approaches to Cognition: Western and Buddhist,” would be an exciting convergence of East and West. While some [...]"

“Where the Deities Live” — inside the Rubin Museum of Art

2009-02-13T02:07:00.000-08:00

Shambhala SunSpace:

"At New York’s Rubin Museum the spirit of the art is alive and cutting-edge. It’s both the world’s leading museum of Himalayan art and a hotspot of contemporary culture and thought. Shambhala Sun reports on this unique creative collision and the fascinating story behind it.

By Elisabeth Coleman

One afternoon—it was about thirty years ago now—New Yorkers Shelley and Donald Rubin were walking up Madison Avenue and passed by one of the many fine art shops that call it home when their attention was drawn to a thangka, a traditional Tibetan painting, in the window. It portrayed White Tara, the female buddha of compassion. At the time they knew nothing about Himalayan art, but it stopped them in their tracks. “Our response was immediate and intuitive,” says Donald Rubin. “When you fall in love with someone, you don’t ask for their resumé and the history of their family. It’s the same thing with art. All you need to do is to feel it, to connect with it.”

They bought the thangka and hung it in their [...]"

Thich Nhat Hanh: In Engaged Buddhism, Peace Begins with You

2009-02-04T07:00:00.000-08:00

Thich Nhat Hanh: In Engaged Buddhism, Peace Begins with You

"Rod Meade Sperry Jan 28, 2009 6:51 PM

An interview with Thich Nhat Hanh, originator of Engaged Buddhism.
By John Malkin

I met with Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh at the Kim Son Monastery in Northern California. I was happy to be seated on a zafu drinking tea with him, but I was also glad when he motioned with a simple gesture towards the page of questions sitting at my side: otherwise the lunch bell might have sounded an hour later without the interview having begun.

Thich Nhat Hanh was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1967, after playing a central role in the Vietnamese peace movement. He is the author of over one hundred books, including Love in Action, Peace Is Every Step, The Miracle of Mindfulness and No Death, No Fear. He currently lives at Plum Village Monastery in France.

John Malkin: Will you describe the origins of Engaged Buddhism and how you became involved in compassion-based social change?

Thich Nhat Hanh: Engaged Buddhism is just Buddhism. When bombs begin to fall on people, you cannot stay in the meditation hall all of the time. Meditation is about the awareness of what is going on-not only in your body and in your feelings, but all around you.

When I was a novice in Vietnam, we young monks witnessed the suffering caused by the war. So we were very eager to practice Buddhism in such a way that we could bring it into society. That was not easy because the tradition does not directly offer Engaged Buddhism. So we had to do it by ourselves. That was the birth of Engaged Buddhism.

Buddhism has to do with your daily life, with your suffering and with the suffering of the people around you. You have to learn how to help a wounded child while still practicing mindful breathing. You should not allow yourself to get lost in action. Action should be meditation at the same time.

John Malkin: Why did you come to the United States for the first time in 1966, and what happened while you were here?

Thich Nhat Hanh: I was invited by Cornell University to deliver a series of talks. I took the opportunity to speak about the suffering that was going on in Vietnam. After that I learned that the Vietnamese government didn’t want me to come home. So I had to stay on and continue the work over here. It was not my intention to come to the West and share Buddhism at all. But because I was forced into exile, I did. An opportunity for sharing just presented itself.

John Malkin: What did you learn from being in the United States during that time?

Thich Nhat Hanh: The first thing I learned was that even if you have a lot of money and power and fame, you can still suffer very deeply. If you don’t have enough peace and compassion within you, there is no way you can be happy. Many people in Asia would like to consume as much as Europeans and Americans. So when I teach in China and Thailand and in other Asian countries, I always tell them that people suffer very deeply in the West, believing that consuming a lot will bring them happiness. You have to go back to the traditional values and deepen your practice.

John Malkin: What did you learn from Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement in the United States?

Thich Nhat Hanh: The last time Martin Luther King and I met was in Geneva during the peace conference called Paix sur Terre-”Peace on Earth.” I was able to tell him that the people in Vietnam were very grateful for him because he had come out against the violence in Vietnam. They considered him to be a great bodhisattva, working for his own people and supporting us. Unfortunately, three months later he was assassinated.

John Malkin: What is your view of the current peace movement in the United States?

Thich Nhat Hanh: People were very compassionate and willing to support us in ending the war in Vietnam during the sixties. But the peace movement in America did not have enough patience. People became angry very quickly because what they were doing wasn’t bringing about what they wanted. So there was a lot of anger and violence in the peace movement.

Nonviolence and compassion are the foundations of a peace movement. If you don’t have enough peace and understanding and loving-kindness within yourself, your actions will not truly be for peace. Everyone knows that peace has to begin with oneself, but not many people know how to do it.

John Malkin: People often feel that they need to choose between being engaged in social change or working on personal and spiritual growth. What would you say to those people?

Thich Nhat Hanh: I think that view is rather dualistic. The practice should address suffering: the suffering within yourself and the suffering around you. They are linked to each other. When you go to the mountain and practice alone, you don’t have the chance to recognize the anger, jealousy and despair that’s in you. That’s why it’s good that you encounter people-so you know these emotions. So that you can recognize them and try to look into their nature. If you don’t know the roots of these afflictions, you cannot see the path leading to their cessation. That’s why suffering is very important for our practice.

John Malkin: When the World Trade Center was destroyed, you were asked what you would say to those responsible. You answered that you would listen compassionately and deeply to understand their suffering. Tell me about the practice of deep listening and how you think it helps in personal situations, as well as in situations like the World Trade Center attacks.

Thich Nhat Hanh: The practice of deep listening should be directed towards oneself first. If you don’t know how to listen to your own suffering, it will be difficult to listen to the suffering of another person or another group of people.

I have recommended that America listen to herself first, because there is a lot of suffering within her borders. There are so many people who believe they are victims of discrimination and injustice, and they have never been heard and understood.

My proposal is very concrete: we have to set up a group of people-a kind of parliament-to practice listening to the suffering of America. It’s my conviction that there are people in America who are capable of listening deeply, with compassion in their hearts. We have to identify them, and ask them to come and help us. Then we will ask the people who suffer to come forward and tell us what they have in their hearts. They’ll have to tell us everything, and that won’t be easy for those listening.

If America can practice this within her own borders, she will learn a lot. The insight will be enormous, and based on that insight, we can start actions that can repair the damage done in the past.

If America succeeded in that, she could bring that practice to the international level. The fact is that people know America has the capacity to hit. To hit very hard and make people suffer. But if America does not hit, that brings her more respect and gives her more authority.

John Malkin: After the World Trade Center was attacked, even people who believe in nonviolence said, “This occasion requires some action and some violence.”

Thich Nhat Hanh: Violent action creates more violence. That’s why compassion is the only way to reduce violence. And compassion is not something soft. It takes a lot of courage.

John Malkin: In Western psychology, we are taught that if we’re angry, we can release that anger by, say, yelling or hitting a pillow. In your book, Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the Flames, you offer a criticism of this method. Why do you feel that this doesn’t help get rid of anger?

Thich Nhat Hanh: In Buddhist psychology, we speak of consciousness in terms of seeds. We have a seed of anger in us. We have a seed of compassion in us. The practice is to help the seed of compassion to grow and the seed of anger to shrink. When you express your anger you think that you are getting anger out of your system, but that’s not true. When you express your anger, either verbally or with physical violence, you are feeding the seed of anger, and it becomes stronger in you. It’s a dangerous practice.

That’s why recognizing the seed of anger and trying to neutralize it with understanding and compassion is the only way to reduce the anger in us. If you don’t understand the cause of your anger, you can never transform it.

John Malkin: Many people have the view that happiness and enlightenment are things that happen only in the future, and that maybe only a few people are capable of experiencing them. Enlightenment can seem like a very unattainable thing.

Thich Nhat Hanh: Happiness and enlightenment are living things and they can grow. It is possible to feed them every day. If you don’t feed your enlightenment, your enlightenment will die. If you don’t feed your happiness, your happiness will die. If you don’t feed your love, your love will die. If you continue to feed your anger, your hatred, your fear, they will grow. The Buddha said that nothing can survive without food. That applies to enlightenment, to happiness, to sorrow, to suffering.

First of all, enlightenment is enlightenment about something. Suppose you are drinking some tea and you are aware that you are drinking some tea. That kind of mindfulness of drinking is a form of enlightenment. There have been many times that you’ve been drinking but you didn’t know it, because you are absorbed in worries. So mindfulness of drinking is already one kind of enlightenment.

If you can focus your mind on the act of drinking, then happiness can come while you have some tea. You are capable of enjoying that tea in the here and now. But if you don’t know how to drink your tea in mindfulness and concentration, you are not really drinking tea. You are drinking your sorrow, your fear, your anger-and happiness is not possible.

Insight is also enlightenment. To be aware that you are still alive, that you are walking on this beautiful planet-that is a form of enlightenment. That does not come just by itself. You have to be mindful in order to enjoy every step. And again, you have to preserve that enlightenment in order for happiness to continue. If you walk like someone who is running, happiness will stop.

Small enlightenments have to succeed each other. And they have to be fed all the time, in order for a great enlightenment to be possible. So a moment of living in mindfulness is already a moment of enlightenment. If you train yourself to live in such a way, happiness and enlightenment will continue to grow.

If you know how to maintain enlightenment and happiness, then your sorrow, your fear, your suffering don’t have a lot of chance to manifest. If they don’t manifest for a long time, then they become weaker and weaker. Then, when someone touches the seed of sorrow or fear or anger in you and those things manifest, you will know to bring back your mindful breathing and your mindful smiling. And then you can embrace your suffering.

John Malkin: In meditation practice, it is very common for us to feel that our minds are very busy and that we’re not meditating very well. What do you have to say about this?

Thich Nhat Hanh: Meditation is a matter of enjoyment. When you are offered a cup of tea, you have an opportunity to be happy. Drink your tea in such a way that you are truly present. Otherwise, how can you enjoy your tea? Or you are offered an orange-there must be a way to eat your orange that can bring you freedom and happiness. You can train yourself to eat an orange properly, so that happiness and freedom are possible. If you come to a mindfulness retreat, you will be offered that kind of practice so that you can be free and happy while eating your orange or drinking your tea or out walking.

It is possible for you to enjoy every step that you make. These steps will be healing and refreshing, bringing you more freedom. If you have a friend who is well-trained in the practice of walking, you will be supported by his or her practice. The practice can be done every moment. And not for the future, but for the present moment. If the present moment is good, then the future will be good because it’s made only of the present. Suppose you are capable of making every step free and joyful. Then wherever you walk, it is the pure land of the Buddha. The pure land of the Buddha is not a matter of the future.

John Malkin: You have wondered whether the next Buddha will come in the form of a single person or in the form of a community. . .

Thich Nhat Hanh: I think that the Buddha is already here. If you are mindful enough you can see the Buddha in anything, especially in the sangha. The twentieth century was the century of individualism, but we don’t want that anymore. Now we try to live as a community. We want to flow like a river, not a drop of water. The river will surely arrive at the ocean, but a drop of water may evaporate halfway. That’s why it is possible for us to recognize that the presence of the Buddha is the here and now. I think that every step, every breath, every word that is spoken or done in mindfulness-that is the manifestation of the Buddha. Don’t look for the Buddha elsewhere. It is in the art of living mindfully every moment of your life.

Originally published in our July 2003 issue.

Click here for more articles on Thich Nhat Hanh
To order this copy of the Shambhala Sun, click here.
To order a trial subscription to Shambhala Sun, click here."

Pema Chodron - teachings on the web

2009-02-02T03:02:00.000-08:00

Shambhala Sun:
"Pema Chodron: The Shambhala Sun offers the best selection of her teachings available on the web.

Pema Chodron is one of the most prominent women teachers of Buddhism. She is resident director at Gampo Abbey monastery in Nova Scotia and the author of several books, including The Wisdom of No Escape, When Things Fall Apart, The Places That Scare You, and No Time to Lose, a commentary on the classic text, Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life.

Articles:
Choosing Peace
There is a key moment, says Pema Chodron, when we make the choice between peace and conflict. In this new teaching from her program Practicing Peace in Times of War, she describes the practice we can do at that very moment to bring peace for ourselves, for others, and for the world.
Let's Be Honest
Pema Chodron and Dzigar Kongtrül—a student and her teacher—talk straight about honesty, self-deception, and why the difference is the key to the dharma. [...]"

Mind & Life Institute - Mind and Life XIX - Educating World Citizens in the 21st Century

2009-01-29T05:02:00.000-08:00

Mind & Life Institute - Mind and Life XIX - Educating World Citizens in the 21st Century: "Public Conference
Mind and Life XIX
Educating World Citizens for the 21st Century:
Educators, Scientists and Contemplatives
Dialogue on Cultivating a Healthy Mind, Brain and Heart
with His Holiness The Dalai Lama
DAR Constitution Hall, Washington, DC, USA
October 8–9, 2009

Overview
How can our educational system evolve to meet the challenges of the 21st century? How will we educate people to be compassionate, competent, ethical, and engaged citizens in an increasingly complex and interconnected world?

The urgent challenges of a globalized and interdependent world demand a new vision of world citizenship that is not confined to national boundaries, but encompasses moral and ethical responsibilities to all humanity. People coming of age in the 21st century will need to manifest unprecedented levels of intercultural cooperation, mutual moral concern, creativity, and skill in effectively addressing the challenges of the new century. An education that will prepare children to become compassionate and competent world citizens cannot be measured only in terms of cognitive skills and knowledge, but must address the wider aspects of child and adolescent development such as social and emotional skills, moral values, and embodied virtues that promote both personal and societal health, well-being, and caring.

Mind and Life XIX brings together world-renowned educators, scientists, and contemplatives, with the Dalai Lama presiding, to explore the emerging field of contemplative learning and its [...] "

TIME SENSITIVE: Applications Now Being Taken for 2009 Mind and Life Summer Research Institute‏

2009-01-29T05:01:00.000-08:00

2009 Mind & Life Summer Research Institute:

"Garrison Institute, Garrison, New York, June 7-13, 2009

Scientific and Contemplative Perspectives on the Self

Applications are now being accepted for the 2009 Mind and Life Summer Research Institute (MLSRI) to be held at the Garrison Institute (www.garrisoninstitute.org) in New York from June 7 (mid-aft. to the morning of June 13, 2009, The application period will NOW close on Friday, February 20, 2009.

To apply now, please go to: http://www.mindandlife.org/sri09.ml.summer.apply.html. This is an online only application process -- no paper applications, either mailed or faxed, will be accepted. For a more detailed overview of the MLSRI, including information explaining applicant category (see “Who Should Attend”) please go to: http://www.mindandlife.org/sri09.ml.summer.institute.html.

Please forward this message to anyone you know who might be interested in the MLSRI.

The purpose of the Mind and Life Summer Research Institute is to advance collaborative research among behavioral and clinical scientists, neuroscientists, and biomedical researchers based on a process of inquiry, dialogue and collaboration with Buddhist contemplative practitioners and scholars and those in other contemplative traditions. The long-term objective is to advance the training of a new generation of behavioral scientists, cognitive/affective neuroscientists, clinical researchers, and contemplative scholar/practitioners interested in exploring the potential influences of meditation and other contemplative practices on mind, behavior, brain function, and health. This includes examining the potential role of contemplative methods for characterizing human experience and consciousness from a neuroscience and clinical intervention perspective.

The 2009 Mind and Life Summer Research Institute (MLSRI) will be devoted to the theme of the self, its development in sociocultural and contemplative contexts, and its implications for human flourishing and social transformation. MLSRI 09 will bring together contemplatives and academic scholars from the social, developmental, and clinical sciences, the neurosciences, contemplative studies, and philosophy to dialogue about a variety of topics pertaining to the self. These topics will include conceptualizations of self and identity in various traditions; the development of self in normative and contemplative contexts; the neurobiology of the self; the processes of self-identification and their effects on life outcomes; the phenomenology of identity, ownership; the concept of “self-regulation” and its relation to issues of mental causation, and free-will; the role of self processes in psychological illness; and finally, self versus no-self views on the fundamental nature of the mind and consciousness.

Best regards,

Angela Teng, MLSRI Project Administrator SRI@mindandlife.org
David R. Vago, PhD, Senior Research Coordinator dvago@mindandlife.org "

Mind and Life XVIII: Attention, Memory and the Mind

2009-01-29T05:00:00.000-08:00

Mind & Life Institute:

"Private Conference
Mind and Life XVIII
Attention, Memory and the Mind:
A Synergy of Psychological, Neuroscientific, and Contemplative Perspectives
with His Holiness The Dalai Lama
Dharamsala, India • April 6–10, 2009

The Mind and Life Dialogues and the Mind and Life Institute
Beginning in the twentieth century, science has become the dominant paradigm for understanding the natural world by way of objective, quantitative measurements, using the instruments of technology. The integration of scientific knowledge and technology has vastly contributed to our understanding of the physical world and to improving the human standard of living. Furthermore, over a much longer time period spanning the past 2,500 years, Buddhism has emerged in multiple cultures throughout Asia as the dominant paradigm for understanding the natural world by way of subjective, qualitative observations by way of highly sophisticated meditative training. The integration of Buddhist theories and practices has revealed many important insights into the nature of the mind and its role in nature, while radically transforming and enriching its host societies and improving the quality of life of its adherents. In many ways, the methods and goals of scientific and contemplative inquiry are profoundly complementary, with each of them having enormous potential for enriching the other.

In 1987, recognizing that there was no official orderly way for science and Buddhism to share their findings, and convinced that a rigorous scientific dialogue and collaboration between these two impressive traditions would be beneficial for humanity, neuroscientist Francisco Varela and entrepreneur Adam Engle started the Mind and Life Dialogues with His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. Since then, the Mind and Life meetings have focused on a broad set of themes ranging from the mind sciences and biology to physics and cosmology. This present meeting on attention, memory, and the phenomenological study of the mind is the eighteenth such Mind and Life dialogue.

What sets the Mind and Life dialogues apart from other meetings between science and Buddhism is the focus on in-depth, cross-cultural dialogue. In this meeting, the morning presentations by cognitive scientists will be 60-90 minutes in duration, followed by up to 90 minutes of discussion; and the afternoon sessions by cognitive scientists and Buddhist scholars and contemplatives will be 30-45 minutes in duration, with the rest of the 2 ½ hours devoted to discussion. These discussions have always been the central focus of each Mind and Life meeting, and in this conference they will play a more predominant role than ever before.

In addition to the Mind and Life dialogues and publications, the Mind and Life Institute has two other programs to advance our mission. One program initiates collaborative research studies between scientists and contemplatives, focused on determining the effects of meditation and other contemplative practices. To date, such studies have been initiated at the University of Wisconsin; UCSF Medical Center; Princeton; Harvard; UC Berkeley; Reed College; Pennsylvania State University; and University of Pennsylvania.

Another program to help promote new research in this emerging area is the Mind and Life Summer Research Institute, which is an annual week-long workshop specifically for young scientists and scholars with an interest in this area. This Research Institute combines scientific and Buddhist presentations, in-depth discussions on how to advance the interface between scientific and contemplative modes of inquiry, and meditation practice.

Overview
The topics of Mind and Life XVIII are human attention, memory, and the mind considered from phenomenological (including contemplative), psychological, and neurobiological perspectives. While the relation between attention, memory, and the mind is a fascinating area of research in psychological science and neuroscience, it is also of particular interest and investigation in Buddhism, because it is through the contemplative refinement of attention and mindfulness that one explores the distinctive characteristics, origins, and potentials of human awareness, of suffering, and of genuine happiness. In short, the contemplative training known as “shamatha” (meditative quiescence) deals with the development and refinement of attention; and this is the basis for “vipashyana” (contemplative insight), which entails methods for experientially exploring the nature of the mind and its relation to the world at large.

Furthermore, sustained voluntary attention (samadhi) is closely related to memory, because in order to deliberately sustain one’s attention upon a chosen object, one must continue to remember to do so from moment to moment, faithfully returning back to refocus on that object whenever the mind wanders away from it. Likewise, in Buddhism, the faculty of “mindfulness” (smrti) refers not only to moment-to-moment awareness of present events. Instead, the primary connotation of this Sanskrit term (and its corresponding Pali term sati) is recollection. This includes long-term, short-term, and working memory, non-forgetful, present-centered awareness, and also prospective memory, i.e., remembering to be aware of something or to do something at a designated time in the future. In these ways, from a contemplative perspective, memory is critically linked to attention, and both of these mental faculties have important ramifications for the experiential and phenomenological study of the mind, its training, and potential optimization.

The discussions during Mind and Life XVIII will primarily focus on the subjective phenomenology, information-processing operations, and neural mechanisms of attention, memory, and conscious awareness from both scientific and Buddhist perspectives. It is fervently expected that participants in these dialogues, coming from the various disciplines of philosophy, psychology, neuroscience, and Buddhist scholarship and contemplative practice will especially work toward understanding and incorporating the broad range of each others’ ideas and views about the topics of this meeting. Special attention will be focused on the distinctive characteristics and interactions of attention, memory, and metacognition as seen from diverse viewpoints, including the possibility of multiple dimensions of awareness (not limiting the discussion to the familiar categories of the conscious and subconscious mind), and the relationship between the entire spectrum of human information processing, awareness, and the world of experience (Lebenswelt) as a whole. We anticipate that this exploration will lead to further systematic plans for ground-breaking empirical and theoretical research on meditation and contemplative practice at the interface between science and Buddhism. Participants will be prepared to interact collaboratively toward developing such an exciting research agenda.

Participants
Tenzin Gyatso, His Holiness, the XIV Dalai Lama
David E. Meyer, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, University of Michigan
B. Alan Wallace, Ph.D., President, Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies
Anne Treisman, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, Princeton University
Rupert Gethin, Ph.D., Director of the Centre for Buddhist Studies, University of Bristol, UK
Adele Diamond, Ph.D., Professor of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Amishi Jha, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania
Clifford Saron, Ph.D., Assistant Research Scientist, Center for Mind and Brain, UC Davis
Elizabeth Phelps, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, New York University
Shaun Gallagher, Ph.D., Professor of Philosophy and Cognitive Science, University of Central FloridaInterpreters:
Geshe Thupten Jinpa, Ph.D., President of the Institute of Tibetan Classics in Montreal
B. Alan Wallace, Ph.D., President of the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies "

Khyentse Rinpoche: “Don’t grow up too fast.”

2009-01-28T01:59:00.000-08:00

Shambhala Sun Space:

"Over on the Chronicles of Chogyam Trungpa, they’ve posted an audio file of Khyentse Rinpoche’s advice for teenagers, with a focus on the angst, depression, and anger that come with the territory of being a teenager. Those of us who probably could stand to grow up a little might find something useful here, too. A bite:
“If you want to be brave … then take a vow: Next six months, whoever it is, you will not yell at them. That’s a difficult one, huh? But it will give you amazing, amazing power. Because … you all want to be indestructible, don’t you? Well, if you want to be indestructible, why volunteer yourself to become an easy target?”
And here’s a reminder for us all, especially heartening coming from a master teacher:
“Failure is good. You have to fail many times… To shape the human character a lot of things have to go wrong, you know.”
Listen the whole piece here. And don’t miss “What Makes You Not a Buddhist,” Rinpoche’s incredibly clear examination of just that, as published in Shambhala Sun."

Stanford U. asks: Is there science to compassion?

2009-01-26T00:54:00.000-08:00

Shambhala Sun Space:
"Stanford U. asks: Is there science to compassion?
[by Alan Brush]
A science of compassion: can there be such a thing? A new research center at Stanford Medical School will “employ the highest standards of scientific and contemplative inquiry” to answer this question. The Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education has attracted support from the Dalai Lama and others, to investigate the neural, mental and social bases of compassion and altruistic behavior. Here’s a run-down, with video discussion by the Center’s directors."

Dalai Lama to fund 'neuroscience of compassion' - Short Sharp Science - New Scientist

2009-01-24T05:57:00.000-08:00

Short Sharp Science - New Scientist:
"January 22, 2009 6:11 PM
Dalai Lama to fund 'neuroscience of compassion'
The Dalai Lama is teaming up with Stanford University and a multi-millionaire professor to launch a new research centre dedicated to compassion and altruism.

'His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, provided $150,000 in seed money for the center -- the largest sum he has ever given for a scientific venture -- and hasagreed to return to Stanford for a future visit," reads a Stanford press release.The Dalai Lama's contribution is small change compared to the $2 million raised so far to fund the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, but other Buddhist and Catholic groups have opened their pocketbooks.

Centre director Jim Doty, a Stanford neurosurgeon who amassed a $75 million fortune working in business, knows a thing or two about altruism. He's already pledged $25 million of that to charities, including a $5.4 million gift to Stanford.It seems the centre's goals involve not only investigating how the brain deals with compassion and altruism, but also leveraging those findings to improve people's lives. Doty hopes the centre's research will help understand and combat childhood bullying and recidivism among prisoners. He also wonders whether the benefits of intense mediation can be more easily achieved by healthcare and corporate workers to prevent burnout, depression and anxiety. [...]"

The Tibet Album and Sakya Photos

2009-01-21T07:14:00.000-08:00

Sakya Resource Guide - The Tibet Album and Sakya Photos:
"'The Tibet Album presents more than 6000 photographs spanning 30 years of Tibet's history. These extraordinary photographs are a unique record of people long gone and places changed beyond all recognition.' (Publisher).

There are some interesting old photos of Sakya worth looking at especially in light of the extensive renovations that have been done at Sakya Monastery (Lhakang Chenmo) in the last few years."

Annual Report 2008 from Mind & Life Institute

2009-01-21T01:55:00.000-08:00

Annual Report 2008 from Mind & Life Institute

Download Annual Report

"A note from our Chairman and CEO

2008 has been a marvelous year of accomplishment and transition for the Mind and Life
Institute. Building on our work of the past two decades, we continue to advance our strategy to
provide a scientific understanding of how to create and maintain a healthy mind, while at the
same time taking critical steps to revise and refine our internal organization to more effectively
support our programs and research initiatives for the coming decade. Our Program and
Research accomplishments in 2008 included:

• A historic collaboration with the Mayo Clinic,
which hosted Mind and Life XVI, a one day
Mind and Life program with the Dalai Lama
on Investigating the Mind-Body Connection/
The Science and Clinical Applications of
Meditation. This dialogue was our first web
cast.

• A very small private research meeting with the
Dalai Lama to brief him on the latest findings
of neuroscientific research and receive his
counsel on future research directions.

• A research meeting atYale University looking
at how the brain processes self identification.

• The publication of our 10th book, Mind and
Life: Discussions with the Dalai Lama on the
Nature of Reality, by Pier Luigi Luisi and Zara
Houshmand; published by Columbia University
Press. This book, covering Mind and Life X,
was favorably reviewed in the prestigious
scientific journal Nature.

• The 5th annual Mind and Life Summer
Research Institute and Francisco J. Varela
Research Awards. These seminal programs
attracted record applications and attendees,
and we have received a generous grant from
the John Templeton Foundation to support
these programs for 3 years.

• Our Mind and Life Education Research
Network entered its 3rd year and is making
significant progress.We have begun some pilot
research and are producing a white paper which
will review our progress over the initial three
years of this network and set the platform for
future work.
[...]"

Upcoming retreats on neuroscience and meditation

2009-01-21T00:01:00.000-08:00

UPAYA ZEN CENTER, Santa Fe, New Mexico
http://www.upaya.org/

Brain/Mind and Buddhism

"Upcoming retreats on neuroscience and meditation

Faculty includes Alan Wallace, PhD, David Riley, MD, Daniel Siegel, MD,
Roshi Joan Halifax, PhD, Al Kaszniak, PhD, Amishi Jha, PhD, James Austin, MD,
Evan Thompson, MD, Richard Freeman, Neil Theise, MD, and others

May 29, 2009 — May 31, 2009
SCIENCE MEETS MEDITATION: Balance the Heart and Mind
Instructors: Alan Wallace, PhD
This retreat is designed to provide participants with a sufficient theoretical and neuroscientific understanding of meditation and a basis in experience to enable participants to proceed effectively toward this extraordinary state of mental and physical balance. Click here for pricing, more info and to register online. Limited registration, please register early.

Jul 23, 2009 — Jul 26, 2009
YOGA, SCIENCE AND SELFLESSNESS PRACTICE
Instructors: Roshi Joan Halifax * Richard Freeman * David Riley, MD
In a unique way, this retreat brings together the practice of Yoga with Buddhism and the latest scientific research in yoga and meditation. Richard integrates yoga practice with Dharma and science. Roshi Joan Halifax, explores the shared principles of yoga and Buddhism through dharma exchanges with Richard. She also explores with participants neuroscience research on meditation. David Riley, explores the decades of biomedical research on the health benefits of yoga, and with Richard and Roshi Joan, looks at research outcomes on meditation and yoga. Click here for pricing, more info and to register on-line. Limited registration, please register early.

Aug 05, 2009 — Aug 09, 2009
THE NEUROBIOLOGY OF WE: Exploring the Neurobiology of Empathy, Compassion, and Relatedness
Instructors: Daniel J. Siegel, MD * Roshi Joan Halifax * Natalie Goldberg
This exceptional program explores through teaching, interactive sessions, and meditation the neurological basis of social intelligence. Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB) is a way of thinking about the experience of being human and how we develop well-being in our lives and the life of the world through the medium of our relationships. Click here for pricing, more info and to register on-line. Limited registration, please register early.

ZEN BRAIN 2010
January 20 – 24, 2010
Although our description and pricing have yet to be determined, you may register on-line with a $100.00 deposit to hold your place. Please register early.
Sign up for Upaya's e-newsletter by clicking here:
http://www.upaya.org/newsletter"

Abstract submission open until February 1, 2009 - Toward a science of consciousness

2009-01-20T07:11:00.000-08:00

"In a spirit of synergy, the conference is organized along three entwined themes of Brain, Mind and Technology.
Submissions of original papers related to the three themes are invited from philosophy, psychology, neuroscience, cognitive science, phenomenology, media, technology, games, computer science, and other related fields.
Submissions demonstrating media, technology and art attempting to simulate consciousness are invited for a special session. Prizes will be awarded for the best demos.
A Plenary Program, Pre-Conference Workshops, social events and side trips will be announced. The conference coincides with other events in June, 2009 which are part of an Asia Consciousness Festival - http://www.asia.consciousness.org
Abstract submission will be open until February 1, 2009. For registration, abstract submission and further information see http://www.asiaconsciousness.org/TSC
Abstract Submissions: https://sbs.arizona.edu/project/consciousness"

Meditation and Psychotherapy: Cultivating Compassion and Wisdom

2009-01-14T23:58:00.000-08:00

Meditation and Psychotherapy: Cultivating Compassion and Wisdom
Date: May 1‑2, 2009
Course #: 00292525
Who should attend: psychiatry, psychology, behavioral medicine, meditation, mental health
Tuition:
Physicians
$475.00
Residents and Fellows in Training
$395.00
Other Professionals
$395.00
Location: The Boston Park Plaza Hotel and Towers, 64 Arlington Street, Boston, MA 02116
Director(s): Christopher K. Germer, PhDJudy Reiner Platt, EdDRonald Siegel, PsyD
Offered by: Cambridge Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, Cambridge Health Alliance - Department of PsychiatryCambridge Health Alliance - Department Of Psychiatry
Register Now! - View the printed brochure as a PDF file - Download the PDF reader
Boston Park Plaza Hotel, Boston, Massachusetts
Offered by: The Department Of PsychiatryCambridge Health Alliance Physicians Organization
Course Directors: Christopher K. Germer, Judy Reiner Platt, and Ronald D. Siegel
OBJECTIVE
In the unique presence of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, this course will explore the importance of compassion and wisdom in psychotherapy and how meditation practices can be used to cultivate these qualities. His Holiness the Dalai Lama will give brief presentations on compassion and wisdom, and participate in three panel discussions. As a result of attending this course, participants will be able to: describe key aspects of the Buddhist psychological approach to wisdom and compassion that illuminate therapeutic change processes; practice meditative skills that can enhance wisdom and compassion in their patients and themselves; and identify neurological and behavioral changes associated with those skills. They will be able to summarize the role of wisdom and compassion in working with trauma, impulsive behavior, and parenting, and understand the potential of meditation for creating a more peaceful, compassionate world. This course is intended for health and mental health clinicians, researchers, educators, and others interested in the behavioral sciences.

2008-12-23T04:32:00.000-08:00

H.E. RATNA VAJRA RINPOCHE'S 2008-2009 U.S. TEACHING TOUR

December 31 - January 11
Tsechen Kunchab Ling, Walden New York
Seat of HH Sakya Trizin in the United States
December 31 - January 3: New Year Overnight Retreat for Happiness and Healing for the World
January 4: New Year Celebration and Long Life Initiation
January 5-10: Sakya Pandita and His Teachings
Summary of Treasury of Logic
Necklace of the Prince: Evaluating Various Types of People
Heart of the Sun: Evaluating What Is and False
Illumination of the Sage's Intent
January 11: Grand Celebration of Sakya Pandita's Anniversary Day & Offering of Ten Thousand Candles

December 18-27
Palo Alto, California
Hevajra Initiation and Explanation of the Sadhana.
www.sakyasfbay.org email: tonyjan@pacbell.net

December 28–30
San Francisco Bay Area, California
Ewam Choden Center in Kensington
www.ewamchoden.org(510) 527-7363

January 12-13
Silver Spring, Maryland
Sakya Phuntsok Ling
Combination of Amitayus and Hayagriva Initation and Sakya Pandita Celebration.
www.sakyatemple.org/spl email: sakya@sakyatemple.org(301) 906-3378

Science, Buddhism, Free will

2008-12-19T03:26:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of interesting (as always) papers from B. Alan Wallace.

Alan Wallace Online:
"NEW:
'Buddhism & Science: Confrontation and Collaboration' Presented at the International Conference on Buddhism & Science, Sarnath, Varanasi, Dec 2008.
'A Buddhist View of Free Will: Beyond Determinism & Indeterminism' Dec 2008"

A Meditation Seminar for Neuroscientists & Mental Healthcare Professionals

2008-12-09T04:58:00.000-08:00

Just as the Scientists' Insight Meditation Retreat at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, this seminar at Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies is a practical introduction to mind science and the scientific first-person observation of the consciousness.

"Retreat: 'Path of Contemplative Inquiry: A Meditation Seminar for Neuroscientists & Mental Healthcare Professionals'
Click to Register
Speaker:B. Alan Wallace

Date:March 22, 2009 - March 29, 2009
Time:5 PM
Place:Old Mission Santa Barbara
2300 Garden St
Santa Barbara , CA 93101
Cost:$ 970: Single
$860: Double
$690: Commuter
For different payment options, see 'Rates and Accommodations' on the Registration page.
Email:info@sbinstitute.com
Phone:805-294-8425

There is more to Buddhist insight meditation (vipassana) than the cultivation of mindfulness, and there is more to mindfulness than “bare attention,” or simply attending to whatever arises in the present moment. Just as scientific inquiry is enriched with theory that guides and informs empirical research, so is Buddhist contemplative inquiry informed by provocative theories that challenge our everyday assumptions about our bodies, minds, and personal identity..."

Sakya Resource Guide

2008-12-04T07:25:00.000-08:00

Recent posts from Jeff Watt's excellent Sakya Resource Guide:

"TBRC: Outline Pages for Sakya Materials
The Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center of Gene Smith has been engaged in making outline pages for the major collections of Tibetan writings. Created on the...

Outline Pages from HAR
I have many Outline Pages for the Sakya Tradition on the HAR (Himalayan Art Resources) website. I have always tried to keep these two resources separate because one (SRG) is faith based and the other (HAR) is a general art education site. The problem for me now...

Tsunda Monastery Website, Tibet
The Tsunda website has lots of interesting content along with a large collection of Sakya teachings and lectures. The head Lama is Tiktsa Rinpoche who is..."

Maintenance on Sakya Monastery to finish next spring

2008-12-04T07:19:00.000-08:00

Buddhist Channel:
"Housing substantive Buddhism scriptures and frescos, the Sakya Monastery, located in the Sakya County of Xigaze Prefecture, is honored as 'Second Dunhuang'. Since 2002, the monastery has been undertaking several maintenances at a huge cost.

According to Dorje, who is responsible for the repair project, renovation of Sakya Monastery mainly focuses on protection of frescos, reinforcing of Aga soil, a kind of soil formed in the drought grassland in temperate zone, enhancing of Baimacao wall and replacing of ..."

Mind and Life: Discussions with the Dalai Lama on the Nature of Reality

2008-12-03T04:55:00.000-08:00

This new book covers fundamental questions about reality and consciousness. It has actually been reviewed recently in Nature, which is a very prestigious scientific journal .

Mind and Life Institute:
"We are pleased to announce the publication of a new book that captures the rich exchange between scientists and Buddhist contemplatives during a Mind and Life Institute Dialogue with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. When a group of noted scientists including Nobel physicist Steven Chu and biologist Eric Lander discussed the nature of matter, life and everything from particle physics to the evolution and nature of consciousness with the Dalai Lama at his home in Dharamsala, their dialogue was recorded for posterity.

The book that grew out of this meeting of minds is Mind and Life: Discussions with the Dalai Lama on the Nature of Reality by Pier Luigi Luisi and Zara Houshmand. Recently released by Columbia University Press, the book has already received an appreciative review by the journal Nature, which notes that Luisi, 'does a fine job of capturing the ebb and flow of debate and the delicate dynamics of cross-cultural interaction ... The book is stimulating whatever your field of expertise, because it is likely to offer a way of looking at the world that you had not tried.'

You can read the book review in Nature at: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v456/n7219/full/456170a.html

The book can be ordered through your favorite bookseller, or online through Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Mind-Life-Discussions-Columbia-Religion/dp/0231145500/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1227553287&sr=1-1

Please join us in offering our warmest congratulations to Pier Luigi Luisi and Zara Houshmand for their fine work."

Scientists' Insight Meditation Retreat

2008-12-03T04:15:00.000-08:00

You could call this retreat a practical introduction to mind science, since meditation training is a prerequisite for the scientific first-person observation of the consciousness.

Spirit Rock Meditation Center:

"Sylvia Boorstein, Wes Nisker, Diana Winston, Richard J. Davidson, PhD, Trudy Goodman

Date: Sun, Jan 11, 3:00 pm - Sun, Jan 18, 12:00 pm (7 nights)

Location: Upper Retreat Hall

Cost: $905 - $555, sliding scale.

Register: There is still room in this retreat – Click to download forms

The Scientists Meditation Retreat at Spirit Rock will introduce neuroscientists, cognitive scientists, psychologists and other mental health practitioners to ways in which a rigorous and systematic approach to introspection through mindfulness practice can inform their work. The goal is to introduce in-depth training in meditation..."

ZEN BRAIN: Open Presence, Selflessness, and Compassion: Perspectives from Buddhism, Neuroscience, and Complexity Theory

2008-12-01T05:29:00.000-08:00

Enrollment to this retreat/seminar in Upaya Institute’s 2009 program on neuroscience and meditation is currently full, but you could check for cancellations. Also, there are some good pdf:s about neuroscience and meditation on Upaya’s website.

Upaya Institute:
"Jan 07, 2009 — Jan 11, 2009

ZEN BRAIN: Open Presence, Selflessness, and Compassion: Perspectives from Buddhism, Neuroscience, and Complexity Theory

Instructors: Roshi Joan Halifax, PhD, James Austin, PhD, Sandra Blakeslee, Richard Davidson, PhD, John Dunne, PhD, Al Kaszniak, PhD, Neil Theise, MD, Evan Thompson, PhD

Description:
Upaya’s 2009 program on neuroscience and meditation explores two core Buddhist practices: compassion and open presence (shikantaza in Zen, dzogchen in Vajrayana, choiceless awareness in Theravada). In recent years, neuroscientific studies of Buddhist meditators who practice the cultivation of compassion and non-referential presence, and the application of mathematical complexity theory in biology and neuroscience, have provided interesting perspectives on..."

Shambhala Sun Space » It’s Confirmed: Matter is Merely Vacuum Fluctuations

2008-12-01T03:57:00.000-08:00

Research like this may be relevant to questions about how mind and matter (consciousness and the brain etc.) are related to each other and also to the alleged (by us Buddhists) continuity of consciousness from one life to the next (rebirth).

Shambhala Sun Space:
"Stephen Battersby, writing for the New Scientist, summarizes recent research on quarks and the quest for matter. “Matter is built on flaky foundations,” he says. “Physicists have now confirmed that the apparently substantial stuff is actually no more than fluctuations in the quantum vacuum..."

Meditation May Protect Your Brain

2008-12-01T03:43:00.000-08:00

Several studies about psychological and neurological effects of meditation have been published in the last few years. This is one interesting recent study about meditation and neuroplasticity.

Buddhist Channel:
"Meditation May Protect Your Brain
By Michael Haederle, Miller-McCune.com, November 22, 2008.

Research is confirming the medicinal effects that advocates have long claimed for meditation.
San Francisco, CA (USA) -- For thousands of years, Buddhist meditators have claimed that the simple act of sitting down and following their breath while letting go of intrusive thoughts can free one from the entanglements of neurotic suffering.

Now, scientists are using cutting-edge scanning technology to watch the meditating mind at work. They are finding that regular meditation has a measurable effect on a variety of brain structures related to attention -- an example of what is known as neuroplasticity, where the brain physically changes in response to an intentional exercise.

A team of Emory University scientists reported in early September that..."

Conference on Happiness Wraps Up in San Francisco

2008-12-01T03:36:00.000-08:00

A report from Shambhala Sun Space on the recent conference on happiness in San Francisco:

"The conference opened on Nov. 24 with 700 people filling the Westin Hotel. There were health workers, therapists, teachers, students, media, Buddhist practitioners — all of whom soon formed a single, palpable, attentive, living link with the high-powered presenters, spurring them on to share their best. The first of five panels, “Deconstructing Happiness,” established a baseline for the rest of the day and for the conference. Psychologist Paul Ekman sharpened our discernment of the spectrum of possible states (and traits) implied by “happiness.” He was followed by a provocative capsule of the history of happiness in Western thought, presented by Prof. Darrin McMahon (author of the new book, Happiness: A History).
After equally fine presentations by..."

Conference: Happiness & Its Causes

2008-11-28T04:07:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately I just missed this conference, will hopefully get another chance next year.

Happiness & Its Causes:
"What is happiness? Is it possible? What holds us back from it? How to find happiness in the midst of suffering and sadness? How to forgive? How to bring happiness to others?

Over four days—the two-day conference and two days of pre- and post-conference workshops—40 of the best minds in psychology, philosophy, science, education, business, the arts, medicine, and politics will provide answers What is happiness? Is it possible? What holds us back from it? How to find happiness in the midst of suffering and sadness? How to forgive? How to bring happiness to others?

Over four days—the two-day conference and two days of pre- and post-conference workshops—40 of the best minds in psychology, philosophy, science, education, business, the arts, medicine, and politics will provide answers What is happiness? Is it possible? What holds us back from it? How to find happiness in the midst of suffering and sadness? How to forgive? How to bring happiness to others?

Over four days—the two-day conference and two days of pre- and post-conference workshops—40 of the best minds in psychology, philosophy, science, education, business, the arts, medicine, and politics will provide answers..."

Contemplative Care Retreat for Caregivers‏

2008-11-28T04:00:00.000-08:00

This is an interesting retreat at New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care:

"January 15 to 18, 2009
Contemplative Care Retreat
Garrison Institute, Garrison NY

With Roshi Enkyo O’Hara, Trudi Jinpu Hirsch, Koshin Paley Ellison & Robert Chodo Campbell, Core Teaching Faculty of the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care

In this retreat, we will take a deep look at how to integrate contemplative practice with care giving, whether at home or in the work place. Combining Buddhist teachings with periods of sitting and walking meditation, didactics, small group work, question and answer periods, this retreat will provide an opportunity to explore the depths of our inner wisdom and compassion. Most importantly, this will be a time to look at how we can take care of ourselves whilst taking care of others.

The retreat will be especially beneficial to nurses, psychotherapists, social workers, chaplains, doctors and lay caregivers.

As a retreat facility, Garrison Institute..."

Rinchen Zangpo & Art of the Western Himalayas

2008-11-17T04:07:00.000-08:00

Sakya Resource Guide:
"There is an interesting article on the Asian Art website called A four-fold Vairocana in the Rinchen Zangpo tradition at Halji in Nepal by Mimi Church and Mariette Wiebenga. Rinchen Zangpo was the Tibetan Buddhist teacher that marked the beginning of the 'New' (sarma) era of Buddhism in the Himalayas and Tibet as opposed to the 'Old' (nyingma) begun by Shantarakshita, Padmasambhava abd Trisong Detsen. What is important to know is that the Sakya..."

Lamdre Lineage Art Sets

2008-11-17T04:05:00.000-08:00

Sakya Resource Guide:
"Most of the paintings and sculpture depicting individual, or several, Sakya Lamas in one composition are invariably from Lamdre lineage sets. And as all of you will know, it is best when requesting Lamdre to be taught that the host organization also commission a new set of Lineage tangkas (painted or appliqué). At any given time sets of paintings in total number are likely to account for..."

Tibetan Translators Plan New Guild

2008-11-14T00:54:00.000-08:00

Radio Free Asia:
"Tibetan Translators Plan New Guild
2008-10-27
Amid rising demand, Western translators of Tibetan Buddhist texts want to form a guild.

WASHINGTON—Western translators say they want to create a guild to share resources for the study and translation of Tibetan Buddhist texts, which have grown far more popular..."

Important Sakya Resources

2008-11-13T06:25:00.000-08:00

Sakya Resource Guide: Other Important Sakya Resources:
"...let's now talk about the enormous wealth of Sakya resources on the HAR website. Aside from using the general Index, found on the home page, when searching on specific subjects like a deity name or person, for example Hevajra, or Sakya Pandita, look to the Sakya Tradition in the Outline Pages, found at the bottom of the HAR home page. In Outlines find Religious Traditions and click on Sakya. From here you can..."

His Eminence Ratna Vajra Rinpoche in New York state December 31 2008 - January 11 2009

2008-11-13T05:49:00.000-08:00

"Tsechen Kunchab Ling is delighted to announce that
His Eminence Ratna Vajra Rinpoche will be in residence at Tsechen Kunchab Ling and give a number of important teachings and initiations from December 31 - January 11. His Eminence will be accompanied by H.E. Dagmo Kusho Kalden Dunkyi Sakya and H.E. Jetsun-ma Kunga Trinley Palter Sakya."

An Evening with Dzongsar Khyentse

2008-11-12T07:32:00.000-08:00

Shambhala Sun Space:
"An Evening with Dzongsar Khyentse to Benefit Shambhala Sun Foundation

Please join the Shambhala Sun Foundation for the first in a series of Salons featuring prominent contributors to our magazines.

On November 29th in Halifax, Nova Scotia, we are pleased to host Buddhist teacher Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, also known as filmmaker Khyentse Norbu, director of The Cup and Travellers and Magicians, for an intimate evening reception featuring a discussion of the dharma, his life, and his films with..."

Neuroleadership Summits

2008-11-10T05:38:00.000-08:00

Shambhala Sun Space:
"Teaching Leaders About the Brain
The brain is a social animal. Mindfulness changes the brain. We can create the conditions for “a-ha” moments. Suppression is a terrible strategy for dealing with emotions. And finally, even brains need moments at the water cooler. These are some of the topics discussed at the two Neuroleadership Summits that just wrapped up in New York and Sydney. Neuroleadership is a new field of study that aims to..."

Inter School Dialectic Contest Held

2008-11-06T03:24:00.000-08:00

http://www.phayul.com/:
"Inter School Dialectic Contest Held
Mussoorie Nov. 6 - The second Inter Tibetan School dialectics competition was held at the Tsering Dolma auditorium of Tibetan Homes Foundation, Mussoorie. This contest is a follow up of the first ever such contest held in October 2005 organized by Tibetan Homes Foundation, Mussoori..."

An Open Heart's Desire For Happiness

2008-11-05T06:44:00.000-08:00

Buddhist Channel: "The purpose of spiritual practice is to fulfill our desire for happiness. We are all equal in wishing to be happy and to overcome our suffering, and I believe that we all share the right to fulfill this aspiration.
When we look at the happiness we seek and the suffering we wish to avoid, most evident are the pleasant and unpleasant feelings we have as a result of our sensory experience of the tastes, smells, textures, sounds, and forms that we perceive around us. There is, however, another level of experience. True happiness must be pursued on the mental level as well.
If we compare the mental and physical..."

Obama’s Win a Sign of Hope for Tibetans Too

2008-11-05T06:40:00.000-08:00

Shambhala Sun Space:
"In July, Barack Obama sent a letter to the Dalai Lama expressing his regret at being unable to meet the Dalai Lama during his visit to the United States. In his letter, Obama was unequivocal in his support of the rights of the Tibetan people, stating, “The right to practice their religious beliefs without punishment or obstruction is one that should be accorded the people of Tibet, and I will continue to encourage the Chinese government to put aside its suspicions and act in accordance with its own constitution. I will continue..."

Chinese scholars hope Dalai Lama could visit Beijing for talks

2008-11-03T06:49:00.000-08:00

http://www.phayul.com/:
"By Phurbu Thinley

Dharamsala, November 3: Exiled Tibetan leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama on Saturday met with a group of Chinese scholars in which the latter expressed wish that the Tibetan leader could visit Beijing and speak with Chinese leadership.

14 Chinese scholars working in Japan, mostly as teachers of politics, of religion, of ethnic studies and other such subjects met with the Dalai Lama in a small private meeting, Tsewang Gyalpo Arya, an official from the Liaison Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama for Japan & East Asia, in Japan, told Phayul.

According to Tsewang, the meeting lasted for more than two hours and held discussion that delved into issues..."

Obama & Religion

2008-11-03T00:06:00.000-08:00

Shambhala Sun Space:
"Reverend Jim Wallis, editor of Sojourners magazine, is on the radio a lot these days, since the changing cast of the religious voter may influence Tuesday’s election. Hearing him the other day, I recalled a conversation we had at a Spritual Progressives conference in Washington, DC, in May 2006, for a story I was doing called Who Does God Vote For? Wallis told me at the time that the framing of the non-right-wing religious ethic in the US was changing. “I don’t have a name for this changing demographic, but I feel it.” He indicated that poverty and social justice issues were more prominent with many evangelicals than abortion and gay marriage. I did not include his comments about Barack Obama in the piece... "