How does the Buddhist teaching of meditation correlate to others

health and well-being?

Hailey Redding

Senior Project Advisor: Susan Raleigh

12th Grade Humanities

Animas High School

February, 28 2017

Part I: Introduction
 Buddhism, which originated around 2,500 years ago, has been increasing in popularity

over the past century, mainly attributed to mainstream media. The idea of mindfulness and its

relation to a healthy lifestyle has taken off. Mindfulness is defined as, a mental state achieved

by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting

one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique. (Google). The

basic teaching of mindfulness in Buddhism is now being researched as a major impact on health

and well being in multiple aspects. Studies have focused on Happiness is often a major focus in

today's society, but our notions of happiness have changed dramatically since early western

philosophers began contemplating the good life, for instance, Whereas Aristotle believed that

happiness was the by-product of a life of virtue, weve come to associate happiness with a more

vague metric of feeling good(Gregoire). Both Aristotle's view of happiness and Buddhist

teachings are based on the same basic ideas. This author also states, Mindfulness, which has

been shown to boost compassion and may even improve relationship quality, may also bring us

back to a more Aristotelian notion of happiness as a life in which we are good to

others.(Gregoire). In recent times Buddhist practice has been put under the microscope; people

are constantly arguing over whether these teachings are truly beneficial to well being, or if this is

an elaborate social scheme thats promising too much.

While the basic Buddhist teachings remain the same since the Buddha first awoke from

his deep meditation and planted the seeds of a religion, as Buddhism has spread across the world

it has been interpreted and changed in many different ways. Like all religion, in practice, the

original teachings are researched and understood in many different ways. This knowledge is then

passed on and has resulted in many different sects within one original belief system. Because of

this, the religions we know today are very different than their creators originally intended, Today

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in the United States, we hear mostly about Western Buddhism, which focuses more on the ideals

of well being, happiness, peace, and care for living things. As these ideals continue to exceed in

importance to people in the United States, Buddhism has gained popularity but also changed to

embody and focus on these interests. You have made some good changes to your introduction to

enhance the flow in the first paragraph. Your second paragraph of your introduction gets a bit

wordy and seems to deviate from the research question-- thus you are still missing a clear thesis

statement- which is the answer to your research question and argument you are making

throughout the paper in summary form.

Part II: Historical Context

Siddhartha Gautama, The Buddha, created the religion of Buddhism. The 5th B.C.E.,

during Siddharthas life, was a time of great social change in India. Society was no longer

nomadic; in parts of India the people became dissatisfied with the old practices. Until the age of

29, the Buddha had lived as a prince with a life of luxury. At this time he fled his life of wealth

and for the first time witnessed poverty, misery, and illness. It was then that he began his quest

for enlightenment through the abandonment of basic needs. He began this period of his life

through starvation and through this self-denial he had a revelation. He resolved to find the

middle path, and after 40 days of intense meditation reached nirvana. Reaching enlightenment

and earning the title of the Buddha he set out to share his experiences, creating a community and

gaining disciples.

In many respects, this community was quite revolutionary. The Buddha accepted

disciples from all levels of society and treated them with equal concern and

respect. His acceptance of women as disciples and his belief that they were as

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 capable of spiritual development as men was equally as unusual, given the male-

dominated society of the time. (Landaw)

After 45 years of traveling and teaching, the Buddha died in 483 B.C.E. Succeeding his passing,

the community he founded slowly evolved into a movement resembling a religion. Starting as a

minor tradition in India by the 3rd century BCE, the Mauryan Indian emperor Ashoka the Great

(304-232 BCE), turned Buddhism into the state religion of India. A century after the death of the

Buddha, Buddhist traditions speak of about 18 schools teaching this early religion.

Buddhism is very unique, unlike other religions Buddhists do not worship a god. Due

to lack of knowledge many believe that the Buddha is similar to Jesus or any other religious

matriarch, however this is not the case. When one of his disciples claimed him to be a being

unlike anyone else/god like the Buddha was said to say, instead of praising me, it would be far

more beneficial for you simply to put my teachings into practice. (source?) This religion

focuses on the mind, advocating for the present moment, awareness, inner purity, ethical

conduct, freedom from the problem of change, impermanence, suffering, and reliance upon ones

own experience as the sole teacher, rather than an external authority. This is an important part to

remember about Buddhism and its focus on mindfulness.

However the insight and depth these early Buddhist patriarchs had into the mind is

incredible. Long before the time of science and modern day discoveries about the brain, the

Buddha and later his community had unbelievable knowledge of how the brain worked and

different ways to use it as a tool. They learned and taught that the brain can be changed and in

essence trained to think and react in different ways.

Today, meditation is gaining ground rapidly, both as a performance enhancer among

athletes and top executives (due to the individuals development of intense focus and self-

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discipline), as a stress-reduction technique, and as a medical intervention that accelerates and

promotes healing.

Meditation is the base of Buddhism and Buddhist practice. When the Buddha first came

out of his meditation, he claimed that it was vital to the path of enlightenment. However,

meditation has also been found to alter genetic expression. Gene expression is medically defined

as the translation of information encoded in a gene into protein or RNA structures that are

present and operating in the cell (Medicinenet). In a study done by the Benson-Henry Institute,

Dr. Kelly Brogan states, long-term meditators demonstrated evidence of changes to gene

expression specifically antioxidant production, telomerase activity, and oxidative stress as a

result of the relaxation response (Taming the Monkey MindHow Meditation Affects Your

Health and Wellbeing). Antioxidants inhibit the oxidation of other molecules, oxidation is a

chemical reaction creating radicals that can damage cells. Oxidative stress is essentially an

imbalance between the production of free radicals and the ability of the body to counteract or

detoxify their harmful effects through neutralization by antioxidants. Telomerase, also called

telomere terminal transferase, is an enzyme made of protein and RNA subunits that elongates

chromosomes. This shows that meditation has scientifically shown positive effects on the human

body. Well-being can be thought of as both a state of mental health or overall bodily health.

Since the former is sometimes hard to quantify, this evidence greatly supports Buddhism as a

tool for improving overall well-being.

Meditation has been shown to have multiple positive effects other than just gene

expression, such as changes in the left prefrontal cortex. In another study done on meditation and

its effects on the brain, author Stephen S. Hall states, ...in one visiting monk, activation in

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several regions of his left prefrontal cortex -- an area of the brain just behind the forehead that

recent research has associated with positive emotion -- was the most intense seen in about 175

experimental subjects (Is Buddhism Good for Your Health?). The author is referencing a study

done by Matthieu Ricard researching the scientific effects meditation has on the body and brain,

showing that the brain can be improved to further the pursuit for happiness. The left prefrontal

activation appears to be associated with a constellation of positive attributes, including reduced

levels of the stress hormone cortisol, and reductions in other biological and immune parameters

that are associated with negative affect (Davidson). Hall also claims, Buddhist practice,

however, emphasizes enduring changes in mental activity, not just short-term results (Is

Buddhism Good for Your Health?). Proof that long term meditation is the key to these changes is

changing research methods and could be a huge breakthrough for research into our minds. These

findings provide more insight into Buddhist practice and wellbeing. Everyone seems to be on a

search for happiness; meditation could be the answer.

Buddhist meditation seeks to help the individual practitioner overcome clinging a

concept which Gil explains as she writes,

Central to Buddhist practice is training the capacity to let go of clinging. Sooner

or later, the first aspect of Buddhist meditation, knowing the mind, will reveal

how and where clinging is present. Some of the more painful forms of grasping

are clinging to such things as pleasure, desire, self-image and judgments, opinions

and ideals, people, and possessions. All clinging limits the minds freedom and

peace. (Mindfulness Meditation as a Buddhist Practice)

Clinging as mentioned is thought to block one's mental pathways that creates discord within the

individual's mind. This process of releasing clinging through meditation is important for the

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practices benefits. Releasing these negative thoughts and emotions allow us to release stress and

begin to sift through our minds and find the sources of discontent. It is through this process that

Joseph Goldstein states, our hearts become spacious enough to hold the painful emotions, to

feel the suffering of them, and to let them go. But it takes practiceand perhaps several different

practicesto open to the difficult emotions that we're aware of and to illuminate those that are

hidden (Mindfulness, Compassion & Wisdom: Three Means To Peace). This important in

mindfulness as a tool for well being, by dealing with these difficult emotions and letting go of

clinging the mind can move forward to focus on more positive things. In Buddhism and in order

for an improvement in personal well being and health, time must be taken within daily life to

focus on meditation and mindfulness to move forward by releasing these negative emotions and

outlooks.

Meditation cant change ones level of happiness overnight. In todays fast food society

many consumers crave instant gratification but it is important to remember mental change won't

happen instantly. Alena Hall quotes Wendy Suzuki stating, What happens in people that are

long, long-term meditators is that their patterns of electrical activity start to have particular

frequencies of activity, called gamma waves. We associate them very vaguely with higher

cognitive function (Suzuki). This means that the prolonged process of meditation can improve

the brain over all. Often times in our rush through life we forget that sometimes the key to

success is the time taken to get there. When discussing the effects of short term and long term

meditation, Lauren Roche speaks of the increases in EEG coherence:,

EEG coherence increases between and within the cerebral hemispheres during

meditation. EEG coherence is quantitative index of the degree of long-range

spatial ordering of the brain waves. In a new meditator, the EEG coherence

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 increased during the period of meditation. In a person who had been meditating

for 2 years, spreading of coherence occurred even before meditation began,

spreading of coherence to high and lower frequencies about half way through the

meditation period, and continuing high coherence even into the eyes-opened

period after meditation. (What Are the Benefits of Meditation?)

While this shows that meditation is still beneficial in the short term the long term effects are

considerably more substantial. High EEG coherence is associated with many positive

experiences and skills including increased feelings of happiness, creativity, intelligence and

cognitive flexibility. Long term meditation can is instrumental in creating these positive effects

even after practice. This shows that meditation can be used to increase happiness and even

intelligence. In both previously mentioned articles, the results found were not instantaneous.

Both experiments focused heavily on the time between meditation and its long lasting effects as

well as the amount of time meditation was done. A big part of Buddhist teaching and meditation

is the time taken to reflect and let go of oneself and worldly possessions.

Constant media connection is expected in the 21st century, however in many aspects it

has been proved to be harmful, meditation has been shown to help overcome some of these

negative effects. Constant exposure to media and technology can be harmful to our health.

Studies show that this time spent near our devices can affect not only the way our brains store

information, but our emotions as well. In What Constant Exposure To Negative News Is Doing

To Our Mental Health, Gregoire explains that, According to some psychologists, exposure to

negative and violent media may have serious and long-lasting psychological effects beyond

simple feelings of pessimism or disapproval (What Constant Exposure To Negative News Is

Doing To Our Mental Health). This shows that we need to limit our constant use of technology

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and exposure to media. In addition to this there are also other tools that we can use to help arm

ourselves from media influence. Meditation is often referred to as training the brain, teaching

your mind to let go of thought and sense of self. Gil Fronsdal, in the article Mindfulness

Meditation as a Buddhist Practice, states,

The mind is not static. It is a process or, more accurately, a series of interacting

processes. As such, the mind is malleable and pliable: it can be trained and shaped

in new ways. An important part of Buddhist practice is taking responsibility for

the dispositions and activities of our own mind so that it can operate in ways that

are beneficial. When we dont take responsibility for our own mind, external

forces will do the shaping: media, advertisements, companions, and other parts of

society. (Mindfulness Meditation as a Buddhist Practice)

By using meditation as a tool to disconnect from the outside world and begin to block harmful

media influence and improve well being. While media can affect us in a negative way such as

psychological changes due to exposure to violence meditation can be used as a way to arm

ourselves. Change is hard to create in the media as it is such a large social construct, however

this new information can allow society to protect itself from this influence.

Part IV: Conclusion

In conclusion, it has been found that mindfulness and meditation can be a useful tool to

improve ones mental well being and health. While there is no quick fix or means to a perfectly

happy lifestyle on its own, meditation can be a supplement to help improve wellbeing and

personal happiness. Like the Buddha sought to find and taught later in life, the middle ground or

middle way, we too must find this path in our own lives. Full Buddhist practice is not for

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everyone, however implementing meditation, mindfulness, and other pieces of this religion can

be hugely beneficial.

Buddhism itself has an incredibly interesting history and many aspects. Unlike other

religions, Buddhism can benefit anyone with bits and pieces of itself, or as a whole. The Buddha

never claimed that his path was the solution for everyone, however his teachings can be modified

to fit anyones life to improve well being. It is important to remember that not every form of

meditation works for everyone and it is better to not force it. This could harm the relationship

you form with yourself through meditation. Dont blame yourself if the form of meditation you

are practicing doesn't work for you personally. Everyone must find their own path.

Meditation as a piece of Buddhism, and many other religions, has been proven to

improve both health and wellbeing. Long term meditation has had positive results for both

emotional and physical health. However it was also shown that meditation is beneficial in the

short term albeit with more limited results. Research has even shown that one who practiced

meditation and buddhism as a lifestyle, had more activation in their prefrontal cortex. This has

been found to be linked with positive emotion. As a religion Buddhism is very unique, its focus

on losing oneself to better serve oneself, nature, and others is something that we could all learn

from. This is more important now than ever before, our lives and our minds are so impacted by

media and advertising in today's society. Our minds get clogged up with useless or untrue

information, so it is important for each of us to take time out of our days to let go and see the

truth in things.

Overall, mindfulness, meditation, and buddhist practice have been shown to improve

health and wellbeing. All things must pass, however we should live our lives as our best selves.

Bibliography:

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Brogan, Kelly. "How Meditation Affects Your Health and Wellbeing." Mercola.com. Mercola,

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