Buddhism and scientific meditation have a close link as religion is an effective tool for attaining peace and satisfaction. Scientific medication explains the role of relaxing therapies on the wellness of humans. People encounter problems and depression that add to their stress and discomfort. It is important for individuals to get rid of the stress that they develop from human activities. Buddhism has strong connections with scientific meditation as it improves the thought process leading to overall wellness and enhanced quality of life. Religion boosts health by increasing immune functioning and decreasing pain. It is also an effective source of happiness for the people engaged in religious practices. Practising religion such as Buddhism allows humans to enhance positive emotions that allow them to overcome negative feelings and thoughts. The ability to control negative and destructive thoughts also improves with the practice of Buddhism. Many health studies recognize the benefits of Buddhism and associate it with the betterment of humans (Kreplin, Farias, & Brazil, 2018).
Thesis statement: As religion has a strong correlation with meditation, Buddhism helps in attaining peace, satisfaction, and positivism, thus leading to improved quality of life through psychological wellbeing.
The famous Buddhist Dalai Lama recognizes the benefits of religion and its vital role in attaining inner peace of mind. Practising religious activities has a dominant role in the relaxation of the mind. Dalai Lama explains the benefits of Buddhism and its impacts on the human body. He suggests Buddhist meditation as an effective strategy to get rid of worldly tensions, including dissatisfaction, intolerance, and depression. The monk in the discussion recognizes the positive impacts of Buddhist practices that add to the overall health of the practising individuals. The claims provided by Dalai Lama support the central argument about the effectiveness of Buddhist meditation. The strategy can help humans in overcoming mental weaknesses and attain maximum psychological gain. Dalai Lama mentions, “certain sort of level I think we achieve some positive result in the field of understanding about external things as well as internal things so that the achievement without your participant participation” (YouTube, 2010). The assessment of the Dalai Lama’s interpretation of Buddhist meditation explains the enormous benefits that humans can attain by giving some time to religious activities. He also claims that through the simple act of meditation, one can eliminate the internal weaknesses that result in his destruction and demise. He further explains that the principle of causality is central to human thinking and that one can use it to control negative thoughts and feelings (YouTube, 2010)
Dalai Lama also supports the central argument of the effectiveness of Buddhist meditation as he explains its impact on human flourishment. The monk explains the process that associates the religious practices of individuals with their peace of mind. He emphasizes the significance of Buddhist meditation as it allows humans to think positively and focus on constructive things. He mentions, “we can educate not only the mind but also the heart in pursuit of a kinder, more compassionate and peaceful world” (YouTube, 2010). He confers the belief that people, through interacting with religion and spiritual practices, can attain the highest level of peace that can connect people and the world. The idea also promotes the belief that people, through Buddhist meditation, remove the evils of the world that leads to a mentally disturbed state or long-term illness (YouTube, 2010).
Literary evidence suggests the crucial role of Buddhism in scientific meditation. Medical studies explain the prominent role of religions and various practices, such as praying or talking to God, as vital tools in dealing with depression. By engaging oneself with religious practices, one can avoid the issues of stress or other mental complications, including discomforts, negative feelings, and hopelessness. People who give a considerable part of their day to religious practices or pray to the Lord develop positive feelings. A positive approach to life allows humans to get rid of hopelessness and helplessness. Buddhist meditation remains one of the most effective sources for attaining inner pleasure and happiness. Scientific study reveals that “the hypometabolic state during meditation is a state of deep rest, which is similar to hibernation, but where the practitioner remains awake and vigilant. The state of being awake and vigilant was later termed “tonic alertness,” which indicates a state of optimal vigilance where attention is sustained for a prolonged period” (Amihai & Kozhevnikov, 2015). Medicine has been using Buddhist meditation for patients that exhibit highly depressive symptoms and are unable to feel comfortable. The evidence suggests that an individual engaging himself in Buddhist meditation attains a hypometabolic state. The hypometabolic state has a crucial role in enhancing the overall well-being of individuals. The study highlights the impacts of Buddhist meditation on the mental state as it allows individuals to attain inner peace (Amihai & Kozhevnikov, 2015).
Buddhist spiritual descriptions have profound impacts on the state of mind. The evidence shows experiences of heightened arousal during the Vajrayana practices and other spiritual activities. The overall assessment of Buddhist practices indicates its profound impact on the relaxed state of mind. History also reveals that meditation practices developed from different religions while Buddhism remains one of the most prominent in enhancing meditating activities. The facts indicate that psychological and physiological changes emerge during Buddhist meditation (Lindahl, Fisher, Cooper, & Rosen, 2017). The scientific literature to understand the role of Buddhist meditations eliminates religious biases. Another prominent factor contributing to the enhanced mental states include a wakeful hypometabolic state of parasympathetic dominance. The evidence suggests that the individuals engaged in Buddhist meditation can exhibit highlight alert mental states. They can avoid distractions during their encounter with different life situations. The level of attention and focus is more visible among people who involve themselves in spiritual activities or Buddhist practices. The central argument supports the claim that Buddhism has strong connections with the elevated mental state of humans (Amihai & Kozhevnikov, 2015).
Buddhism has a significant relationship with happiness and scientific meditation. Scientific studies uncover the positive role of Buddhist practices in the human brain and psychology. Cultivating mindfulness and pleasure are two prominent aspects of religion. Buddhist mindfulness practice is also a non-religious and faith-free method for attaining overall wellness and pleasure. The practice results in positive changes improving the consciousness of the people. The positive impacts are visible as studies recognize, “Its adaptation to a Western clinical context, originally aimed at chronic pain patients, paved the way for its popularization through new mutations such as mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), which was developed to reduce relapse into depression” (Kreplin, Farias, & Brazil, 2018).
The facts depict the connection of Buddhist meditation with relaxing therapy allowing humans to get rid of negative thoughts. The studies reveal the impact of such practices on empowering mindfulness and positivism. Meditation is useful for the health of individuals and adults. Medicine adopted the practice of mindfulness invented by Buddhism to cure patients with acute symptoms of stress and anxiety (Kreplin, Farias, & Brazil, 2018). The evidence also suggests that Buddhist meditation is a scientific intervention that promotes positive feelings of compassion, empathy, and positivism. The study also claims that one’s involvement in Buddhist meditation leads to improved prosaically behaviours that have a positive impact on enhancing physical and mental health (Kreplin, Farias, & Brazil, 2018).
One’s involvement in Buddhist meditation provides relief against mental illness. Medical studies accept the vital role of religion and spirituality in mindfulness and positivism. Engagement in Buddhism meditation will make the world a less miserable place as it undermines the concepts of negativity and evilness. Wider meditation programs rely on Buddhism and related practices for promoting health and wellness. The evidence states, “meditation practices are expected to lead to perceptual, affective, epistemic, and behavioural shifts that lie beyond the scope of the health-related outcomes that are the concern of MBIs and associated scientific research” (Lindahl, Fisher, Cooper, & Rosen, 2017). The quote supports the primary argument as it highlights the implications of meditation and its scientific explanation. Clinical studies recognize the benefits of Buddhist practices and view them as a non-religious intervention (Lindahl, Fisher, Cooper, & Rosen, 2017).
It is also visible that clinical studies recognize Buddhist meditation as a faith-free practice that eliminates religious biases. The identification of meditation as a psychological intervention also strengthens the claims of the main argument. Peer-reviewed studies also support the claim of Buddhist practice as a valid intervention program for dealing with mental problems such as stress and depression. Meditation has a direct impact on enhanced immune systems and brain functioning (Lindahl, Fisher, Cooper, & Rosen, 2017). Clinical studies identify the benefits of Buddhist meditation, including improved immune functions, reduction in pain, increased cognitive ability, and improved emotional state.
The practice is also useful in overcoming depression and loneliness. Neuroscience accepts the benefits of meditation and suggests it as one of the effective intervention programs to enhance the psychological well-being of individuals. “The normal state of consciousness is dominated by the narrative construction of self. The first mystical state arises as this narrative is attenuated, allowing the intentionality of perception and emotion to become the dominating dimension” (Lancaster, 2016). The relationship of meditation with consciousness and awareness also states that the individual is capable of performing his routine activities in a better manner. The scientific evidence reveals the impact of Buddhist meditation on the enhanced physical and mental state (Kreplin, Farias, & Brazil, 2018).
Meditation boosts the psych-social functioning of humans, thus improving their overall status in society. “In contrast to relaxation, arousal is a physiological and psychological state of being awake and reactive to stimuli. It is characterized by an increase in the activity of the sympathetic system, which is followed by the release of epinephrine and norepinephrine from the endocrine system” (Amihai & Kozhevnikov, 2015). The fact that relaxation and arousal produce positive impacts on human thoughts leads to the conclusion that Buddhist meditation is a non-religious scientific method of attaining pleasure and peace (Kreplin, Farias, & Brazil, 2018). The practice is useful in improving one’s connectivity with society and consciousness. Improved consciousness builds inner strength in dealing with external and internal weaknesses, as pointed out by Dalai Lama (YouTube, 2010).
Involvement in Buddhist meditation is an effective source of gaining satisfaction and psychological health, representing it as a psychological intervention. Dalai Lama provides strong support to the central argument about the usefulness of meditation. He presents the strategy as a non-religious and neutral intervention to cure humans suffering from various mental complexities, including depression, restlessness, and demise. Literary evidence strengthens the main argument and recognizes Buddhist practice as one of the effective interventions for overcoming problems of hopelessness and helplessness. The argument suggests the adoption of Buddhist meditation for increasing inner peace and attaining psychological health.
References
YouTube. (2010). Mind and Life XIV — Day 1 am – with the Dalai Lama. Retrieved 04 13, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dmlnk-iLiYc
Amihai, I., & Kozhevnikov, M. (2015). The Influence of Buddhist Meditation Traditions on the Autonomic System and Attention. Biomed Res Int.
Kreplin, U., Farias, M., & Brazil, I. A. (2018). The limited prosocial effects of meditation: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Scientific Reports, 8.
Lancaster, B. L. (2016). Hermeneutic Neurophenomenology in the Science-Religion Dialogue: Analysis of States of Consciousness in the Zohar. Religions, 6 (1).
Lindahl, J. R., Fisher, N. E., Cooper, D. J., & Rosen, R. K. (2017). The varieties of contemplative experience: A mixed-methods study of meditation-related challenges in Western Buddhists. PLOS ONE.
