The happy face of mindfulness: Mindfulness meditation is associated with perceptions of happiness as rated by outside observers

The last decade has witnessed an enormous increase in research examining the effects of mindfulness meditation. One of the basic assumptions guiding this research is that meditation ultimately makes people happier. In this article, in two studies we tested whether meditators actually look happier. To address this question, outside raters judged the happiness of meditators and non-meditators based on a 15-s video clip of their behaviour. Study 1 demonstrated that novice meditators looked happier after an intensive 9-day meditation retreat (as compared to before the retreat), while Study 2 demonstrated that experienced mindfulness meditators looked happier as compared to controls. The interpersonal implications of these findings are discussed.     

Conceptual models and functions of meditation in psychotherapy

Although meditation is increasingly being employed as an adjunct in psychotherapy, there has been practically no comprehensive evaluation of its usefulness in this respect. This paper seeks to address this issue through conceptual models of the meditation experience. It is concluded that meditation practice may be associated with the acquisition of some useful skills (e.g., focused attention), that practice may be physiologically relaxing, that meditation may decrease anxiety, insomnia and drug usage, while enhancing hypnotic induction and self-actualization. There is still no compelling evidence, however, that meditation practice is associated with unique state effects compared with other relaxational procedures. Those who appear to benefit most from meditation appear to be those who present with milder disorders. The clinical value of meditation, therefore, appears to be limited. Furthermore, the long-term objectives of meditation are not in general congruent with those of mainstream psychotherapy, as they go beyond therapeutic gain in the clinical sense.     

AGNOSTIC MEDITATIONS ON BUDDHIST MEDITATION

I first attempt a taxonomy of meditation in traditional Indian Buddhism. Based on the main psychological or somatic function at which the meditative effort is directed, the following classes can be distinguished: (1) emotion‐centered meditation (coinciding with the traditional samatha approach); (2) consciousness‐centered meditation (with two subclasses: consciousness reduction/elimination and ideation obliteration); (3) reflection‐centered meditation (with two subtypes: morality‐directed reflection and reality‐directed observation, the latter corresponding to the vipassanā method); (4) visualization‐centered meditation; and (5) physiology‐centered meditation. In the second part of the essay I tackle the problem of the epistemic validity and happiness‐engendering value of Buddhist meditation. In my highly conjectural view, the claim that meditation represents an infallible tool for realizing the (Supreme) Truth as well as a universally valid method for attaining the highest forms of happiness is largely based on the crēdō effect, that is, a placebolike process. I do not deny that meditation may have some positive effects on mental and physical health or that its practice may bring changes to the mind. Meditation may be a valuable alternative approach in life and clinical treatment, but it is far from being a must or a panacea.     

Reply to Josipovic: Duality and non-duality in meditation research

We agree with Josipovic that a fundamental differentiating feature of meditation techniques is whether they remain within the dualistic subject–object cognitive structure, or they transcend this structure to reveal an underlying level of non-dual awareness. Further discussion is needed to delineate the basic non-dual experience in meditation, where all phenomenal content is absent, from the more advanced experience of non-duality in daily life, where phenomenal content is obviously present as well. In this discussion, it is important to recognize that the experiencer–object relation makes the experience dual or non-dual, rather than the nature of the object experienced.     

THE SOUND OF THE BREATH: SUNLUN AND THEINNGU MEDITATION TRADITIONS OF MYANMAR

ABSTRACT

This article explores the popular Sunlun and Theinngu meditation traditions in Myanmar. The founders, Sunlun Sayadaw Ven. U Kavi (1878–1952) and Theinngu Sayadaw Ven. U Ukka??ha (1913–1973), both led a lay life until in their mid-40s and only then took up meditation, going on to become highly respected meditation teachers. Their meditation techniques are similarly distinctive in employing rapid, strong and rhythmic breathing. They combined this with the contemplation of the intense, usually unpleasant, bodily sensations that are thus induced. I document their techniques and application in detail, highlighting their complexity and diversity. I draw contrasts between the use of sati, mindfulness, in their methods and the way it is used in the modern Mindfulness movement. Finally, I discuss the ways in which the practices and experiences of both masters had to be authorised to survive where other meditation traditions have been outlawed. Senior members of the Burmese Sangha catechised both masters separately, using Pāli canonical and post-canonical texts as a benchmark to verify the popular belief amongst Burmese people that they were arahants. I locate this testing within the context of the concerns, sense of duty and status experienced by Burmese lay people in relation to defending Buddhism from decline.     

Buddhist Meditation and the British Colonial Gaze in Nineteenth-Century Sri Lanka

ABSTRACT

This paper argues that the multiple orientalist expressions that flowed from British pens in nineteenth century Sri Lanka are of use to the scholar of Buddhism, in that they can not only shed light on the growth of Buddhist modernism and the use of the term ‘meditation’ within it, but also on Sri Lankan Buddhist practice on the ground. It first surveys the preconceptions of the British about the concept of ‘meditation’. It then examines the writings of a representative selection of scholar civil servants and Christian missionaries who were resident in Sri Lanka within the century. This data reveal that a vibrant culture of Buddhist devotion and preaching existed throughout the century, together, among the laity, with the practice of ‘meditation’ on objects related to insight into reality. Additionally, it suggests that the jhānas, although hard for westerners to understand, were an important part of Buddhist self-understanding. The paper, therefore, argues that the priority given to vipassanā as the essence of meditation within Buddhist Modernism is a reduction of the diversity within traditional practice and a distortion of the traditionally recognised interrelationship between the jhānas and other forms of mental culture.     

Engagement with meditation as a positive health trajectory: Divergent narratives of progress in male meditators

Objective: Studying personal narratives can generate understanding of how people experience physical and mental illness. However, few studies have explored narratives of engagement in health positive behaviours, with none focusing on men specifically. Thus, we sought to examine men’s experiences of their efforts to engage in and maintain healthy behaviours, focusing on meditation as an example of such behaviour.

Design: We recruited 30 male meditators, using principles of maximum variation sampling, and conducted two in-depth interviews with each, separated by a year. Main outcome measures: We sought to elicit men’s narratives of their experiences of trying to maintain a meditation practice.

Results: We identified an overall theme of a ‘positive health trajectory,’ in particular, making ‘progress’ through meditation. Under this were six main accounts. Only two articulated a ‘positive’ message about progress: Climbing a hierarchy of practitioners, and progress catalysed in other areas of life. The other four reflected the difficulties around progress: Progress being undermined by illness; disappointment with progress; progress ‘forgotten’ (superseded by other concerns); and progress re-conceptualised due to other priorities.

Conclusion: Men’s narratives reveal the way they experience and construct their engagement with meditation – as an example of health behaviour – in terms of progress.     

In search of durable positive psychology interventions: Predictors and consequences of long-term positive behavior change

A number of positive psychology interventions have successfully helped people learn skills for improving mood and building personal resources (e.g., psychological resilience and social support). However, little is known about whether intervention activities remain effective in the long term, or whether new resources are maintained after the intervention ends. We address these issues in a 15-month follow-up survey of participants from a loving-kindness meditation intervention. Many participants continued to practice meditation, and they reported more positive emotions (PEs) than those who had stopped meditating or had never meditated. All participants maintained gains in resources made during the initial intervention, whether or not they continued meditating. Continuing meditators did not differ on resources at baseline, but they did show more PE and a more rapid PE response to the intervention. Overall, our results suggest that positive psychology interventions are not just efficacious but of significant value in participants’ real lives.     

Making the Most of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction: Participant Feedback Reveals Strengths and Challenges

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) offers comprehensive instruction to clients in three forms of meditation: the body scan, sitting meditation, and gentle hatha yoga. Clinical experience suggests that participants may express a preference for one mode of practice over others. However, little research has addressed this question or explored participants’ experience of nonspecific factors such as group discussion and teacher personality. In this paper, we aimed to shed light on these open questions in two ways. First, we present quantitative and qualitative post-test data from a nonclinical sample of 181 participants who completed course evaluation forms at the end of an 8-week MBSR program. Second, we share clinical insights and lessons learned over several years teaching MBSR in a community-based program. On evaluation forms, participants reported meaningful improvements in well-being following MBSR and evaluated the nonspecific elements of the course as highly useful. Although they rated all three forms of meditation as beneficial, there was a preference for the body scan and sitting meditation over yoga, and for audio-guided over self-guided practice. Qualitative feedback reflected themes related to learning different forms of meditation, developing an independent practice, meditating with a group, adding additional sessions, and appreciation for the course. Survey findings, taken together with existing research and clinical impressions, support recommendations to address participant preconceptions about the different forms of meditation, encourage meditation practice without audio guides, pay attention to the level of individual participation, discuss how to carve out time to meditate, and promote participants’ development of an ongoing meditation practice. We illustrate these points with case examples and clinical vignettes.     

In search of durable positive psychology interventions: Predictors and consequences of long-term positive behavior change

A number of positive psychology interventions have successfully helped people learn skills for improving mood and building personal resources (e.g., psychological resilience and social support). However, little is known about whether intervention activities remain effective in the long term, or whether new resources are maintained after the intervention ends. We address these issues in a 15-month follow-up survey of participants from a loving-kindness meditation intervention. Many participants continued to practice meditation, and they reported more positive emotions (PEs) than those who had stopped meditating or had never meditated. All participants maintained gains in resources made during the initial intervention, whether or not they continued meditating. Continuing meditators did not differ on resources at baseline, but they did show more PE and a more rapid PE response to the intervention. Overall, our results suggest that positive psychology interventions are not just efficacious but of significant value in participants' real lives.     

Children’s spirituality and the practice of meditation in Irish primary schools

Abstract

This paper uses an interdisciplinary approach to explore the child’s experience of meditation in Irish primary schools and its impact on children’s spirituality. Using a phenomenological, hermeneutic, mystagogical methodology, it describes how children experience the practice of meditation, the benefits they consider they gain from it and the nature of its impact, if any, on their spirituality. Seventy children, aged 7 to 11, were interviewed. The study is original in that the interview protocol contained novel processes designed to elicit from children their experience, if any, of the transcendent in meditation and in its depth of analysis of the spiritual fruits of the practice. The study concludes that meditation does have the capacity to nourish the innate spirituality of the child. It offers a heuristic model outlining the key elements of the child’s experience of meditation, stresses the importance of personal spiritual experience and supports the introduction of meditation in primary schools.     

Long-term concentrative meditation and cognitive performance among older adults

ABSTRACT

Background: The general consensus that cognitive abilities decline with advancing age is supported by several studies that have reported that older adults perform more poorly on multiple tests of cognitive performance as compared to younger adults. To date, preventive measures against this cognitive decline have been mainly focused on dietary, physical, and lifestyle behaviors which could allow older adults to maintain their cognitive abilities into late life. However, much less stress has been laid on evaluating meditation as a preventive measure in such cases in spite of the fact that the role of meditation on attention has been proved in several studies. In the current study, we extend this preliminary idea, examining the practice of concentrative meditation and the differences in the cognitive performance of older adults who have or have not employed this practice long term. Methodology: This was a cross-sectional study comparing the cognitive performance of meditators and non-meditators in the geriatric age group. Twenty (age > 55 years) long-term practitioners of Vihangam Yoga meditation (>10 years of practice) were recruited in the present study and were applied six paper–pencil neuropsychological tests for assessment of short-term memory, perceptual speed, attention, and executive functioning. The tests used were: (1) the Digit Span test, (2) the Stroop Color Word test, (3) the Trailmaking test, (4) the Letter Cancellation Task, (5) the digit symbol substitution test, and (6) the Rule Shift Card Test. All the tests were also applied to 20 age- and education-matched geriatric adults who have not practiced the meditation technique. Results: Vihangam Yogis showed significantly better performances in all these tests of attention (p < .05) except for the digit backward test, where a trend (p = .08) was found in favor of meditators. Conclusion: Long-term Vihangam Yoga meditators have superior cognitive abilities than non-meditators in the old age group. This technique should be studied further for its ability to prevent age-related cognitive decline.     

从端粒和端粒酶探析冥想对压力的缓解作用

冥想是一种维持自我注意的身心调节技术,是缓解因压力所致的抑郁、焦虑等消极情绪的有效方法。端粒是维持染色体稳定和完整的DNA片段,大量有关冥想对端粒及端粒酶活性影响的研究阐明,通常情况下压力人群经过冥想训练能提高端粒长度并增加端粒酶活性,这种改变与压力缓解密切相关。这一积极效果主要得益于皮质醇和炎症等生物因素及心理和环境等非生物因素。未来可以通过对比不同冥想练习的效果、增加追踪研究、多学科联合及扩大样本等找到最有利于提高端粒长度和端粒酶活性的冥想方式。     

MEDITATION IN TAI NUEA LAY BUDDHIST PRACTICE

ABSTRACT

The Tai Nuea ethnolinguistic group is found on the periphery of Theravāda Buddhist influence in parts of southwestern China, northern Myanmar, and in small communities in northwestern Laos. Their relative isolation from mainstream reform movements indicates that they may have much to contribute to the understanding of pre-modern local, and especially lay, Buddhist practices in mainland Southeast Asia. This article focuses on weekly days of lay practice during the annual rainy season retreat in a Tai Nuea village in Mueang Sing, northwestern Laos. The practice is undertaken with an awareness of ageing and approaching death by both women and men who are mainly over 50 years of age. It is distinctly lay oriented and takes place with minimal input from the monastic community. There is extensive use of litany and Pāli phrases to request and to take leave of specific activities throughout the day, and during formal meditation small kamma??hāna (meditation) manuals are worn on the head and the entire body is covered with a white cloth. Within a holistic framework of devotion to the Triple Gem and the practices of generosity and morality, meditation is seen as one important component of meritorious activity rather than as a tool for personal transformation.     

MENTAL FREEDOM AND FREEDOM OF THE LOVING HEART: FREE WILL AND BUDDHIST MEDITATION

In Buddhism, Meditation and Free Will: A Theory of Mental Freedom, Rick Repetti explains how the dynamics of Buddhist meditation can result in a kind of metacognition and metavolitional control that exceeds what is required for free will and defeats the most powerful forms of free will skepticism. This article argues that although the Buddhist path requires and enhances the kind of mental and volitional control Repetti describes, the central dynamic of the path and meditation is better understood as a process of habituation. This not only involves the dis-identification from mental and emotional content that Repetti discusses—and is commonly emphasized in modern presentations of mindfulness or insight (vipassanā) meditation—but also a transformation of the heart that is effected through the complementary psychological and somatic qualities associated with calm abiding (samatha) and concentration (samādhi) and emphasized in the Pali Nikāyas and commentaries.     

Traditional and Modern Meditation Practices in Shan Buddhist Communities

ABSTRACT

This article explores how meditation is inculcated throughout the life of Shan Buddhists using poetic phrasing and texts, culminating in several forms of meditation as part of the practice of temple-sleeping undertaken by lay Buddhist seniors from the age of 40 upwards. I look at how the poetic texts, lik loung, that form the basis of temple-sleeping practice, may have shifted in content in the 19th to 20th centuries to focus on meditation topics, in a move parallel to the development of vipassanā in lowland Burma in reaction to the threat colonialism posed to Buddhism. I then document the rise of separate vipassanā meditation centres in Shan regions from the 1930s and their ambiguous status as either representatives of Burmese hegemony or drivers of Shan revival. I note the influence of Shan lik loung on practice at such centres, as well as a more recent development, the uptake of vipassanā within temple-sleeping contexts.     

Prenatal meditation influences infant behaviors

Meditation is important in facilitating health. Pregnancy health has been shown to have significant consequences for infant behaviors. In view of limited studies on meditation and infant temperament, this study aims to explore the effects of prenatal meditation on these aspects. The conceptual framework was based on the postulation of positive relationships between prenatal meditation and infant health. A randomized control quantitative study was carried out at Obstetric Unit, Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Hong Kong. 64 pregnant Chinese women were recruited for intervention and 59 were for control. Outcome measures were cord blood cortisol, infant salivary cortisol, and Carey Infant Temperament Questionnaire. Cord blood cortisol level of babies was higher in the intervention group (p < 0.01) indicates positive health status of the newborns verifies that prenatal meditation can influence fetal health. Carey Infant Temperament Questionnaire showed that the infants of intervention group have better temperament (p < 0.05) at fifth month reflects the importance of prenatal meditation in relation to child health. Present study concludes the positive effects of prenatal meditation on infant behaviors and recommends that pregnancy care providers should provide prenatal meditation to pregnant women.