Scientist Inspired By His Holiness the Dalai Lama Studies Happiness[Saturday, 14 May 2010, 3:46 p.m.]

His Holiness and Richard Davidson during the Mind and Life XIV conference in Dharamsala, India, April 2007. Photo/Tenzin Choejor/OHHDL

Madison,
WI, USA, 14 May 2010 (By Ryan J. Foley, AP): After hearing about his
cutting-edge research on the brain and emotions through mutual friends,
His Holiness the Dalai Lama invited Richard Davidson to his home in
India in 1992 to pose a question.Scientists often study
depression, anxiety and fear, but why not devote your work to the
causes of positive human qualities like happiness and compassion? His
Holiness the Dalai Lama asked.”I couldn’t give him a good answer,” recalled Davidson, a University of Wisconsin-Madison neuroscientist.Since
then, Davidson has become a partner in the Dalai Lama’s attempts to
build a connection between Buddhism and western science. This weekend,
His Holiness the Dalai Lama will mark the opening of the Center for
Investigating Healthy Minds at the university’s Waisman Center, where
more than a dozen researchers will study the science behind positive
qualities of mind. Davidson said the center will be the only one in the
world with a meditation room next to a brain imaging laboratory.Davidson’s
research has used brain imaging technology on Buddhist monks and other
veteran practitioners of meditation to try to learn how their training
affects mental health.His team’s findings suggest meditation
and other “contemplative practices” can improve compassion, empathy,
kindness and attention. They support the concept that even adult brains
can change through experience and learning.”He’s made some
interesting discoveries about meditation, and I think he is doing very
good science,” said John Wiley, who was university chancellor from 2001
to 2008 and is interim director of the Wisconsin Institutes for
Discovery.Initially, “a significant number of his colleagues
around the world were suspicious and thought that it wasn’t adequately
grounded in hard science,” Wiley said. “He’s proved them wrong.”The
appearance comes as His Holiness the Dalai Lama has spent more time
promoting research into traditional Buddhist meditative practices and
urging scientists to help create a more ethical and peaceful world.Davidson,
named one of Time magazine’s most 100 influential people in 2006, will
appear with His Holiness the Dalai Lama at scientific events five times
this year.”His relationship with the Dalai Lama lends a great
deal of public influence to the hard science that he does,” said David
Addiss, a former Centers for Disease Control official who now works at
the Fetzer Institute, a Michigan nonprofit that gave Davidson a $2.5
million grant.Yet Davidson’s relationship with His Holiness the
Dalai Lama remains controversial. When he invited His Holiness the
Dalai Lama to speak at a 2005 neuroscience conference, dozens of
researchers signed a petition in protest.Some of the criticism
appeared motivated by Chinese researchers who disagree politically with
His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s stance on Tibet. Others said it was an
inappropriate mix of faith with science.Davidson, who meditates
every morning but does not consider himself a practicing Buddhist, has
also been criticized for being too close to someone with an interest in
the outcome of his research.Davidson said His Holiness the
Dalai Lama’s commitment to science is remarkable for a religious leader
of his stature, and notes that His Holiness the Dalai Lama has said he
is prepared to give up any part of Buddhism that is contradicted by
scientific fact.”He also is the first one to point out the
limitations of meditation and how it’s not a cure all and be all for
everything and has very limited effects on health,” Davidson said.Davidson
is ready to test his research in real-world situations. The center
plans to begin training local fifth-grade teachers next fall to
cultivate skills like patience and relaxation among their students.”We’re
really intrigued with his research that shows students can learn how to
relax so they can focus more on learning,” said Sue Abplanalp,
assistant superintendent for elementary schools in the Madison public
schools.Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.