dharmadoctors.org

Cogn Process. 2010 Feb;11(1):9-20

Tagini A, Raffone A.

Department of Psychology, University of Milan-Bicocca, Piazza dell’Ateneo Nuovo, 1, 20126 Milan, Italy. angela.tagini@unimib.it

PMID: 19763648

Holist Nurs Pract. 2009 Nov-Dec;23(6):361-9.

Delaney C, Barrere C.

School of Nursing, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USA. Colleen.Delaney@uconn.edu

PMID: 19901611

In the process of establishing the scientific validity of key Buddhist philosophical ideas that have therapeutic relevance to western medicine, I claimed yesterday that a core element of such ideas has been omitted. That is to say, the idea of the sacred (the definition of which I hinted at), has not been something easily translatable by western science. Mindfulness, on the other hand, has received the lion’s share of translation–mainly because the medical benefits of this process are abundantly obvious. Compassion is another traditional Buddhist experience and expression that western science has been able to take into it’s hands and reshape into a meaningful, relevant and applicable idea. How interesting! I wonder what it is about these two ideas that make them so translatable? Perhaps there is a natural affinity between the practices of medicine and Buddhism in that both are motivated at their roots by mindfulness and compassion. Many doctor’s and nurses, for example, are innately motivated by these two qualities and that may be why when Buddhists talk about them it just seems so “right,” one says “of course–that is what we are all about too.”

Now that compassion and mindfulness have been established as such strong ties between the two traditions, what are other areas where Buddhism can inform medicine? I have mentioned this idea of “the sacred.” Actually, this is not a particularly technical Buddhist idea unique to that tradition at all. It is a word I am using that describes a simple experience one has during meditation when there is direct awareness of things as they are. Perhaps this experience is then taken into daily life and noted as an appreciation of the incredibly rich perceptual experience humans are capable of. Nothing mystical. No gods. Just being simply. In most Buddhist traditions, this fundamental experience, this ground, is utterly basic and a key element in “being on the path.” What, if anything, can science say about this? What are the therapeutic, clinical implications of this experience? Is mindfulness really just a tool to experience this?

In his book Daily Advice From The Heart, the Dalai Lama writes, “A clear distinction should be made between what is not found by science and what is found to be non-existent by science. What science finds to be non-existent we must accept as non-existent, but what science merely does not find is a completely different matter.” This seems to apply to the experience of being as uncovered during the process of meditation and mindfulness–science can examine and quantify the effects (and it should) of these practices and thereby draw conclusions about relevant associations which likely have clinical implications. But when it examines the ground itself, the reservoir out of which these effects seem to arise, then what? That seems to be the purview, perhaps, of cognitive science and physics. We are still waiting for those disciplines to weigh in and help describe, in western scientific language, what it is that meditators are tapping into that brings forth the medical benefits chronicled in these pages.

Until then we are left with Wittgenstein’s oft-quoted remark that “whereof man cannot speak, thereon he must be silent” (Tractatus). For now at least …

Continuing the discussion from yesterday, l would like to start by acknowledging how different an entry this and yesterday’s are, as compared to almost all previous entries to Dharmadoctors. Up until now the main thrust of the website has been to look at the ways Medicine has incorporated Buddhist truths and practices and studied their applicability to human disease. Now I am trying to broaden the discussion and explore the question of what happens now that many of the ideas of Buddhism in general and Mindfulness in particular have become accepted, even mainstream.

In Buddhism there is the idea of “The Turning of the Wheel of Dharma.” The First Turning was said to occur when the Buddha attained enlightenment and began teaching the Four Noble Truths. In his lifetime there were at least two other such “turnings.” These were times he revealed further truths about the nature of reality to his students, ideas pertaining to “emptiness” and “compassion” (shunyata and karuna), bodhicitta and buddha-nature. Each time these major ideas were taught to the students, it is said that the Wheel of Dharma turned.

Given the far-reaching power of the scientific world view and its evolution over the last few centuries, from a Buddhist point of view the very notion that after all this time the teachings of the Buddha himself are being validated and incorporated into the western mainstream may in fact constitute another Turning of the Wheel of Dharma. Looked at this way, someone like the Dalai Lama (and many other great Buddhist teachers as well), are catalyzing such a turning. This most recent turning is the joining of our most modern scientific understanding of the nature of the world as described by physics with Buddhist philosophy of mind and reality. In fact, in some quarters, this is really not news at all and has been going on since sometime in the middle of the 20th century. For some, this discussion is really a platitude, even old hat.

But in the field of medicine (at least in western, allopathic medicine), what were once the fringe ideas of naturopathists and alternative healers have now seeped into our very language. There is no question that at this point there is cross-pollenization of ideas; what is left to be further delineated, however, is how the languages of these two disciplines will evolve. There still are many obstacles in creating a common language for both fields.

One such area where there remains a barrier is with the idea of the sacred. What is it? From a Buddhist point of view, I would suggest that the sacred is simply an experience. An experience of things how they are, unfiltered by concept or emotional/intellectual overlay, an experience of the “isness” of things, an experience that is pre-cognitive and yet perceptually rich. This is a vast discussion, obviously. But in its simplest expression the sacred is a return to the ground of being. Meditation is the experience that returns us to this simple, sacred ground. (For an excellent, inspiring discussion of this, see Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche’s Shambhala, The Sacred Path of the Warrior).

As far as I can tell, western scientific research (and medical research in particular), has not been able to bring the idea of the sacred into its lexicon. Thus far, research has sanitized such things out. In the re-languaging of Buddhism it has simply avoided this core experience, an experience, I believe, that can have key clinical implications for physicians and patients. This is something I would like to continue to discuss in the future.

Hello Friends of Dharmadoctors,

It’s been almost a year and a half since this project started and it seems like a good time to take stock of what this has all been about. When the site was initiated, the goal was to attempt to join the two great practice traditions of Medicine and Buddhism in a way that made it clear that many commonalities and bridges between the two exist. In many ways, one thing that seems evident thus far is that such shared aspects are abundant. In fact, thanks to the science behind mindfulness (as reported here over and over again), one could almost venture to say that meditation, mindfulness and Buddhism in fact, have become mainstream. This is incredible! When I started my residency a mere three years ago, the idea that meditation might have real, practical and scientifically validated benefit was an eccentric, fringe idea, especially at major academic teaching hospitals. The situation is now radically different.

So if all of this eccentric stuff is now somewhat mainstream, now what? Originally there was a sense (at least in my mind) that the purpose of this endeavor was to convince, or at least show, my colleagues in medicine that the ideas of Buddhist meditation were not so far fetched after all. And now, much to my surprise, it is not uncommon to hear topics such as those covered here, bandied about the wards of teaching hospitals. One is forced to wonder if, in the course of the last few years, the dharma has officially landed into the mainstream consciousness of medicine.

One reason this has been so successful has been through the work of the people who have created completely secularized, mindfulness training programs to address the numerous medical afflictions that are known to benefit from this approach. In some ways the dharma has been re-languaged into a vernacular that modern physician-scientists can use. (The upcoming Stanford project to further define this language is taking this to a new level–see post from earlier this week). Overall, this fits with the age-old Buddhist idea that the Buddha himself gave a multitude of teachings to different audiences who were ready for those specific ideas. It was never a “one size fits all approach,” and this is no exception.

The concern I have, however, is that during this process of re-languaging and secularizing the dharma to fit into our scientific view, there is the possibility that something very important may be lost. What this something is I would like to explore in the coming months, and it has to do with an idea that usually medicine is very uncomfortable with: the sacred. I’ll end this post with the question, what is the sacred and is there a place for it either in evidence-based medicine or at least in the care-giver/patient encounter? Stay tuned …

Apr 15, 2010

Khenpo Tsering of the Surmang Monastery was able to call Lyndon Comstock of the Konchok Foundation to report on the devastation in the Surmang area. The
full report of their call is below.

Khenpo said that Jyekundo (the closest city to Surmang) is “completely destroyed.” He said that probably 95% of the buildings in the city have been destroyed. He said that, if anyone has seen the movie “2012,” it looks like that. Even some of the more recent larger buildings collapsed. He said that a six or seven story building collapsed “like the World Trade Center.”

Khenpo said that about eight hundred bodies that have been pulled out of the rubble so far but “there are thousands more bodies still buried in the collapsed buildings.”

Surmang Dutsi Til was not seriously affected by the earthquake. He has not been there in this first day since the earthquake but he was told that the earthquake was not so large there (Surmang is much further from the epicenter than Jyekundo is). He was told that no one was injured at Surmang Dutsi Til, and that several buildings have cracks in them from the earthquake, but none collapsed. He was told that there was no damage at all to the new shedra building complex at Surmang, which he described as very strongly built compared to how other buildings are constructed in the region.

Trungpa XII Rinpoche is at Derge right now, which was not affected by the earthquake. Damcho Tenphel Rinpoche was at Kyere and most of the family members of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche are in that area, which was not affected by the earthquake. However, several of the Vidyadhara’s nieces or nephews have been living in Jyekundo and Khenpo has no news yet of what has happened to them.

Thrangu monastery was the monastery most severely damaged by the earthquake from the reports that Khenpo has received. He was told that it is “95% destroyed” and that many monks there are dead, but no one yet knows how many.

Khenpo asked Lyndon to tell the Shambhala sangha that, if we are able to send money, that would be very helpful, because everyone who was involved in this earthquake needs help. He is going to find the Surmang families first to see how he can help them but there are many people who need help. Everyone who was living in Jyekundo has lost their house and has had people close to them who was killed or injured.

Lee Weingrad, director of the Surmang Foundation was interviewed by BBC TV and Radio (BBC World Report) to speak for their foundation and the NGO community. He reports: “The tone was very open and dignified and I think we can say a lot by not pretending to have anything other than a broken heart as the basis for fearlessly helping the victims of the unspeakable tragedy. There might be another interview tonight Beijing time and if there is, I’ll be sure to give some advance warning.”

The Konchok Foundation has set up a disaster relief fund so that sangha members or others who wish to offer support can do so.
http://www.konchok.org Donations can be made from anywhere by credit card or from the U.S. or Canada by check. Donations will be forwarded to Khenpo Tsering of the Surmang monastery for distribution.

Please recall compassionately in your daily practice all those who have been killed, injured, or left homeless by the earthquake.

For further information:
Konchok Foundation http://www.konchok.org
Surmang Foundation http://www.surmang.org

Apr 14, 2010

MAJOR EARTHQUAKE NEAR SURMANG MONASTERY

A huge earthquake struck Jyekundo yesterday, the closest city to the Surmang Dutsi Til monastery, where Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche was the supreme abbot before leaving Tibet. The initial quake of 7.1 magnitude was followed by several aftershocks of magnitude 5 or more.

Most communications with Jyekundo are now down but first reports indicate heavy damage and large numbers of people killed or injured. Reports say that possibly as many as 90% of the homes in the city have been destroyed.

The Vidyadhara’s brother, Damcho Tenphel Rinpoche, often resides in Jyekundo. It is not known if he was in Jyekundo at the time of the quake. He was not living in the city a month ago.

The Konchok Foundation, started by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, Lady Diana Mukpo and others to rebuild the monastic college (shedra) at Surmang, is gathering information on the disaster. Also working to gather information is the Surmang Foundation, of which sangha member Lee Weingrad is the director, which provides medical care in the region.

Khenpo Tsering Gyurme of Surmang monastery called the Konchok Foundation from the nearby city of Xining. He had been there purchasing building materials for the Surmang shedra project. He said he was heading immediately for Jyekundo to help with the rescue efforts. Many members of his own family live in Jyekundo.

The U.S. Geological Survey reports place the epicenter approximately 30 miles northwest of Jyekundo (Yushu). It will probably be some days before any information is available about Surmang Dutsi Til, which is south of Jyekundo.

Khenpo Gawang, known to many in the Shambhala Mandala, has a school in the area. We are told that eight of the children in the school have been
killed.

Lee Weingrad has mentioned reports of damage at the Venerable Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche’s monastery in the affected area. The damage to Thrangu Rinpoche’s monastery has been confirmed by Shirley Blair, Director of Thrangu Rinpoche’s schools for Himalayan children. She reports at least 10 dead and says the shedra collapsed, so there may be many more casualties.

The Sakyong, now in secluded retreat in Nepal, has been informed through his personal attendant.

Lady Diana and Dr Mitchell Levy, two of the founders of the Konchok Foundation, said today: We are deeply concerned for the people of this entire area, which includes the Surmang monasteries of which Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche was the supreme abbot. We have been working to support Surmang and its surrounding community for many years and we would like to do whatever we can to assist those affected by the earthquake. If anyone is able to contribute to the disaster relief fund being sent up by the Konchok Foundation, which is able to channel money direct to the area through the Surmang monastery, please do so, and include the people of this desperately poor area in your prayers and practice.

The Konchok Foundation has set up a disaster relief fund so that sangha
members or others who wish to offer support can do so.
http://www.konchok.org/

Donations can be made from anywhere by credit card or from the U.S. or Canada by check. Donations will be forwarded to Khenpo Tsering of the Surmang monastery for distribution.

Please recall compassionately in your daily practice all those who have been killed, injured, or left homeless by the earthquake.

For further information:
Konchok Foundation:http://www.konchok.org/
Surmang Foundation:http://www.surmang.org/

Cogn Process. 2010 Feb;11(1):1-7

Raffone A, Srinivasan N.

PMID: 20041276

Fredrickson, B. L., Cohn, M. A., Coffey, K. A., Pek, J., & Finkel, S. M. (2008).  Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 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. (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved.

PMID: 18954193

Hutcherson, C. A., Seppala, E. M., & Gross, J. J. (2008).  Emotion, 8, 720-724.

The need for social connection is a fundamental human motive, and it is increasingly clear that feeling socially connected confers mental and physical health benefits. However, in many cultures, societal changes are leading to growing social distrust and alienation. Can feelings of social connection and positivity toward others be increased? Is it possible to self-generate these feelings? In this study, the authors used a brief loving-kindness meditation exercise to examine whether social connection could be created toward strangers in a controlled laboratory context. Compared with a closely matched control task, even just a few minutes of loving-kindness meditation increased feelings of social connection and positivity toward novel individuals on both explicit and implicit levels. These results suggest that this easily implemented technique may help to increase positive social emotions and decrease social isolation. (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved

PMID: 18837623