Title: Buddhists know the secret of happiness
Buddhists really do
know secret of happiness
By Mark Henderson,
Science Correspondent
BUDDHISTS who claim their religion holds
the secret of happiness may have been proved right by science: brain scans of
the devout have found exceptional activity in the lobes that promote serenity
and joy. American research has shown that the brain's "happiness
centre" is constantly alive with electrical signals in experienced
Buddhists, offering an explanation for their calm and contented demeanour.
Neuroscientists think the preliminary
findings could provide the first proof that religious training can change the
way the brain responds to certain environmental triggers.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison
study team scanned the brains of people who had been practising Buddhists for
several years, looking particularly at areas important for emotion, mood and
temperament. They found that the left side - the "happiness centre" -
was consistently highly active in Buddhists. "We can now hypothesise with
some confidence that those apparently happy, calm Buddhist souls one regularly
comes across in places such as Dharamsala (the Dalai Lama's home) really are
happy,
Professor Owen Flanagan of
The positive effects were seen all the
time, not only during meditation, which suggests that the Buddhist way of life may affect the way their brains work. Other research has
also suggested that Buddhists have lower than usual activity in the part of the
brain that processes fear and anxiety. These findings may eventually allow
researchers to develop meditation techniques as treatments for depressive
illnesses.
Steve James, founder of the London
Buddhist Centre, said: the findings offered evidence of what Buddhism can do
to improve happiness, and Paul Seto, director of the Buddhist Society, said:
"Lots of people are excited about this, but we've known it all along.
Buddhism hasn't been waiting for scientific proof. We know it works."
timesonline.
