A Meeting of East and West: Can Eastern-Influenced Therapies be Effective in the Treatment of Stress and Mood Disorders?

A Meeting of East 2 Introduction In 1979 a conference entitled " Comparative Approaches to Cognition: Western and Buddhist " was set to be held at The Naropa Institute in Boulder, CO. The meeting was supposed to be a groundbreaking meeting of Buddhists, psychologists, neurologists, and other interested that would launch a mutually beneficial relationship between Buddhism and the west. The conference did not play out as expected. The different factions were unable to communicate their ideas effectively with each other and thus began the Buddhism-science dialogue (Boyce, 2005). Eight years later a more successful meeting was held in Dharamsala. This was the first meeting of The Mind and Life Institute (MLI), an organization formed by the Dalai Lama and a handful of western scientists and other academics who were interested in opening a productive dialogue between these different schools. The MLI aims to create a contemplative, compassionate, and rigorous experimental and experiential science of the mind which can contribute to research pertaining to medicine, neuroscience, psychology, education and human development. The 1987 conference focused on cognitive science, the most natural starting point for a dialogue between the Buddhism and modern science. Ideas from cognitive science, including scientific method, neurobiology, cognitive psychology, artificial intelligence, brain development, and evolution were discussed (Mind and Life Institute, 2007). The institute has taken large strides since that first meeting and now holds yearly conferences in Dharamsala. Additionally, in 2003 a meeting was held at MIT where Richard Davidson, a neuroscientist who is heavily involved with the MLI and the Dalai Lama shared the stage. Davidson quoted the Tibetan spiritual leader's belief that " 'the A Meeting of East 3 wiring in our brain is not static, not irrevocably fixed. Our brains are adaptable.' Applause, even cheers, burst from the audience – not the way a thousand neuroscientists might usually respond to intriguing lab results. It was more like they'd just heard a new declaration of human independence – and maybe they had " (Barasch, 2005). The research that is conducted by the MLI and the scientists who are members incorporates eastern practices, such as meditation and mindfulness with principals of western science. The practice of meditation is an ancient one that challenges an individual to become acutely aware of their inner state and in doing so the body and mind come to be one entity. Practicing monks who live in monasteries or zendos practice …