Buddhist and psychological perspectives: Towards an understanding of enduring states of happiness
Audrey Smith
There has been a growing dialogue between Buddhism and Western Psychology in recent years. There may be advantages for both disciplines if the outer world of science and the inner world of Buddhism can be brought together harmoniously (Cabezon 2003), and an area of great benefit in terms of the exploration of positive psychology would be the scientific study of Buddhist meditators. Neuroscientists have begun studying the brains of Buddhists to find out how the qualities of happiness, serenity and compassion, the goals of Buddhist meditation, are reflected in the brain. This research, although in its early stages, is beginning to provide scientific backing to the view long-held within the spiritual traditions - that meditation supports the development of positive emotions.
Buddhist views on both happiness and suffering differ from those within conventional Western psychology. Within the realm of Western psychology, reports suggest that the positive events punctuating a person's life, even significant ones like winning the lottery, can phasically alter an individual's state of pleasure, yet have no effect on their trait level of happiness (Ekman, Davidson, Ricard and Wallace 2005). For the Buddhist, however, happiness is said to be an enduring trait that arises from a mind in a state of equilibrium, involving a conceptually unstructured and unfiltered awareness of the true nature of reality. It can only be realised by a radical transformation of consciousness through sustained training in attention, awareness, ethics and emotional balance. With this experience is said to come an enduring state of peace and wellbeing, reduced vulnerability to external circumstances, and experience of the interconnectedness of all things, known to the Buddhist as 'enlightenment'. Once this state has been achieved, the Buddhist is no longer subject to the ups and downs of fleeting states of happiness and sadness.
The law of dependent arising is a key Buddhist teaching as it describes the mechanisms underlying the existence of suffering and its arising, and provides a way to break out of this cycle and experience true happiness (Watson 1998, p. 70). The theory demonstrates the interdependence and interconnectedness of all phenomena, and shows that there is no absolute or independent existence. All phenomena are seen as dependent arisings, their existence is utterly dependent on other phenomena such as their causes, their parts and the minds that apprehend them (Gyatso 2000, p.5). Thus the view of the self as concrete and independent is said to be a misinterpretation. The self is considered instead to be in a state of dynamic flux, arising from moment to moment, interdependent with people and the environment (Watson 1998, p. 70).
Failure to realise this is, in the Buddhist view, the cause of all our unhappiness and suffering (Gyatso 2000, p.5). The strong sense of the separation of self and other leads to a sense of 'I' and 'mine', and craving arises, the need to acquire objects for 'myself'. In craving, one is said to project desirable qualities onto the object, and relate to the object as if it really possessed those qualities. The object is seen as intrinsically good and a source of happiness in itself. Inevitably, however, what one is chasing only gives fleeting happiness at best, and rarely leads to long-term satisfaction (Gyatso 2000). The true source of either happiness or unhappiness is considered to be the mind (Ekman et. al. 2005). Buddhism then, is concerned with understanding mental states, those which are beneficial for self and others, and those which are detrimental.
There is some scientific backing for the Buddhist view that craving does not lead to long-term happiness. It has been shown that activity of the neurotransmitter dopamine in a part of the brain called the nucleus accumbens is common to states of craving, including addictions. Ekman et. al. (2005) note that although activation of this system is highly reinforcing, leading to the recurrence of the behaviours, it is not associated with pleasure in the long run.
The achievement of enduring peace and well-being in the Buddhist sense requires personal development, based on ethical behaviour and meditation. Buddhist meditation can be broadly divided into two main types, Shamatha (calm abiding) meditation, to calm the mind and develop concentration, and Vipashyana or 'Insight' meditation, which involves the analysis of the nature of each moment. According to Kunzig Shamar Rimpoche (n.d.), meditation is the key to unlocking the true nature of the mind. Through sustained practice, one can cultivate positive states such as love, joy and compassion and learn to transform and eventually free oneself from destructive mental states.
Herein lies a major difference in the goals of the two disciplines, for in Western psychology, the majority of methods have been developed specifically to treat psychopathology, with the focus being on understanding hysteria, obsessions, compulsions, anxiety and other mental 'disorders'. In other words, Buddhism focuses on removing the causes of suffering and the cultivation of happiness, compassion and well-being, while the aim of Western psychotherapy has been to reduce the effects of suffering. That said, with the emergence of humanistic and transpersonal psychology in the late 1970s, a more sophisticated understanding of spiritual growth and transpersonal development has begun. This in turn has generated new methods to enhance healing, well-being and positive emotion such as sensitivity training, guided imagery and biofeedback, and has also stimulated great interest in the study and practice of methods from the contemplative traditions, such as meditation and yoga.
The physiological effects of meditation have received more attention from Western scientists that any other dimension of meditative experience (Murphy, Donovan and Taylor 1997). In recent years however, the effects of meditation on psychology and well-being have also been studied. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), for example, uses mindfulness meditation to alleviate suffering associated with physical, psychosomatic and psychiatric disorders. In a comprehensive review and meta-analysis of studies related to MBSR in 2004, Grossman, Niemann, Schmidt and Walach concluded that mindfulness training seems to enhance coping with distress and disability in everyday life, as well as under conditions of serious disorder or stress, and benefits were also found for parameters of physical well-being.
While useful in demonstrating some of the benefits of mindfulness meditation practices in 'ordinary' practitioners, such studies are limited in terms of informing us about the positive states of mind achieved by experienced Buddhist meditators, or the processes involved in gaining control over the mind.
Jonathan C. Smith (1996) has conducted extensive research into meditation (both Transcendental Meditation techniques and Buddhist mindfulness), noting that experienced meditators describe effects such as feeling spiritual, selfless, and joyful (simultaneously loving, thankful, inspired, warm, healed and infinite). This echoes the positive descriptions that exist in the traditional contemplative literature.
Within the cognitive neurosciences, interesting results are emerging which may provide a link between observations of brain activity in Buddhist meditators and positive emotions and well-being. Richard Davidson of the University of Wisconsin has studied the brains of experienced Buddhist meditators, and has found that meditation seems to strengthen connections and functioning in parts of the brain. Unusually high levels of electrical activity were found in an area of the left pre-frontal lobe, which is usually associated with good moods and positive emotions, when the brains of committed Buddhists were scanned. This activity was not just observed during the practice of meditation, but appeared to be a persistent effect. This is consistent with the Buddhist view that through sustained practice, an enduring sense of peace and well-being can be realised.
Owen Flanagan (2003), professor of Philosophy at Duke University in North Carolina commented in the New Scientist that the results were "tantalising". He noted that the prefrontal lobes have long been known to play a major role in foresight, planning and self-control, and they are now known to be crucially involved in emotion, mood and temperament. He considers it highly likely that there is "something about conscientious Buddhist practice that results in happiness".
Further research by Paul Ekman (2005) at the University of California suggests that Buddhists may be able to gain control over a second part of the brain's emotion system, the amygdala. These twin almond shaped structures in the forebrain act as a quick trigger to deal with fear, anxiety and surprise, and may also be involved in other basic emotions such as anger. The action of these structures is relatively automatic and hence extremely difficult to override by conscious rational thought. Although the research is in its early stages, Ekman has found that experienced meditators react more calmly to unpredictable sounds, such as gunshots, than non-meditators, showing far less shock or surprise. It is possible that such research may eventually explain, in neurobiological terms, the propensity for Buddhists to control negative emotions such as fear and anger in terms of changes in the way the brain responds.
These studies are clearly in their early stages and the results are not conclusive. The results should be carefully interpreted to ensure that one does not attempt to explain experience in terms of neural processes alone (e.g. Noe and Thompson, n.d.) and in doing so, fail to take into account the rich and complex experience of spiritual practice. However, the link between brain activity and positive emotion and well-being in Buddhist meditators is worth pursuing, as it may help us develop our understanding of happiness, not just as a state of mind, but as an enduring state of flourishing. Likewise a deeper understanding of the means by which negative emotions can be controlled by Buddhists would have considerable importance for psychology.
If the disciplines of Buddhism and psychology can continue to work together it may be possible to gain a more complete understanding of happiness as well as the processes involved in its long-term achievement.
References
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