Release date: Oct. 21, 2005
Contact: Beverly Cox Clark at 404-712-8780 or beverly.clark@emory.edu

Emory Scholars Study Tibetan Meditation

His Holiness the Dalai Lama has been at the center of a recent controversy over the study of the powerful tradition of Tibetan meditation, and the scientific validity of claims that it can improve brain function and health. At Emory University, scholars pursuing similar research say that despite the conflicts, the study of meditation may lead to discoveries on how the mind works.

Emory psychiatrist Charles Raison and Geshe Lobsang Negi, a former Tibetan monk and faculty member in religion, have done research on the mind-body connection and health, and they are in the midst of their latest study to see if meditation will reduce depression among college freshman.

Conflicts over other meditation research broke open after the Dalai Lama, the exiled leader of Tibet, was invited to speak next month in Washington at the annual meeting of the international Society for Neuroscience. Nearly 600 brain researchers have signed a petition urging the society to cancel the lecture, because they say the meditation research lacks scientific rigor and objectivity.

Negi says the controversy highlights how religion and science have traditionally operated from different paradigms in their search for truth. However, the Dalai Lama has been an enthusiastic collaborator in research on how the intense meditation practiced by Buddhist monks can train the brain to generate compassion and positive thoughts, and possibly improve health, he says.

"When it comes to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, he makes it very clear that Buddhist tradition is in line with the scientific approach. Both are committed to finding reality through investigation, but use different methods. There is great room and potential for collaboration. By studying the centuries-old practice of Tibetan meditation, very interesting results are just beginning to emerge in how meditation can change the brain and physiology," Negi says.

Negi, who was ordained by the Dalai Lama at age 14, is a graduate of the Drepung Loseling Monastic College in Southern India, a renowned center of study for Buddhism and Tibetan culture. He is chair of the Emory-Tibet Partnership, and director of the Drepung Loseling Institute, the North American branch of the monastery, which became affiliated with Emory University in 1998.

Raison, whose empirical studies look at whether or not meditation can help control depression, says there are "truths and issues on both sides of the controversy." Raison's work, in collaboration with Negi and others at Emory, is aimed at understanding the physiological changes associated with meditative breathing techniques employed in advanced forms of Tibetan Buddhist meditation.

"There tends to be little understanding and trust between the domains of science and religion, which can make it difficult to do science within the gap," Raison says. "It's premature to make big claims on the power of meditation based on preliminary studies. However, the study of advanced Tibetan Buddhist meditation techniques may provide us high grade raw material to work with to get an understanding of how the mind functions."

Emory University is known for its demanding academics, outstanding undergraduate college of arts and sciences, highly ranked professional schools and state-of-the-art research facilities. For nearly two decades Emory has been named one of the country's top 25 national universities by U.S. News & World Report. In addition to its nine schools, the university encompasses The Carter Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Healthcare, the state's largest and most comprehensive health care system.

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