Dalai Lama at Center of Scientific Controversy

According to the New York Times, "544 brain researchers have signed a petition urging the society (for Neuroscience) to cancel the lecture" that was scheduled for next month in Washington, DC where the Dalai Lama has been invited to talk with neuroscientists. However, "Dr. Carol Barnes, president of the neuroscience society, says she will not cancel the talk or change the schedule."

Here is an excerpt on the positive aspects of meditation mentioned in the article:

"In the past decade, scientists and journalists have increasingly taken interest in meditation and "mindfulness," a related state of focused inner awareness, topics once left to weekend mystics and religious retreats. The Dalai Lama has been working with a small number of researchers to study how the practice of Buddhist contemplation affects moods and promotes a sense of peace and compassion.

In one widely reported 2003 study, Dr. Richard Davidson of the University of Wisconsin-Madison led a team of researchers that found that 25 employees of a biotechnology company showed increased levels of neural activity in the left anterior temporal region of their brains after taking a course in meditation. The region is active during sensations of happiness and positive emotion, the researchers reported."

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/19/national/19meditate.html

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