Five types of primordial wisdom: describe the enlightened mind. They include primordial awareness of dharmadhātu, mirror-like awareness, primordial awareness of equality, discriminating primor-dial awareness and the primordial awareness that accomplishes all actions.
Frontal lobes: large areas of the brain located in the frontal parts of the two brain hemispheres; their functioning mediates complex mental processes including planning, decision making, working memory, attention control and monitoring, and coordination of complex movement.
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI): brain imaging method based on metabolic changes in the blood (blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) signal) in response to cognitive demands. This method has very good spatial resolution (in terms of millimetres), but relatively poor timing specificity.
Grey matter of the brain: mainly contains brain cell bodies and receptive branches of neurons.
Hedonistic happiness: derived from pleasure, typically short-lived and bound to particular pleasurable stimuli or circumstances.
Insula: area in the cortex of the brain involved in awareness of emotions and sensations in the body.
Introspection: method of exploring the mind based on observation of our own mental processes.
Mahāyāna: set of Buddhist teachings emphasizing the Bodhisattva ideal which are predominant in Tibet, China, Vietnam and Japan.
Meta-awareness (Pāli: sampajañña; Sanskrit: samprajanya; Tibetan: shizhin): the monitoring element of attention, which checks the quality of focus on the object of meditation and notices distraction.
Metacognitive self-regulatory capacity of the mind (MSRC): a natural propensity of the mind which enables introspective reflective awareness of mental processes and behavior, and is a necessary pre-requisite for effective self-regulation supporting well-being. It consists of interacting systems and processes of metacognition and attention, emotion regulation and conceptual processing.
Mindfulness (Pāli: sati; Sanskrit: smṛti; Tibetan: trenba): in the Buddhist context it is a faculty of the mind which enables the practitioner to sustain attention on the object of meditation; in Buddhism mindfulness is associated with prospective memory – remembering to pay attention to the object of meditation. In secular approaches mindfulness is described more broadly as non-judgmental awareness focused on the present moment.
Mindfulness-based approaches: a group of secular programmes and therapeutic approaches in which mindfulness is the central component; these most notably include mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT). There are other approaches such as dialectic behaviour therapy and acceptance commitment therapy in which mindfulness is a therapeutic element.
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT): an eight-week secular programme combining mindfulness training with elements of cognitive behavioural therapy; MBCT was specifically developed for treatment of recurrent depression.
Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR): an eight-week secular programme developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn which involves a variety of mindfulness practices, education about stress, group discussions about conscious experience and yoga-based practices. The MBSR laid the foundation for other mindfulness-based approaches.
Modes of existential awareness (MEA): overarching, phenomenologically distinct, state shifts in the awareness of self and reality; they are enabled by cumulative changes in the metacognitive, attentional, affective and conceptual aspects of the MSRC modulated by motivational/intentional and contextual factors of meditation practice.
Mood: in comparison to emotions a more general emotional state lasting for days or weeks.
Neural plasticity: describes the modifiability of neural connections, and more broadly brain function and structure, by experience.
Orbitofrontal cortex (OFC): area in the prefrontal cortex of the brain involved in decision making and particularly in reward-related processing imbalance, which may contribute to development of addictions.
Ordinary mind: in the context of Dzogchen one of the three levels of consciousness which includes sensations, perceptions, thoughts, memories and affect we typically experience and can mostly become aware of if we observe the mind. These mental processes enable us to learn new skills, make decisions and function efficiently in everyday life.
Precuneus: a brain structure implicated in conscious experience.
Prefrontal cortex: the most frontal part of frontal lobes of the brain excluding motor cortex of the frontal lobes.
Pristine awareness (Sanskrit: vidyā; Tibetan: rigpa): in Dzogchen it is the most subtle aspect of consciousness; the final goal of Dzogchen practices is to access and experientially recognize this type of consciousness and sustain awareness at this ever-present level of ultimate mental balance.
Self-regulation: the ability to notice and effectively manage thoughts, emotional responses and behavior; typically described as consisting of attention regulation and emotion regulation.
Shamatha (Pāli: samatha, Sanskrit: śamatha or shamatha; Tibetan: shyiné): aspect of Buddhist mind training concerned with cultivation of stability, monitoring and redirecting qualities of attention; sometimes referred to as calm abiding.
Substrate consciousness (Sanskrit:ālayavijñāna; Tibetan: kun gzhi nams shes): the second out of the three layers of consciousness described in the Dzogchen tradition. This layer of consciousness contains more subtle tendencies of behaviour, mental habits and temper which influence the ordinary mind. It contains the roots of mental frameworks which underlie our construed notions of ‘self’ or ‘I’.
Theravāda: considered the oldest school of Buddhism and predominant in Southeast Asia.
Vajrayāna (Tantrayāna): a branch of Buddhism prevalent in Tibet which focuses on practices involving sacred visualizations, mantra recitation and work with energies of the body.
Valence: places an emotion on a scale from positive to negative (pleasant to unpleasant).
Vipassana (Pāli: vipassana; Sanskrit: vipasyana; Tibetan: lhaktong): practices in which the meditator watches as thoughts, perceptions and emotions arise and fade away, and gradually explores the source of mental activity and its characteristics.
Index
absolute bodhicitta 84
adaptive emotion regulation strategies 85–6
addictions 20–1, 23, 168
advanced MEA: fossilization of insight 160; misconceptions of 154; primordial awareness and 150–1, 156–7; research on 155–7; translational challenge 147; see also modes of existential awareness (MEA)
afflictive states 80, 90, 110, 148, 150
alerting attention 64
amygdalae 33, 34, 94, 95, 97
analytical meditations 128
anger 92, 101
anterior cingulate cortex 134
anterior insular cortex 134
antidepressant medication 8
anxiety: dysfunctional MSRC and 20–1; mindfulness-based approaches for 8, 167–8
anxiety disorders 21, 58, 106
attachment, unhealthy 92, 150
attention: blink task 134–5; clarity 40–1; computer games to enhance 10; as core component of mindfulness 53; insight mediators 134–5; limited capacity 30; meditation training 12; non-reactive 68; present moment 52; quality 39–41; stability 40–1; sustained 64; training 64
attention allocation, to self-related processing 135
attention family of meditations 124–5
attention networks 64–7, 166
attitude 53
autonomic nervous system (ANS) arousal 155–6
aversion 100, 150
awakening see morning activities
axons 28
balance see existential balance
Balanced Placement 60
being cognition 19; see also modes of existential awareness (MEA)
blood-oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) signals 29
bodhicitta 84, 111
bodily functioning 13–14
bodily stress pathways 30–1
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brain: after MBSR training 33; amygdalae 33, 34, 94, 95, 97; anterior cingulate cortex 134; anterior insular cortex 134; autonomic nervous system arousal 155–6; axons 28; bodily stress pathways in 30–1; central precuneus 155; dendrites 28; dorsolateral prefrontal cortex 155; flexibility in learning 27–8; gamma activity 115; lucid dreaming and 137–8; meditation novices structure of 95–6; meditation practice and changes in 37–8; posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus (PCC/PCu) regions 96; primordial awareness and 156; secondary somatosensory cortex 134; stress-related hormonal changes in 30–1; telomerase 16; telomeres 96; temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) 94–6; visual working memory 114–16
brain activation: compassion-specific pattern of 94; empathic distress 94; functional changes in 95–7; in insula 94; during mental imagery 114–15; non-dual awareness 155; visual working memory 114–15
breath-focused meditation 32, 39–40, 65
calm abiding (Shamatha) 40–1, 59–61, 97, 123
cancer patients 16
care staff 174–5
Carmody, J. 16
cause and effect, law of 81–2, 92
central precuneus 155
clarity of attention 40–1
Close Placement 59–60
cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) 126
Cognitively-Based Compassion Training (CBCT) 95
Cognitive Psychological Education (CPE) 57
common humanity 87
commuting to/from work: compassion practice 100; mindfulness practice 72, 73; visualization-based meditations 119, 120
compassion: as adaptive emotion regulation strategy 85–6; advanced practice 98; Buddhist perspective on 80–4; degrees of 88; developing 79, 88–93; gradients of 82, 91–2, 112–13; neuroscience on 93–4; non-referential 82; positive emotions and 85–6; pro-social aspect of 84–5; in regular daily activities 99–102; Western scientific perspective 84–8; Western vs. Buddhist conceptions of 88; wisdom applied with 81
compassion-focused therapy (CFT) 79, 86–7, 167
Complete Pacification 60
computer games 10
conceptual processing 12–13
conflict monitoring attention 64
consciousness: layers of 126–7; types of 148–9
contemplative, definition of 4–5
contemplative science: challenges in 177–8; definition of 165; developmental 175–6; in healthcare 173–5; neuroscience research 171–3; psychology 166–7; psychotherapy 167–71; society and 176–7
contemplative traditions 178
contemplative training 12
contingent negative variation (CNV) 65
Continuous Placement 59
controlled imagery 106
death, purifying experience of 113
decentring: cognitive behaviour therapy and 126; cultivation of 70; depression and 17, 20; insight practices 139; long-term meditation 74; MBCT training and 66
deconstructive family of meditations 124–6
default mode network (DMN) activation 135–6
deity visualization meditations 108–10, 112–13, 133
dendrites 28
depression: attention changes 65; decentring and 17, 20; existential well-being to reduce 168; higher sense of existential well-being and 15; MBCT courses for 56; mental imagery in 106; mindfulness-based approaches for 8, 167–8; relapse in 58; treatment for recurrent 53
destabilization of the mind 131
Dharma 91, 107
dharmadhatu, awareness of 149–50, 153, 161
direct perception 151
discriminating awareness 150
dispositional mindfulness 34–6
dissolution of bodily energies 113, 153
distraction/distractor sounds 39, 41, 43, 67, 109
distressed personality 33
dorsolateral prefrontal cortex 155
dream yoga 132–3, 137–8, 143, 152–3, 156
drowsiness during meditation 39, 60
dullness of meditation 60, 91
Dzogchen Analytical Meditation 126
Dzogchen tradition: absolute bodhicitta 84; consciousness 126–7; direct perception 151; existential balance 152; experiential realization 128; mindfulness 63; modes of existential awareness 147; non-conceptual inquiry 132; pristine awareness (rigpa) 5, 17–18, 158, 160–1
eating meditation 42
electroencephalography (EEG) 29–30
emotions: contemplative training 12; developing positive 85; mindfulness disposition and processing of 34
empathic distress 84, 94, 97, 174
empathy 84, 93–4, 97, 174
end of day see evening meditations
energy practices 108
engagement with distracting activities 43
equanimity 79, 83–4, 91, 92
eudaimonic well-being 15
evening meditations 73, 101–2, 120
event-related brain potential (ERP) 30, 66–7
existential awareness 69–70, 98–9
existential balance: definition of 148–52; developing 152–4; long-term perspective on 160–1; neuroscience of 154–7; in regular daily activities 159–60
existential connection 9–10
existential insight see insight practices
existential realization, definition of 5
existential stagnation 21
experiential insight 130–1
experiential realization: compassion and 91–2; existential insight and 128; of MEA 18, 22, 55
fasting 45
fibromyalgia patients 58
Flook, L. 36
focused attention 64, 66–7, 134, 155
focused meditation: developing attention skills 55–6, 134; ERP patterns 32, 39; loving kindness 136; non-dual awareness 155
formal meditation 37, 41, 42
four immeasurables: definition of 80; deity practice 108–9; equanimity 79, 83–4, 91, 92; loving kindness practice 79, 82–3, 86, 89–92; sympathetic joy 80, 84, 91, 92; training in 89–92, 97–8
Four Noble Truths 91
Four Thoughts 91, 107
Frankl, Victor 20, 168
frustration 101
functional MRI (fMRI) 29, 35, 94
gamma activity 115
giving and taking meditation 89, 93, 107, 119; see also Tonglen
health, existential well-being linked to 15–16
higher existential well-being 15
home meditation practice 37
illusory nature of reality 110
illusory nature of self 111–12, 149–50
imagery rescripting 106–7
impermanence of human existence 127–8
implicational meanings 157
informal meditation 2–3, 36–7, 43–4
insight practices: Buddhist approach to 126–31; developing 131–3; dream yoga and 132–3; long-term perspective 143–4; neuroscience research on 133–7; in regular daily activities 141–3; shorter meditation training and 169; Western approach to 124–6
introspection 11–12
intrusive imagery 106
jealousy 92, 101, 150
Kabat-Zinn, Jon 52–3
Labelle, L. E. 16
law of cause and effect 81–2, 92
lineage of practitioners 169–70
long-term meditation 47, 74, 165–6
long-term perspective on meditation: compassion 102; existential balance 160–1; existential insight practice 143–4; on health and well-being 22, 46–7; mindfulness practice 73–4; repeated meditation 47; self-regulation and 21–2; visualization-based 120–1
loving kindness practice 79, 82–3, 86, 89–92, 95–7, 136
lucid dreaming 132–3, 137–8
lunch break, meditation practice at 72, 100
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) 29–30
Mahayana Buddhism 79, 80–1, 147
Mahayana Yogacara Abhidharma 80
Maslow, A. H. 18–19
MBSR see mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR)
MEA see modes of existential awareness (MEA)
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br /> meaning and purpose 16–17
meditation-based techniques, effects of 2
meditation bell sound 41
meditation/meditation practice: adverse effects of 44–6; brain activation 37–8; breath-focused 32; classification of 172; distractor sounds 39; drowsiness during 39; eating meditation 42; emotional qualities developed in 41; focused contemplation 12; goal of 9; increasing working memory capacity 37; long-term impact of 3; neural plasticity changing with 30; psychological research on 166–7; quality of 39–41; quantity of 36–8; teacher training 61–2; techniques 4, 10; tracking of 36; visualizations 54; walking meditation 42
meditation training: of children and adolescents 175–6; complexity of 9; dropout rates 174; long-term view of 177–8; mind-body problem 172–3; in secular context 177–8; visualization-based practices applied in 107
meditative stabilization 60
mental imagery: brain activation in 114–15; in clinical conditions 106; controlled 106; definition of 106; four immeasurables, training in 107; rescripting 106–7 see also deity visualization meditations
Mental Placement 59
mental states 80
meta-awareness: compassion 102; deficiency in MSRC 20; deity visualization 108–9; dullness and distraction 60; existential balance 148–9, 152–3; existential insight 125, 134; mindfulness vs. 53–4; substrate consciousness 128; training in 67; visualization-based meditations 140; in workplace 72
metacognitive self-regulatory capacity of the mind (MSRC): on bodily functioning 13–14; deficiency in 20; definition of 13, 164; insight practices 138–40; research on 31
military personnel 37
mind-body problem 172–3
mind consciousness 148–9
Mindful Attention Training (MAT) 95
mindfulness: in Buddhist context 53, 55–6; core components of 53; definition of 33–4, 52–3, 67–8; developing 56–63; dispositional 34–6; meta-awareness vs. 53; metacognition and 59–61; as modifiable state 34; as neutral
mental faculty 53; in regular daily activities 43, 70–3; schools introducing 1; self-compassion and 88; training in 59–61, 67–9
mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT): in applied contemplative science 167; on attention changes 65; compassion training 79; long-term effects of 58; as object-oriented insight 125–6; recurrent depression treatment 8; training in 56–8
Neuroscience and Psychology of Meditation in Everyday Life Page 27