DESTRUCTIVE EMOTIONS

The core of this impressive volume is an account of five days in March 2000 at the Dalai Lama's home in Dharamsala, northern India, when he was joined in dialogue by Richard Davidson, Paul Ekman, Mark Greenberg, Owen Flanagan, Matthieu Ricard, Daniel Goleman, Jeanne Tsai, the Venerable Somchai Kusalacitto, Francisco Varela (to whose memory the book is dedicated), Alan Wallace and Thupten Jinpa. The proceedings were videotaped, so Daniel Goleman's narrative is powerfully complemented by direct transcription of the presentations by and the exchanges between the participants. This account is preceded by a description of the remarkable results of research undertaken in May 2001 as a direct outcome of this meeting. An experienced meditator submitted his meditative techniques to 'state of the art' laboratory analysis. "His mental strategies were accompanied by strong, demonstrable shifts in the fMRI signals, [suggesting] that large networks in the brain changed with each distinct mental state he generated." (p 11) This and detailed EEG studies indicated profound and persisting changes in brain function and possibly structure as a result of meditative training. In this first section we also learn something of the background to the Dalai Lama's interest in western science, an interest which underpins his belief in the importance and fruitfulness of dialogue between Buddhist and scientists. The final section of the book provides more details of the research and other initiatives that have sprung from the five days of dialogue. The material is rich, and cannot adequately be summarised here. Careful planning by Daniel Goleman (author of Emotional Intelligence) and co-organiser Alan Wallace ensured that each participant was able to make a semi-formal presentation followed by ample time for free discussion. Although the first presentations from both traditions set a philosophical background, the emphasis throughout, and something the Dalai Lama constantly returned to, was on the practical implications of Buddhism and of science for ameliorating the conditions of human life in the here and now. A distinction that arose early on was between the western view that destructive emotions are those that give rise to harm to self or others, and the Buddhist attitude that destructive emotions are those that disturb mental equilibrium. In the West we focus more on doing; in the East on being. Another significant difference was that Tibetan lacks separate words for thought and emotion, leading to informed discussion about where in the process of perception thought and emotion may enter. Strong cross-fertilisation between the Buddhist and scientific viewpoints around this issue pointed the way to particular future research strategies. Another powerful theme was that of change. To what extent is the brain or the mind plastic? Recent findings that contrary to the accepted view new nerve cells are formed during life, not to mention effective psychological and physiological techniques to alter habitual or even inborn patterns of behaviour, reinforce the scientists' hope that vulnerability to destructive emotions is not immutable. From the Buddhist perspective, "for two millennia or more Buddhist practitioners have been utilising what amounts to an 'inner science,' a systematic method for transforming the inner world to produce a better human being -- more selfless and compassionate, with greater calm and equanimity." (p 205) A related issue, and one that could scarcely have been contemplated in the West until very recently, arises when we distinguish between the brain and the mind. The traditional view is that the brain generates the mind -- that the mind is 'the brain's puppet', as a section heading in the book puts it. The following section is entitled 'when the mind drives the brain', expressing for us the revolutionary idea that mental practices and experiences may alter, sometimes permanently, the configuration and even the structure of the brain. Evidence is accumulating that this takes place, and that includes the remarkable and apparently permanent changes in the functioning and structure of the meditator's brain described in the first section of this book. Significantly, teasing out this relatively theoretical yet paradigm shifting conception was followed by an exciting exchange concerning the practicalities and the content of programmes aimed at enabling both children and adults to gain not only better understanding and control over so-called destructive emotions, but also to foster and enlarge their capacity for positive emotion, in particular compassion. (Earlier, an interchange had revealed that the Tibetan word usually translated as compassion denotes an emotion that is directed not only towards others but also towards oneself, and thus is literally all embracing.) Such educational programmes are already underway and have been evaluated with clear positive results. Thus in one programme children are systematically taught that there is nothing amiss with for example anger as such, but the expression of that anger in violence is wrong. Instead, they are encouraged to become aware of what is happening, to calm themselves using a variety of original techniques, and then to consider alternative ways of expressing their anger. Children as young as seven benefit from this approach. Research into fostering positive emotion is at an earlier stage. These programmes implicitly make temporal distinctions between emotion, mood, and temperament: if emotions can be better handled, then mood will improve, and if mood is generally more positive then temperament itself may alter favourably. Such distinctions conform to the outcome of brain research, and again may be seen as an example of the mind influencing the brain. Two presentations focused on cultural differences in emotional expression. On the one hand, it is clear that facial and bodily expression of emotion is relatively constant throughout humanity, while on the other there are clear cultural differences in the choice and intensity with which emotions may be expressed. Very broadly, western cultures tend to emphasise the positive expression of emotions linked with independence (individuality), whereas eastern cultures value more emotions associated with interdependence (community). Perhaps the Dalai Lama was a little too ready to make little of these cultural distinctions, preferring to stress our common humanity. From the practical point of view understanding the local cultural setting may be crucial to the success or otherwise of any programme of psychological or spiritual (however carefully separated from religious) development. Relatively late on in the discussions the distinction is developed between an emotion itself and the action to which the emotion may or may not give rise. The Dalai Lama and his Tibetan colleagues were somewhat uneasy with the idea that all emotion is basically acceptable but that sometimes the outward expression of an emotion may be undesirable. Once again, this links with the Buddhist understanding that any emotion is undesirable because it disturbs the tranquillity of the mind. However, the Dalai Lama is passionately committed to the amelioration of human suffering, and recognises that attaining nirvana cannot for most of us be on the current agenda. Time and time again he brought the discussion back to practical implications and possibilities, weaving together Buddhist insights and practices with the discoveries of modern science. In response, the scientific participants were energised by the dialogue to consider realistic and ways of deepening and enlarging their own research. For his part, the Dalai Lama admitted once to a 'monkish thought' that others may share: "What does it really matter for me to know which parts of the brain get activated when positive emotion is arise and which parts of the brain when negative emotions arise? It's enough for me that there's some improvement through my own Buddhist practice." The striking new evidence concerning the brain's plasticity shows the importance of such research in enabling us to understand more fully how mental acts can modify the brain. The five-day dialogue which forms the core of this volume was the eighth in a continuing series of meetings between the Dalai Lama and scientists under the auspices of the Mind and Life Institute (www.mindandlife.org). At the end of the book much information is given about the Institute and about previous and forthcoming meetings it is sponsoring. There we learn that unlike so many inspiring gatherings where the impetus fades once the participants return to everyday life, this meeting like the others continues to bear fruit. Anyone who is burdened by pessimism about humanity's current precarious predicament will find strength and encouragement from the positive and compassionate encounter which this book describes.