The Benefits Of Meditation For That 20 Minute Yoga

A couple of weeks ago a few MBSC members met in the ‘New Age’ section at Barnes and Noble for intellectual discussion and spiritual exploration. One of our members, Dashel Nance brought up the name of an extraordinary monk who is considered the best meditator in the world. I asked, “How does one determine what makes someone a good meditator?” This blog is a dual effort between Dashel and myself as an attempt to continue our conversation concerning the Buddhist monk Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche and new scientific evidence supporting meditation and its effects. Thanks to Dashel for bringing this up and getting my curiosity flowing. I hope the rest of you are as fascinated as I was by this topic.

Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche is reputed to be the best meditator and the happiest man in the world. One might ask how this is quantified and measured? In 2002, Rinpoche participated in a study lead by neuroscientist Richard Davidson at the Waisman Laboratory for Brain Imaging and Behavior, located at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Eight monks, each with between ten thousand and fifty thousand hours of meditation experience, were asked to perform a range of different meditation practices. As they meditated, Dr. Davidson and his team used MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) and an EEG (electroencephalogram) to detect the magnetic and electrical output of the brain. When Rinpoche was studied during the EEG, the machine malfunctioned (or so the scientists thought).

 After several trials, they discovered that the electrical output of Rinpoche’s brain was alarmingly high, the largest frequency recorded brainwaves (gamma brainwaves) in history. The results of this study determined that the meditating monks had significant control over their brain activity, manifesting great focus even when imbued with loud surprising noises.

Gamma brainwaves are normally experienced during REM sleep and during visualization. They are associated with intense concentration (being in the zone), high levels of cognitive function and have been reported to evoke feelings of blessings. Benefits of increased gamma activity include being extremely intelligent, compassionate, happy, calm, and at peace. It also includes having increased sensory perception, increased focus, increased processing speed and thus having a good memory, a high IQ and strong self-control (

“In short, the conclusion was that long-term meditation practice can change the structure of the brain, wiring into us a range of positive effects and tendencies, such as enhanced concentration levels, increased contentment and well-being, a greater capacity to cope when faced with challenging circumstances, and an ability to experience feelings of intense compassion that leave us primed to go to the aid of others (The Healing Power of Meditation (2013) by Jon Kabat-Zinn et al).”

Rinpoche is the equivalent of PhD within the system of Tibetan Buddhism. Currently three books are on the market by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche: The Joy of Living: Unlocking the Secret and Science of Happiness and Joyful Wisdom: Embracing Change and Finding Freedom. The Joy of Living is a New York Times bestseller. He also has a book titled Turning Confusion into Clarity: A Guide to the Foundation Practices of Tibetan Buddhism. All of his books are aimed at providing tools for non-Buddhists to enter into a mindfulness and meditation practice.

“What fascinated me most about simultaneously learning about modern science and Buddhist practice was that while the Buddhist approach was able to teach people an introspective or subjective method for realizing their full capacity for happiness, the Western perspective explained in a more objective fashion why and how the teachings worked. By themselves, Buddhism and modern science both provided extraordinary insights into the workings of the human mind. Taken together, they formed a more complete and intelligible whole.” ~from The Joy of Living by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche

Rinpoche is incredibly well spoken and wise to the necessity to synthesize the East with the West, science with religion and rationality with emotion. No wonder many consider him to be the most charismatic Buddhist Master in the Tibetan Tradition and a candidate for the position of the new Dali Lama.

Tibetan Buddhists need a new icon with the Dali Lama’s time on earth reaching its end. The Chinese occupants of Tibet have picked a successor to his Holiness who currently resides in Beijing. This is in stark contrast of the Tibetan masters traditional way of picking the successor to the Dali Lama. Typically they meditate in a group until they attain the location of the reincarnation of a high Lama.

The Dali Lama has said that he no longer is tied to this world and he will not take another body on earth.  What does this mean for the Buddhists of Tibet?  Buddhists do not actively attempt to convert, so to draw in wealthy westerners to bankroll their expansion in the west they need a superstar.

Buddhists best hope at increased relevancy is move to an interfaith model and thus eliminate delineations between the two largest Buddhist sects: the Zen and the Tibetans.

Basically the great question is can Buddhism unite under one banner in their effort to actualize their goal of world peace? If the schools of Buddhism stay ideologically fractured can they ever hope to bring about world peace?

Perhaps the Tibetans should consider Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche as the best possible candidate for the next Dali Lama.