By Terry Reis Kennedy
Why is it that sometimes we are able to avoid expressing violent emotions, though we may feel them? Why are some capable of paying attention to what is occurring around them, while others cannot—even suffering from what is now a recognized as: Attention Deficit Disorder?
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama has said that the mind can be trained to improve anti-social behavior. In 2005 speaking to neuroscientists in the USA, he said, “One area where Buddhist contemplative tradition may have important contribution to make is the practical techniques it has developed for training in compassion. With regard to mental training both in attention and emotional regulation it also becomes crucial to raise the question of whether any specific techniques have time-sensitivity in terms of their effectiveness, so that new methods can be tailored to suit the needs of age, health, and other variable factors.”
In schools both private and public in the US, for instance, it has been discovered that students who practice non-denominational “Silent Sitting” for as little as five minutes per day, become better focused, emotionally grounded, and more receptive to learning.
In schools both private and public in the US, for instance, it has been discovered that students who practice non-denominational “Silent Sitting” for as little as five minutes per day, become better focused, emotionally grounded, and more receptive to learning.
His Holiness added, “A note of caution is called for, however. It is inevitable that when two radically different investigative traditions like Buddhism and neuroscience are brought together in an interdisciplinary dialogue, this will involve problems that are normally attendant to exchanges across boundaries of cultures and disciplines.
Recently a close family member, age nine, began to experience severe anxiety and panic attacks when it was time to go to school. After much investigation into the matter, the condition was determined to be “Separation Disorder”…..the fact of leaving mother and attending school was suddenly overwhelming, whereas previously it was not. My prayers were offered and I had a Tibetan Buddhist Divination done. Good advice, in my view, was given: to coddle the child and assure that this too would pass; a morning sweet could be enjoyed and a brief protection mantra said before leaving the home. My report was treated with amusement and dismissed. Today’s children are almost not allowed to be children. Hugging, reassuring, are often regarded as “babying” and counterproductive to the achievement of the goal: Almighty Success.
Meantime, the Embodiment of Compassion, explained, “… in its traditional context, the term for meditation is bhavana (in Sanskrit) or gom (in Tibetan). The Sanskrit term connotes the idea of cultivation, such as cultivating a particular habit or a way of being, while the Tibetan term gom has the connotation of cultivating familiarity. So, briefly stated, meditation in the traditional Buddhist context refers to a deliberate mental activity that involves cultivating familiarity, be it with a chosen object, a fact, a theme, habit, an outlook, or a way of being.”
We can relate to the nine-year-old. Finding out that life is a school with constant tests and examinations is frightening. But having a quiet time, enjoying a sweet, and realizing that we have support is necessary.
Maybe if the habit of cultivating compassion for all is developed violent emotions will evaporate. Maybe if the subject is interesting enough, the attention will be efficient, not deficient.
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