IN CASE more than 20 centuries of gruelling spiritual journeys towards harmony and balance have not persuaded you, scientists have now proved that Buddhist meditation relieves stress.

Researchers at Wisconsin University monitored the brain activity of 25 randomly chosen individuals and concluded that Buddhist meditation causes a significant reduction in anxiety and correspondingly increased levels of positive emotions.

Members of the group, who meditated for 14 hours over an eight-week period, exhibited a dramatic increase in levels of activity in the prefrontal cortex, the region of the brain that is most commonly associated with well-being and happiness.

The only problem now is to resolve which form of meditation is the most successful in combating what has been labelled Britain’s “stress epidemic”. Nine out of ten workers claim to suffer from stress and almost a million people claim incapacity benefit for mental strain.

While transcendental meditation has been shown to lower blood pressure, “mindfulness training” is reported to decrease symptoms in those with confirmed psychiatric diagnoses.

According to the Tibetan spiritual teacher, the Venerable Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche, it is specifically Buddhist meditation that yields the most positive results. Other forms of meditation, such as the form practised in yoga where yogis attempt simply to clear their minds, were less effective.

“Buddhist meditation is different from other forms of meditation because it attempts to rid the mind of what we call the five poisons — desire, attachment to material things, pride, jealousy and anger,” he said.

“Other forms of meditation say that in time you will find inner peace but do not treat the root cause of unhappiness, and the same can be said for various other forms of so-called stress-busting. Even karate or swimming require the mind to be active, so there is no fundamental change occurring.”

The Venerable Lama, who has a large following in Britain, including bankers, lawyers and government officials, accused the British of being too negative.

“Physically a lot of people have become incapable of enjoying their lives because they do nothing but sit in front of the television,” he said.

“They have become so focused on their professions, which often require very boring repetitive skills, that they lose motivation for everything. A lot of people in Britain are very negative and are very happy to judge other people and also themselves. They have become paralysed and don’t know how to be positive.

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