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| The return of Bathroom Buddha |
Researchers from Belgium and Taiwan have found that being exposed to Buddhist concepts can lead to increased prosocial behavioral intentions and undermine prejudice towards others.
Buddhism contains a variety of teachings and practices – such as meditation – intended to help individuals develop a more open-minded and compassionate personality. Unlike the three dominant monotheistic religions, it does not draw a sharp line between believers and unbelievers.
In three separate experiments of 355 individuals, the researchers found that being exposed to words related to Buddhism could “automatically activate prosociality and tolerance, in particular among people with socio-cognitive open-mindedness.”
The study adds to a growing body of research about priming, a phenomenon in which merely being exposed to certain words or concepts changes the way people think or behave. It was published in the April issue of the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
The article goes on to suggest that Westerners simply exposed to words associated with Buddhism like "Dharma" or "Nirvana" resulted in a less negative attitude towards others.
Then there's this:
Westerners with a Christian background also scored higher on measures of prosociality after being exposed to Buddhist concepts. Surprisingly, participants did not score higher on measures of prosociality after being exposed to Christian concepts.
I can't say I find this particularly surprising.
I was exposed to Buddhist concepts as a young boy, and they had a dramatic impact on how I saw the world. Ultimately I think it had a hand in making me a better person.
It kind of makes one wonder how different the world might be if Buddhism and Taoism were the two most prominent religions.
All three religions that come from the Middle East are war religions, and religions that suppress women. Kind of interesting perspective, once one thinks about this...
ReplyDeleteI guess the TeaPukers are well aware of the peaceful influence that Buddhism has on people - that is why they are fighting tooth and nail to have Yoga as well as Meditation taken out of schools.
Yoga, as practiced in the United States, has zero religion in it.
Delete@5:36. That may be true in many cases, but the evangelicals can't, and won't do any homework on the derivation of any other belief system or practice.
DeleteJesus=good
Yoga= ain't from the bible=bad
Everything else= bad
Logic, cricitical thinking, rational arguments, all fall on deaf ears, because there is no reasoning with the true believers in Christianity or Islam.
5:36 : I know that. You know that. But the religious zealots do not know that. Google 'yoga & schools', and check the news there...
DeleteIn libraries you cannot challenge a book (first step toward banning) unless you have read it and can cite direct passages that are objectionable under specific guidelines.
DeleteThese baggers trying to ban Yoga should be required to do the same. Take the class. Cite exactly what was said or done that violates or teaches any religion.
Not that that would shut them up.
mlaiuppa, it may not shut them up, but it may just prevent them from hyperventilating...
DeleteThe Abrahamic religions teach that human beings are horrible, flawed, disgusting things that need outside supernatural intervention to make them at all good. Christianity--especially Protestant Christianity--teaches blind obedience to outside authority, and the absolute worst thing a follower can do is to think for themselves. Protestant Christianity teaches that the world and all its creatures are to be used however without thought to the future. Buddhism's focus is seeing the connection between all forms of life, in slowing down and thinking about things before taking action. Buddhism requires making decisions based on individual thought and reflection.
ReplyDeleteThat's a mighty broad statement you've made. By "Protestant Christianity", I'm hoping you mean the Cruz-type fundie version featuring the OT, rather than the mainline, progressive church in which I was brought up (albeit in Canada), which viewed the NT as the one to follow.
DeleteThat's what they refuse to understand, Maple. The moment Christ died, the ripping in half of the veil in the temple proclaimed the termination of the old law.
DeleteMaybe the 'Protestant Christianity' in the US, but not the one I grew up in in Europe...
DeleteMakes perfect sense. "Unlike the three dominant monotheistic religions, it does not draw a sharp line between believers and unbelievers". As opposed to Christianity 'we're the one true religion, if you're not with us, we're against you'
ReplyDeleteWhy the fundies want to make public education a thing of the past. It's not education, it's "brainwashing."
ReplyDeleteWell, if the good Lord gave me a brain, isn't it a sin not to use it?
I lived in Japan from age 9 to 12 and the Japanese people who worked in our home taught me a lot about Shinto and Buddhist beliefs. I am convinced that they influenced my social, religious, and political ideology. I like to think they taught me more about reverence to family than to gods, harmony over conflict, and about treating the earth as if it were our home to keep clean and welcoming to all.
ReplyDeleteI think many people who need or want religion are looking for a spiritual leader, a comforting answer to all the unknown in the world. If I were to be forced to pick, and hopefully it never comes to that, (but you never know in this political climate!), it would be Buddhism. I did study it way back when, and it is the peace and coexistence it teaches that appealed to me.
DeleteWhat a different world it would be if it replaced the "God fearing" religions.
Mildred
Yes, I agree that they're looking for answers and a spiritual leader to provide those answers. From time immemorial, people have been looking for a higher being to solve their problems, but basically, they're looking for an answer to "what happens when I die". They cannot understand that when they leave this earth, only the memories of those who loved them remain. But for most folks, their "ego" cannot perceive of not existing anymore (and by "ego" I mean what makes them unique, not to be confused with anything to do with "outsize ego" etc. Those of us who are non-theists have come to the conclusion that there is no afterlife; whether we are buried or cremated, our bodies return to the earth to nourish life on our planet. Not believing in a god or gods doesn't affect the way we behave and treat others on this earth.
DeleteI studied with a small Buddhist meditation group here in town for a few years. One of the words that stuck with me was "cherish". Cherish every living thing. It really helped me get through some depression, some feelings of anger, & some general lack of faith in mankind. (I can forgive, but I don't forget)
ReplyDeleteI ended leaving the group because once you leave the basic courses, the religion itself is quite vigorous with ritual & can be complicated at times. (just like any religion I suppose).
I will stick with the basics that I learned & maybe someday I will be ready to go to the next level.
But for now, cherish!
The Buddhist sentiment that has had the most influence upon me, the kid that was birthed into WWII, evacuated to a farm with all of its raising and harvesting livestock is this: "All Beings Love Life, all Beings Fear Pain. Therefore, do not slaughter, do not kill".
DeleteDid this make me a raving damn-all-meat-eaters lunatic? NO! But I am aware of the value of all life and having damn near died in the bombings of that war, I am only too aware of the ease with which innocent lives, whether two or four legged are sacrificed to some dogma or other convenient pretext.
Buddhism's benign philosophy changed my life and even my health: I gave up meat over 20 years ago and it had helped me to deal with all of my pain and anger and tempered how I interact with every one and every thing. I like that they don't come after you for conversion. You have to go on that quest to find the middle way yourself.
ReplyDeleteM
Here's one that'll make conservative heads spin: Buddhism is the TRUE religion of personal responsibility. Because, get this, apparently you don't need a magical sky person to "save" you, only YOU can save you, and in fact, you are ALREADY saved, you just have to realize it.
ReplyDeleteAchieving that self-awareness requires you to remove from yourself all the obstacles that block your soul from this self realization. Things like hate and ignorance, for example. Can't just SAY you love everyone, mean well and eat a cracker on Sunday, you have to really mean it and FEEL it, otherwise you're failing. Such a beautifully, deceptively simple concept...
Developing TRUE empathy, not because some supernatural being is going to pass judgement on you, but because you will simply be unequipped and incapable of entering "heaven" without it.
Most people aren't ready to handle that level of personal responsibility. Infinitely more work than worshiping a pre-packaged god who will give you a free pass if you just hate on some gays or blow up some unbelievers...
I so agree with you, I too was exposed to Buddhism in my early 20's. I was working in construction and part of the finish crew wore jeans, had a fuzzy beard (nicknamed Fuzzy) and no matter how screwed up the bosses were or the clients...he was always smiling, always happy. I would always ask him...how did he do it? His answer was always the same....when you are ready I will tell you. This went on for months and months till I finally told him I was ready. He invited me to his home for dinner and it was easy to see why. His wife and children were just like him...harmony, it was in the air. After dinner and kids in bed they explained Nichiren Shoshu...the chant with beads made famous in that Tina Turner movie. Well...it pretty much was what I already believed. Karma, individual responsibility, the big one THE GOLDEN RULE. Not hard to learn....they believe in human revolution, the power of one to change the world. Think about people in history that had huge impacts...too many to mention, but we all know them. He was my sponsor & I actually went to a huge temple in Philly when a very high up leader was visiting to officially join. Thousands of people chanting "nam myono renge kyo" with the beads in this glorious temple was amazing..I will never forget it. I was really young and practiced for a year or so but life has a way of changing directions, but my beliefs are still the same. I exposed myself to every so called religion I could back then...nothing makes sense to me but this. The Plain Indians said it was the right path to be a true human being and they are right.
DeleteWith very few exceptions I've never met a Xtian that was worth a crap. Buddhists that I've met? All exceptional, kind, moral people.
ReplyDeleteMe too.
DeleteI'm an atheist and I have quite a collection of Buddhist statuary in my home and garden. It throws off a lot of christian acquaintances, but there IS something calming about looking at them, and when I read up on Taoism and Buddhism, it's taught me a lot about thinking before opening my mouth, breath control to calm myself down, and to appreciate each day.
ReplyDeleteMy catholic family and friends find it extremely offensive, but christian statues are mostly about death, suffering etc etc and don't have the same effect on me.
We need to be careful in disseminating these results, otherwise it could be interpreted by the fundies that indoctrination by association is real under all circumstances. Like they say children who spend time around teh gays will turn gay or something. There are a lot of things they don't want their kids exposed to and this study could tell them they are right to keep the kiddies at home, never to be indoctrinated by the evil secularists.
ReplyDelete