Buddhism and Positive Psychology

Abstract

(from the chapter) Buddhist practice has long been shown to contribute to human flourishing (Levine, 2009; Pearsall, 2003), and has deep roots in the Positive Psychology movement (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990; Pearsall, 2003). This chapter addresses some of the psychological processes affected by Buddhist practice, with the aim of gathering increasingly robust evidence for the means by which Buddhist practice benefits psychological and social functioning. It focuses on the positive effects of Buddhist practice in the domains of attending to the present, decreasing attachments to the self, and cultivating calm affect. It covers each of these domains in turn, first through a summary of psychological findings and then through an ethnographic analysis of Buddhist history and practice that elaborates on some of the leads, questions and ambiguities raised by laboratory research. Neurological and clinical psychological research on Buddhism has increasingly shown combining diverse research perspectives allows for an integration of sometimes quite varied results and their relationship to some general benefits of Buddhist practice. Such an approach demonstrates that Buddhism is much more than an isolated exercise in sitting still: it is a complex and nuanced way of life. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved)