May 26, 2021

On Vesak Day, Buddhists around the world mark this special occasion by offering flowers and joss sticks at temples and candlelight processions. Devotees also participate in “Bathing the Buddha”, a ceremony that consists of pouring blessed water over the image of the infant prince. Buddhism is Singapore’s largest religion, and these festivities are observed every year by Buddhists in Singapore to commemorate the birth, enlightenment, and death of Gautama Buddha.

As part of their efforts towards liberation and Nirvana, Buddhists practice meditation. Interestingly, these meditation techniques vary across the different traditions observed in Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana Buddhism. During March and April 2021, Associate Professor Maria Kozhevnikov (NUS Psychology and Communications and New Media) organized Enhanced Cognition, the first scientific conference on Vajrayana Practices. The event, supported by the Ministry of Education’s Academic Research Fund, examined the effects of Vajrayana meditation practice on improving human cognition and creativity and turn scientific attention towards Vajrayana practices. The conference attracted attention from academics all over the world and featured 13 distinguished speakers and experts.

In a recent related publication, “Vajrayana Practices: Towards Scientific Conceptualization of Meditation” (Enhanced Cognition, 2021), A/P Kozhevnikov points out that relative to the meditation practices of other Buddhist traditions, little scientific attention and understanding has been afforded towards Vajrayana practices. A/P Kozhevnikov sheds light on Vajrayana practices and justifies stronger scientific consideration of this particular Buddhist tradition.

While meditation practices in Theravada and Mahayana traditions focus on calming the mind and enhancing relaxation, those in the Vajrayana tradition, which were developed in India and its neighbors focus on enhancing the wakefulness of the mind. A/P Kozhevnikov notes that meditation is seen as a relaxation response that is identified by an increase in alertness and activity in the parasympathetic nervous system. The increased activity in this nervous system results in decreased respiratory rate and blood pressure.

In providing a scientific conceptualization of meditation practices, A/P Kozhevnikov investigates whether Vajrayana practices, in particular, can be described as an arousal response. In the course of her research, A/P Kozhevnikov compares the effects of Vajrayana practices relative to those of the other Buddhist traditions by measuring the heart rate variability — the variance in time between the beats of an individual’s heart — of the participants. A/P Kozhevnikov explains that Vajrayana meditative practices are associated with a state of arousal and a marked improvement in performing cognitive tasks, emphasizing that they boost cognitive states.

A/P Kozhevnikov, in finding commonality across meditative practices of the different Buddhist traditions, characterizes meditation as a technique aimed at improving control over an individual’s autonomic system, which regulates involuntary body functions. The traditions, however, differ in the channels they use and their desired result. Ultimately, A/P Kozhevnikov demonstrates that it is indeed possible to enhance cognitive processes through meditative practices and sought to shift scientific attention, particularly to Vajrayana meditative practices.

Access the Enhanced Cognition conference website here. 

Read ‘Enhancing Human Cognition Through Vajrayana Practices’ here.