From the new Shambhala Sun magazine: “Taking the Measure of Mind”

Photo: Krakora Studios

"The Buddha," writes Barry Boyce in his editorial from our new magazine, "was a fresh-question-asker, a scientist. He wanted to get to the bottom of suffering, so he kept investigating. This spirit is still alive in the Zen principle of not-knowing, which causes one to keep looking. At Richie Davidson's Center for Investigating Healthy Minds (CIHM) in Madison, Wisconsin, they keep looking. They ask, 'Are we so sure what the human mind is capable of? How far can it go if we train it?'"

In addition to the editorial, Barry wrote the issue's profile of Davidson and the CIHM. It's called "Taking the Measure of Mind," and you can now read its first two sections online. The rest, you'll find in the magazine, along with "Scientific Minds Want to Know," a short piece that shows what questions scientists are asking about meditation, and the surprising results they're finding. Also in the issue: "The New Science of Mind," Jill Suttie's report on the growing field of contemplative science, "Living Proof" — which introduces four people who say meditation has made a huge difference in their lives, a "Mind Science Timeline," and the Dalai Lama's "First Person Science." Browse the March 2012 Shambhala Sun here.

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