Cultivating compassion

Meditation has become popular in Western culture, with studies showing benefits like improved cognition, mental health, and increased gray matter. However, little research has examined its social impact. A key spiritual goal of meditation is reducing suffering and fostering compassion, but scientists have only recently started testing whether meditation actually increases compassionate states and behavior.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Meditation practices have grown in popularity throughout Western culture over the past thirty years, in part due to an increasing number of scientific studies documenting many personal benefits resulting from meditation. Studies have shown, for example, that meditation improves cognitive capacities, mental health outcomes, and increases gray matter in the brain. Yet little empirical research has investigated the social impact of meditation. A primary goal of meditation-related practices in their spiritual contexts centers on the elimination of suffering and the development of pro-social capacities such as compassion. Although increases in compassionate mental states and behavior should be a primary outcome of meditation, scientists have only recently begun to examine this claim.