Secular Buddhism as a phenomena in the west society: meditation, mind and life

The Buddhist view on personality problem and the nature of human consciousness has a scientific basis as it primarily relates to psychology, state of mind and its transformation during meditation. Speaking about Buddhism as a science of mind the Buddhists primarily imply its psychological aspect based on the current understanding of psychology as a scientific discipline that studies the mental processes and behavior. Nowadays scientific and academic milieu focuses on the Buddhist meditation and their psychotherapeutic effects and practices in everyday life. The most well-known Institute “Mind and Life” was established and organized in the USA under the patronage of the Dalai Lama XIV to study meditation practices and their effect on the brain. The researches show the positive changes in the brain that are very important to be contented and mindful. Buddhist meditation in a broad sense is a set of methods of physical and spiritual self-improvement, a spiritual discipline to control the thoughts and feelings. Buddhist meditation techniques have become increasingly popular in the wider world, with many non-Buddhists taking them up for a variety of reasons. Nowadays the practice of meditation is popular enough amongst the Western lay people and it is usually interpreted as a mindfulness or practice of mindfulness.