How meditation can improve our health and happiness
A visiting medical doctor and Buddhist monk explains benefits
Barry Kerzin is a Buddhist monk, medical doctor and professor who has straddled East and West for years. He grew up in the US, got his first degree in philosophy from the University of California, Berkeley and his master's from the University of Southern California.
He then moved east, and has lived in Dharamsala, India, for more than 25 years. "I used to tell people I wore two hats - I would first look from the doctor's perspective, and then look from that of a monk or meditator. But now the two have merged," says Kerzin.
Eastern traditions, he says, teach us how to connect with the present moment and become happier, healthier and more balanced. City dwellers in search of fulfilment and meaning in their lives can find a lot in these traditions, he says.
"The phenomenal momentum of Hong Kong life fuels stress and pressure, and the possibility of a burnout is ever-present. It is rare if a person doesn't feel this pressure.
"Citizens are pushed to achieve from the earliest age, at the expense of mental health and emotional well-being," he told a packed house at the Asia Society in Admiralty last week.
Meditation offers a way of connecting with the here and now, as our minds are unstable - "jumping around like a monkey mind" - as we worry about the past, or plan for the future.