Richard Davidson quotes:

Buddhist monks have known for centuries that meditation can change the mind. Now we are inspired by His Holiness to examine with our technology the precise brain changes that occur with practice... The unique collaboration on meditation is just beginning.

In meditation you experience time slowing down because you can notice more things per discreet moment and you're more open... The word 'meditation' in Sanskrit comes from the word 'familiarization' - as in familiarization with one's own mind.

The Dalai Lama challenged me - he said, 'Why can't you use technological tools to study kindness and compassion?

I wouldn't consider myself a Buddhist or a card-carrying zealot at all. My first commitment is as a scientist to uncover the truth about all this.

Spatial working memory is impaired by stress.

The key to a healthy life is having a healthy mind.

Mindfulness - moment to moment non-judgemental attention and awareness.

Our brain is continuously being shaped - we can take more responsibility for our own brain by cultivating positive influences.

Resilience is the maintenance of high levels of positive affect and well-being in the face of adversity. It is not that resilient individuals never experience negative affect, but rather that the negative affect does not persist.

There are certainly beliefs in traditional Buddhism that conflict with basic principles of scientific understanding, .. We can't make sense of those beliefs in any kind of scientific framework.

I think the messiness and embodied nature of modern life just produces an enhanced signal for our attention.

Happiness and well-being are actually best regarded as skills.

I committed to doing everything I could to put compassion on the scientific map.

Meditation gives you the wherewithal to pause, observe how easily the mind can exaggerate the severity of a setback, and resist getting drawn into the abyss.

Most people still don't think of qualities like happiness as being a skill, that can be enhanced through training.

The best way I can mentor and lead those around me is to embody these qualities myself.

We can change the brain by changing the mind.

We have no idea how the subjective quality of consciousness emerges from the physical stuff of the brain.

We need a different conception of happiness, more enduring and more genuine, not dependent on external circumstances.