Attention is the ability to select information that is important for present-moment goals while being undistracted by irrelevant information. Working memory is the ability to maintain and use selected information over time. Individuals vary in their capacity to engage attention and working memory which is quite limited and prone to fatigue over time. Two features of this capacity, in addition to its fragile nature are that: 1) An individual’s attention and working memory capacity changes over the lifespan getting better from childhood to adulthood and then degrading with advancing age. 2) Those with more capacity are better able to control their emotions and manage internal and external turbulence better than those with less capacity. 

Is it possible to improve attention and working memory capacity to buffer against normal decline in functioning with advancing age? In our studies investigating mindfulness-training we find that both long-term and intensive practice in a retreat context, provide older adults (mean age= 52 years) with a protective ‘reserve’ in their capacity so that their performance is very similar to that of younger adults with no mindfulness-training. Does improving attention and working memory have broader benefits? That is, how might improving working memory capacity help or interact with the cultivation of virtuous qualities such as patience, nonreactivity, emotional balance, and compassion? We have found that there is a direct relationship between the amount of time in which one engages in mindfulness-exercises and the degree of improvement in working memory capacity. This improvement in capacity then determines the degree of reduction in negative mood over the course of training. These results suggest that improvements in attention and working memory that result from mindfulness-training may not only be useful in and of themselves (e.g., to protect against normal aging), but they may be critical stepping stones for broader benefits such as improving mood. Questions for discussion include: are improvements in attention and memory discussed as part of the meditation training tradition in Tibetan Buddhism. What is the role of memory in contemplative development? Is there evidence in the tradition of elders showing extremely good memory given years of practice? 

• Dialogue 18
  14 sessions
• April 8, 2009
  Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, India
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