HOW CHAN CAN BE RELEVANT IN MODERN SOCIETY: A SCIENTIFIC VIEW

Chan is a superior mental training methodology derived from Buddhism and absorbed wisdom of religious practitioners, philosophers, and scholars around Eastern Asia through thousands of years. As the primary way of Chan, meditation has clear effects in bringing practitioners’ mind into a tranquil state and promoting both the mental and the physical health. The effect of Chan is measurable. We propose to establish a Chan science by applying modern experimental sciences to various models that have been used in traditional medicine and philosophical studies. We also give a brief introduction to some online Chan communities and discusses establishing a Chan based e-health community. Through these studies, we believe we will be able to make Chan a beneficial practice to promote human’s life in modern society.