Prospective Cohort Study on Vipassana Meditation, Sīla, Yogic Ethics, Ethical Conduct, Psychosocial Well-Being, Stress Biomarkers in South Indian Adults.

Abstract

Abstract: Midlife has a greater potential for psychosocial stress than any other age and therefore a greater potential for stress-related dysregulation. Meditation-based interventions have been well-established for both supporting the well-being of many people, and subsequently reducing their chances of stress-related dysregulation through meditation practice. The ethical foundations of Vipassana meditation have been well-established for hundreds of years based on Sīla (ethical discipline) and yogic philosophy, and provide a comprehensive approach to integrating ethical discipline (as defined by Sīla) with mindfulness and insight [1]. The purpose of this research was to integrate Vipassana meditation with Sīla (the Buddhist ethical code) and yogic ethics on ethical behaviour, mental well-being and measures of stress in middle-aged adults in South India. A prospective cohort research design was incorporated with 300 individuals aged 40–60 engaged from community-based sources within Southern India. The subjects completed a specific structure program on Vipassana meditation with special emphasis on moral

establishment.  Ethical conduct, psychological well-being, mindfulness, emotional regulation, and perceived stress were evaluated through validated surveys at baseline and post-intervention. Physiological stress was measured by measuring salivary cortisol levels. The data was analyzed using paired-samples t-test, correlation analysis, mediation model with bootstrapping and ANCOVA to control potential confounders. The significant positive changes in ethical conduct, psychological well-being, mindfulness, and emotional regulation were accompanied by large decreases in people’s perception of stress and their levels of salivary cortisol (p <0.001). Improvements in ethical behavior were also significantly related to both psychosocial outcomes (e.g., less perceived stress) and lower levels of cortisol. When exploring those relationships through mediation analysis, ethical behavior serves as a partial mediator between meditation and improvements in both perceived stress and psychological health, and decreases in cortisol levels. Vipassana meditation combined with ethical conduct has yielded considerable extensional benefits to adults at midlife, emphasizing that ethical behaviour is an important mediator in all aspects of the meditative health interventions.