In this first episode of the Buddha Pill Podcast, host Miguel Farias challenges stereotypes about meditation, and explores how its use as a stress-release and wellbeing tool contrasts with how religious traditions understand meditation as a catalyst for profound transformation. While speaking to Buddhist and Hindu meditation teachers, and a neuroscientist, he makes the case for why we need to develop a multidimensional science of meditation.
Miguel Farias is a writer, teacher, and researcher. He holds a doctorate in Experimental Psychology from the University of Oxford, where he has lectured and tutored for the past twenty years. He is the co-author of The Buddha Pill: Can Meditation Change You? and the lead editor of The Oxford Handbook of Meditation. He has written for the BBC and New Scientist.
The Buddha Pill Podcast is produced by the Academic Podcast Agency and Perfect Motion and has been funded by the Templeton World Charity Foundation
This episode features contributions from:
A Hindu monastic and the founder of The Traditional Yoga Association. She also is a Yoga and meditation teacher and the translator of Hindu scriptures.
The Uddhava Gita (2000), translated by Swami Ambikananda. Francis Lincoln Ltd. This text is part of the Bhagavatha Purana and is said to be the final teaching of Krishna.
Vasistha's Yoga (1993), translated by Swami Venkatesananda. New York: SUNY Press. This is a teaching of the Sage Vasishtha to the young Prince Rama who stood before him in a depressed state. It is told by the Sage Valmiki.
A neuroscientist and mindfulness teacher. She holds a PhD from the University of Radboud, Netherlands, and Coventry University, England, and currently is a Research Fellow at the University of Amsterdam.
Buric, I. (2025). Psychoneuroimmunology of Mindfulness: What works, how it works, and for whom?. Brain, Behavior, & Immunity-Health, 46, 101022.
Mind the hype: A critical evaluation and prescriptive agenda for research on mindfulness and meditation. Perspectives on psychological science, 13(1), 36-61. British Journal of Health Psychology - Van Dam, N. T., Van Vugt, M. K., Vago, D. R., Schmalzl, L., Saron, C. D., Olendzki, A., ... & Meyer, D. E. (2018).
A Buddhist priest, lecturer, author, and psychotherapist. He holds a PhD from Keele University, England, and has published widely on Buddhism and Buddhism psychology.
The Feeling Buddha: An introduction to Buddhism. (Macmillan Publishers).
Who loves dies well: On the brink of Buddha’s Pure Land. (Mantra Books).
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