Toward a More Ethical Scientific Practice: Meditation-Based Lifestyle Modification (MBLM) as a Potential Starting Point

Abstract

Abstract Can meditation support ethical scientific practice? And how might this work? Considering the contradictory evidence for the impact of commonly practiced mindfulness meditation on moral change currently available, Berryman et al. (2025) suggested that meditation programs should include additional ethical components. We fully agree with this recommendation and add further arguments in favor of it, informed by traditional meditative approaches. Moreover, we argue that ethics-enriched meditation approaches might in general yield stronger effects than meditation without ethics. Preliminary evidence for this view comes from studies that examined Meditation-Based Lifestyle Modification (MBLM), a program that includes an ethics component. MBLM may be used as a potential starting point for exploring the impact of ethical components on scientific practice. However, such ethics-enriched meditation programs could prove beneficial far beyond the scientific community.