In an earlier post Change Your Mind to Change Your Brain ,a book review of Sharon Begleys similar titled book I have touched upon possibility of mutation of brain cells through meditation as talked about by J.Krishnamurti .According to Buddha external life experiences and environment can shape your brain and therefore a meditative mind can alter the brain chemistry .It is very prophetic coming out of experiential observation 2500 years ago.In sharp contrast such a possibility is heretic and outside the portal of scientific methodology to even consider under modern science .Science by definition under the influence of cartesian philosophy is rooted in materialism as guiding principle of humanity.This blogpost attempts to understand the scientific breakthrough achieved in neuroscience in the last two or three decades and examines the postulation of Buddha in the light of new scientific understanding.Buddhist postulation is mainly Dalai Lama`s views to avoid any arbitrary interpretational hazard.
First about the book Change your mind and change your brain.It maps the scientific view of brain in the last hundred years and starts from the prevailing view to most recent cutting edge breakthrough breaking the previous myths on brain structure and its functions.
Prevailing View:A fast breaking Myth
1) We are almost having the same brain after the age of two or three.After that brain cells donot regenerate.Only synapses may regenerate but actual neurons do not regenerate.
2) Brain is structured to function as per its mapped geography.It is known as cortical organisation.The visual cortex does seeing,auditory cortex does hearing,motor cortex does muscular functions and so on.
3)Neurons donot regenerate just the way skin regenerates or liver regenerates.
4)Brain damage cannot be reversed.hence stroke, OCD and other brain related malfunctioning are difficult to treat.
5)There are neural pathways and man is a slave to his neural pathway borne out of habits or DNA and nothing can be done much about it.He is hardwired.
Emerging hypothesis:
1) Brain is not fixed immutable structure governed by birth or DNA.It is subject to evolution in the present lifetime at any age.It is knownas neuroplasticity. Brains capacity to change.
2) It changes very much with the phenonmenon of neurogenesis in which neurons are regenerated in a manner different from cell division(as neurons are not cells) but in its unique way.
3)Cortical reorganisation is very much possible.Brain geography as mapped today is not sacrosanct.Blind man use visual cortex to hear and deaf use auditory cortex to see peripherally.Hearing the lightening and seeing the thunder phenonmenon.
4)Experiments on mice,monkeys.ferrets and birds and human beings all validate in a foolproof manner cortical reorganisation of brain structure and functions.Any area unused in brain finds its alternative use sooner than later.It is known as malleability of brain matter.
5) Stroke patients and OCD patients have benefited on therapy based on neurogenesis and brain malleability.
6) Science accepts that brain influences mind so far.
But is reverse also true? Can mind influence brain? Science is hazy on the subject but neuroscience is actively seized with the possibility and substantial progress is done on that hypothesis.
Buddhism always held out that meditation can alter human behaviour.It however had no scientific backing except the personal experiences of intense meditators or some scientific observation that meditators emit gamma waves which indicate stress free condition.But if brain affect mind surely mind can affect brain in which case a whole exciting new world of possibilities open up.Mankind can volitionally become peace ful,compassionate and less self centred. Recent experiments on meditators who have done more than 10000 hrs of meditation does indicate the possibilty of mind changing brain as indicated by mri imaging,pet imaging etc.As of today OCD patients treated with induced constraint therapy where they mentally resolve to break their habitual pattern without drugs have met with reasonable success.A classic case of mind altering brain.Similar experiments on stroke patients have also met with amazing success.
Implications:A Buddhist Perspective
Human consciousness is not fixed immutable mental state.It is like a river which is ever changing,ever fluctuating.However the course of the river is not entirely DNA driven helpless force.It can be observed and altered in volitionally without compulsion.
If life is a selfless streamof consciousness then this stream can be made pure by excercising choiceless awareness.In this meditation there is absolutely non judgemental observation of thoughts,intentions,behaviour such that there is no self criticising or controlling.Such a state of awareness affects brain behaviour .The quietitude brings about dissolution of cravings and aversions.The old neural pathways undergo a fading phase out and a different form of energy is released.In short mind alters brain behaviour by altering its circuitry.In addition neurogenesis and neuroplasticity ensure a different consciousness which is not only free from pursuit of cravings but is non violent loving,caring and compassionateIt is like cultivating skillsets which inculcate love and compassion by sculpting desired neural pathways .Risking the hazard of trivialising it means happiness can be ordered which is not preposterous as eastern philosophies alwayd held out that happiness is individualistic and lies within.Neuroplasticity defies the deterministic view of genes.As a human I have a choice in how I react that who I am depends on the choices I make and that who I am is therefore my responsibility.
Why is this important:
Science and religion are traditionally viewed as the twain that shall never meet.Nowhere in human history are we closer in the sense that both starting from different end of the bridge are nearing closer at the centre.Science is engaged in providing bulwark of reason to religion without resorting to element of faith.There are two kinds of people in the world.One guided by faith and one skeptical of faith.Now there is nothing wrong in faith except that it can misguide or fail to deliver its noble purpose of alleviating human suffering.On the other hand modern science can strengthen the arguments of religion with its validation process .As faith based religion has divided people and created so much carnage perhaps the new age religion will draw lot of strength from science substituting faith with reason.Then faith will be conviction not a priori but post facto.Indeed science can meet Buddha.The wait is not very far..
(This article is inspired by Sharon Begley`s book Train your mind change your brain)
First about the book Change your mind and change your brain.It maps the scientific view of brain in the last hundred years and starts from the prevailing view to most recent cutting edge breakthrough breaking the previous myths on brain structure and its functions.
Prevailing View:A fast breaking Myth
1) We are almost having the same brain after the age of two or three.After that brain cells donot regenerate.Only synapses may regenerate but actual neurons do not regenerate.
2) Brain is structured to function as per its mapped geography.It is known as cortical organisation.The visual cortex does seeing,auditory cortex does hearing,motor cortex does muscular functions and so on.
3)Neurons donot regenerate just the way skin regenerates or liver regenerates.
4)Brain damage cannot be reversed.hence stroke, OCD and other brain related malfunctioning are difficult to treat.
5)There are neural pathways and man is a slave to his neural pathway borne out of habits or DNA and nothing can be done much about it.He is hardwired.
Emerging hypothesis:
1) Brain is not fixed immutable structure governed by birth or DNA.It is subject to evolution in the present lifetime at any age.It is knownas neuroplasticity. Brains capacity to change.
2) It changes very much with the phenonmenon of neurogenesis in which neurons are regenerated in a manner different from cell division(as neurons are not cells) but in its unique way.
3)Cortical reorganisation is very much possible.Brain geography as mapped today is not sacrosanct.Blind man use visual cortex to hear and deaf use auditory cortex to see peripherally.Hearing the lightening and seeing the thunder phenonmenon.
4)Experiments on mice,monkeys.ferrets and birds and human beings all validate in a foolproof manner cortical reorganisation of brain structure and functions.Any area unused in brain finds its alternative use sooner than later.It is known as malleability of brain matter.
5) Stroke patients and OCD patients have benefited on therapy based on neurogenesis and brain malleability.
6) Science accepts that brain influences mind so far.
But is reverse also true? Can mind influence brain? Science is hazy on the subject but neuroscience is actively seized with the possibility and substantial progress is done on that hypothesis.
Buddhism always held out that meditation can alter human behaviour.It however had no scientific backing except the personal experiences of intense meditators or some scientific observation that meditators emit gamma waves which indicate stress free condition.But if brain affect mind surely mind can affect brain in which case a whole exciting new world of possibilities open up.Mankind can volitionally become peace ful,compassionate and less self centred. Recent experiments on meditators who have done more than 10000 hrs of meditation does indicate the possibilty of mind changing brain as indicated by mri imaging,pet imaging etc.As of today OCD patients treated with induced constraint therapy where they mentally resolve to break their habitual pattern without drugs have met with reasonable success.A classic case of mind altering brain.Similar experiments on stroke patients have also met with amazing success.
Implications:A Buddhist Perspective
Human consciousness is not fixed immutable mental state.It is like a river which is ever changing,ever fluctuating.However the course of the river is not entirely DNA driven helpless force.It can be observed and altered in volitionally without compulsion.
If life is a selfless streamof consciousness then this stream can be made pure by excercising choiceless awareness.In this meditation there is absolutely non judgemental observation of thoughts,intentions,behaviour such that there is no self criticising or controlling.Such a state of awareness affects brain behaviour .The quietitude brings about dissolution of cravings and aversions.The old neural pathways undergo a fading phase out and a different form of energy is released.In short mind alters brain behaviour by altering its circuitry.In addition neurogenesis and neuroplasticity ensure a different consciousness which is not only free from pursuit of cravings but is non violent loving,caring and compassionateIt is like cultivating skillsets which inculcate love and compassion by sculpting desired neural pathways .Risking the hazard of trivialising it means happiness can be ordered which is not preposterous as eastern philosophies alwayd held out that happiness is individualistic and lies within.Neuroplasticity defies the deterministic view of genes.As a human I have a choice in how I react that who I am depends on the choices I make and that who I am is therefore my responsibility.
Why is this important:
Science and religion are traditionally viewed as the twain that shall never meet.Nowhere in human history are we closer in the sense that both starting from different end of the bridge are nearing closer at the centre.Science is engaged in providing bulwark of reason to religion without resorting to element of faith.There are two kinds of people in the world.One guided by faith and one skeptical of faith.Now there is nothing wrong in faith except that it can misguide or fail to deliver its noble purpose of alleviating human suffering.On the other hand modern science can strengthen the arguments of religion with its validation process .As faith based religion has divided people and created so much carnage perhaps the new age religion will draw lot of strength from science substituting faith with reason.Then faith will be conviction not a priori but post facto.Indeed science can meet Buddha.The wait is not very far..
(This article is inspired by Sharon Begley`s book Train your mind change your brain)
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