A possible reason for unexplained gamma increases in Tibetan Monks

Yesterday I read with interest, Daniel Goleman’s blog post on the unexplained gamma increases in highly trained Tibetan Lamas. This morning I had an idea that might shed some insight into the reason why some meditators, with roughly the same amount of training as others, can have massively different gamma readings.

The idea is based on how these monks engage their object of meditation. Daniel did state that all the participants were meditating on compassion, however his findings assumes that all participants engaged in this meditation on compassion are of the same type of compassion. According to Mahayana Buddhism there is more than one type of compassion.

Candrakirti a 7th CE Buddhist scholar-yogi, abbot of the famous Nalanda monastic university, and author of many famous Buddhist treatises enumerates in his treatise of Madhyamaka philosophy entitled Engaging in the Middle Way (Madhyamakavatara) three types of compassion.

Three Types of Compassion

1. Compassion observing mere sentient beings.
2. Compassion observing impermanent sentient beings.
3. Compassion observing dependently-related sentient beings.

This theory says that all three compassions have as their observed object sentient beings, with a subjective aspect of wishing them to be free from suffering and wanting to protect them from suffering but, their engaged object or conceived object are (1) real sentient beings, in the sense of being substantially existent; (2) Impermanent sentient beings and; (3) Sentient beings that do not inherently exist. Candrakirti states that the three compassions increase in depth, scope and power from the first through to the third. I would add, a meditator who possesses this third type of compassion has fewer dysfunctional states of mind compared with one who only has the first or second type. This perhaps is a way of explaining the different degrees of gamma in the participants. Although a person with the 3rd type of compassion may look simpler in appearance to another monk or Lama, their mind would be far from simpler.

I believe that in order to get to the bottom of this conundrum, scientists need to starting asking questions of meditators. Get them to describe their meditational objects, rather than assume they are all meditating on the same objects. Currently scientists are reluctant to do this or at least reluctant to speak about it in public. Yet, this is the area that will show in my opinion how dualistic thought processes are the root cause of suffering. I believe science can play a role in this endeavor but, only after they get over their fixation with the materialistic notion of consciousness.

If you would like to particpate in a free online Buddhist meditation course you can by going here

The benefits of understanding Buddhist Epistemology and Psychology

Awareness and Knowledge an Introduction

Buddhism asserts the mind is not merely a function of the brain nor is it an emergent property of physical processes. Buddhist epistemology – a branch of philosophy that investigates the origin, nature, methods, and limits of knowledge – defines consciousness as: that which is clear and knowing. Consciousness, knower and awareness are synonymous. Awareness is ‘clear’ as in it is not obstructed by physical phenomena. It is the luminous aspect of mind and the knowing is the minds capacity to know or cognize phenomena – both internal and external phenomena. Therefore it is that which is clear and knowing.

Regardless of your inclination toward either the current Western notion of the nature of consciousness or the Buddhist definition. The project of developing a ‘good life’ or to use Buddhist terminology ‘practicing Dharma’ or ‘the path to Enlightenment’ is contingent upon understanding your own mind. Given that consciousness in the Buddhist tradition has been the primary object of investigation for more than 2500 years, it makes sense to at least understand what Buddhist literature has to say about the subject regardless of whether you are Buddhist or not.

The Buddhist approach to epistemology and psychology is one of enumerating the basic functions of the mind, as opposed to understanding it through brain processes or behavioral manifestations. By understanding how perception, conception and various mental factors such as the mental factor of feeling – one of the Five Omnipresent mental factors - operate and how the mental factor of feeling plays a crucial role in determining how we relate and react to most of life’s events, one can develop a greater understanding of our dependent nature. We, that is, you and I are after all dependent on various factors other than ourselves. My mind is not me, although it is a part of what makes up me. So by developing a deeper understanding of this very fact, we can better understand who we are, and how we exist. To a greater of lesser extent, it is this process that Buddhists are undertaking.

The lineage of Buddhist epistemology comes from two Indian scholars Dignaga 5th CE and Dharmakirti 7th CE. Dignaga wrote a treatise on what constitutes valid cognition, valid ways of knowing, called Compendium of Valid Cognition. While Dharmakirti wrote Seven Treatises on Valid Cognition his treatise called Commentary on (Dignaga’s) Compendium of Valid Cognition is the foundational text for much of Tibetan monastic education of Buddhist logic and epistemology . The study of mental factors or psychology comes from Compendium of Knowledge written by Asanga 3rd CE.

In the Tibetan monastic education system, the study of epistemology and psychology are studied under the topic of Awareness and Knowledge (blo-rig) pronounced Lo-rik. Lo-rik is the study of consciousness, of mind and the understanding of mind is seen as essential in both it’s practical and theoretical aspects, as the process of the enlightenment project is one of replacing dysfunctional mind with functional ones. Therefore the clear identification of dysfunctional states of mind and the recognition of why they are dysfunctional is of vital importance in the progression from an unenlightened experience to an enlightened one. Meditation which is seen as an indispensable tool in a spiritual aspirant life, is used as both a diagnostic and therapeutic tool in this process. The culmination of this process is a state of mind, an experience that is free from all dysfunctional states. According to Buddhism, such a mind has the capacity to know all objects of knowledge without error. Buddhists merely label this experience Enlightenment. Perhaps this is what can explain gamma levels leapt’s of 700 to 800 percent

In Lo-rik, consciousness is studied by dividing it into types and sub-types from several different point of view, such as the seven-fold division of:

1. Direct Perceivers
2. Inferential cognizers
3. Subsequent cognizers
4. Correctly assuming consciousness
5. Inattentive awareness
6. Doubting consciousness
7. Wrong consciousness

The Three-fold division:

1. Conceptual consciousnesses that take a meaning generality as their apprehended object.
2. Non-conceptual non-mistaken consciousnesses that take a specifically characterized phenomenon as their apprehended object.
3. Non-conceptual mistaken consciousnesses that take a clear appearance of a nonexistent as their apprehended object.

The Two-fold division:

1. Self-knowers
2. Other-knowers

Another Two-fold division of:

1. Minds
2. Mental factors

This enables a student to develop a sense of how consciousness exists and manifests, by understanding the various types, their functions and how they interrelate. The study of Lo-rik also plays the role in formulating foundational concepts that a student will use in their future studies of Madhyamaka, as well as the Grounds and Paths found in texts like Maitreya’s Ornament for Clear Realizations.

Awareness and Knowledge – Table of Contents

Happiness and it’s causes

In 2007 His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama was a part of an Australian conference called happiness and it’s causes. It brings together clinical psychologists, psychiatrists and Buddhist practitioners. I think this is a wonderful idea having a conference on the causes of happiness is something that really serves the community as a whole well. Don’t you think?

I’ve just applied for a press pass as I hope to go up to Sydney and report on the goings on. There are a couple of well known Buddhists speaking, and in particular I would like to see these two.

Matthieu Ricard
Shechen Monastery, Nepal
Matthieu Ricard is a Buddhist monk at Shechen Monastery in Kathmandu and French interpreter since 1989 for His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He received his PhD in Cellular Genetics at the Institute Pasteur in France, before forsaking his scientific career to concentrate on Tibetan Buddhist studies. He received the French National Order of Merit for his humanitarian work setting up clinics, schools and orphanages in the Himalayan region. Mr. Ricard’s photographs of the spiritual masters, the landscapes and the people of the Himalayas have appeared internationally in books and magazines. The dialogue with his father, Jean-Francois Revel, The Monk and the Philosopher, was a best seller in Europe, and The Quantum and the Lotus reflects his long-standing interest in science and Buddhism. His new book, Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life’s Most Important Skill, explores the meaning and fulfillment of happiness.

Dr. Alan Wallace
President Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies, USA
Dynamic lecturer, progressive scholar, and one of the most prolific writers and translators of Tibetan Buddhism in the West, B. Alan Wallace, Ph.D., continually seeks innovative ways to integrate Buddhist contemplative practices with Western science to advance the study of the mind. Having devoted fourteen years to training as a Tibetan Buddhist monk, ordained by H. H. the Dalai Lama, Dr. Wallace went on to earn an undergraduate degree in physics and the philosophy of science at Amherst College and a doctorate in religious studies at Stanford. His books include Genuine Happiness: Meditation as the Path to Fulfillment and The Attention Revolution – Unlocking the Power of the Focused Mind.

You can see a full list of speakers for the 2008 conference here.
http://www.happinessanditscauses.com.au/speakerList.stm

I’ve been reading Alan’s book for years and he is particularly interested in the science Buddhist conversation that seems to be getting more and more popular. For me I definitely see the benefit of this conversation as long as we don’t start trying to, as the Dalai Lama says put a Yaks head on a cow’s body. Alan is aware of this potential problem and has started the http://www.sbinstitute.com/ an organization that is not based on one system of thought.

This topic is very close to my heart as we all have a natural and basis aspiration to have more and more happiness. Yet many of us misunderstand the true causes of genuine happiness.

The great 8th Indian saint Shantideva said as much in his classic style of in your face poetry…

Although they do not want suffering, they run to suffering itself.
And although they wish for happiness, they destroy it like an enemy!

Yet, even in the so called modern era we are no closer to understanding his basic fact! There are still people/countries fighting over oil etc etc. The human race is like a dysfunctional family…we ARE The Simpsons.

I have set aside a category for posts just on this wonderful conference, and I will be blogging about it.

New book by Alan Wallace Hidden Dimensions

Just picked up the mail and new the Alan Wallace book Hidden Dimensions: The unification of physics and consciousness arrived from Amazom.com

I’m very much looking forward to reading this, although it’s about third in line!

Amazon.com link below