Blog: Buddha's Brain - 2013-02-13
Buddha's Brain February 13, 2013,
I have added Buddha's Brain, (Hanson/Mendius - New Harbinger Publications, Inc, 2009) to the recommended reading list. The following is my review.
Buddha's Brain is authored by neuropsychologist Rick Hanson and neurologist Richard Mendius. Hanson is also a meditation teacher, and Mendius is also cofounder of Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom. These fellows give a relatively easy to follow sum up of what developments in science have taught us about the function of the brain. They also, through work with Buddhist contemplative practice masters tested for neurological and hormonal/chemical patterns created by decisions of the being, detail how the brain – and thus the body – is affected by thought.
Buddha's Brain provides great food for thought and correlation to those trained in Dianetics and Scientology. The authors' description of science's 2009 understanding of the human brain is remarkably consistent with L. Ron Hubbard's 1950 description of the reactive mind in Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health. They describe the brain as being hardwired for avoiding danger, taking precedence over behavior/action patterns that seek pleasure or reward. They describe how transcendent states attained through contemplative practice – their main frame of reference being Buddhism – erase reactive neuron channels and create new, more analytical, intelligent and rational ones.