Siddhartha’s Brain: Unlocking the Ancient Science of Enlightenment by James Kingsland

 Siddhartha’s Brain: Unlocking the Ancient Science of Enlightenment by James Kingsland


One of the most important, fascinating aspects of this excellent book is that science is always used as reference.

Indeed, Buddhists seem to be much more open to what science finds and some leaders even say they will drop elements of the doctrine which are contradicted by research and new findings that refute them.
The Dalai Lama himself was asked about one of the very important elements in Buddhist thinking, reincarnation:

-          It does not matter, he replied…and then repeated: it does not matter!

This is extraordinary, given that the Dalai Lama is supposed to be a reincarnation and then his successor would be too.
Buddhists are much more open to the world and one does not even have to share their beliefs in order to benefit from meditation, for example.

The advantages of practicing meditation are highlighted in this book and elsewhere, even if Jon Kabat- Zinn is mentioned and at one time a meditation expert that thinks the way the Professor is using and popularizing mindfulness is the wrong one.
Monks that have between ten and thirty thousand hours of meditation have been tested and placed in scanners.

The results have been exceptional and the activities in the brain that were visualized are nothing like the ones in ordinary brains.
Harvard professor Tal Ben-Shahar mentions in his lectures the shotgun test, wherein meditators have been able to perfectly control their brains when a shotgun sound was heard near them, whereas others with practice in the domain, policemen, and Secret Service agents were not able to control muscle movements.

And another aspect in the activity of the brains of those who meditate for thousands of hours is also phenomenal:
Some gamma frequency measurements have been similar to those who have been in near death situations.

Those who have seen the light experienced a close encounter with the “other side” come with a different approach to life.
The case of a journalist and writer who has pancreatic terminal cancer is mentioned and his relaxed attitude.

He speaks without fear of death and he is enchanted with the plum tree which is in blossom and has a love of life that is outstanding.
On the question of God, Buddhists can look at the teachings of the Buddha who is supposed to have both denied and confirmed that there is a God.

-          The issue of trying hard to discover, think of god is not that important, Siddhartha appears to have said
-          It is like being hit by a poisonous arrow and being concerned with who shot it, from what village was he and what kind of wood was used to make the arrow, instead of being preoccupied with getting it out from the body

James Kingsland writes about the world we live in, where people are continuously under pressure, with a flow of information that is never ending.
Mindfulness meditation would help us concentrate better and enjoy moments of doing nothing, which is so hard today.

Men and women, teenagers especially are constantly looking at their phones and feel disabled when they do not engage in many activities at the same time.
And this is taking a toll, with more and more people being diagnosed with ADD…Attention Deficit Disorder.

On the subject of diseases, we have the point of view of the head of a Buddhist monastery, who says that we all have sick minds.
To a great extent he appears to be correct, for we all have a tendency to get paranoid and this comes with evolution.
Being scared of the moving bush and experiencing fight or flight is natural, for it made the difference between survival and death in the past.

Many crucial Buddhist principles are presented and it is captivating to learn how much thinkers could anticipate millennia ago.
The four sublime states look to me as having been confirmed in their power and effectiveness by positive psychology

-          Love and kindness, compassion (for self and others), Sympathetic Joy and Equanimity…metta, karuna, mudita, uppekkha

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