please note this is a draft version: 23/2/2010
pdf version

1. INTRODUCTION

Does Buddhism need science? That is to say, does Buddhism need the validation of science? Perhaps not, however, in order to lift the essence of Buddhism out of the cultural setting from which we as practitioners have learnt this science of the mind we call Buddhism, we need to test the claims presented. In this article, I want to explore the possibility that science and Buddhism need each other.

Most would agree I think when I say that calling Buddhism a religion is really a misnomer. For the Buddha himself urged his students not to believe what he taught merely out of respect. Like a philosopher he asked his students to test his claims as a gold smith would test the quality of gold before making a purchase. To put his claims to the blowtorch of empirical inquiry—direct experience. These were not clever tricks employed by a charismatic religious leader. He really did mean it. And it is, therefore, our responsibility as followers of this great philosopher, to do just that: think and investigate these claims for ourselves. It is not as if we have to reinvent the dharma-wheel, however we need to experience it for ourselves. After all, if something is worth believing in—the Four Noble Truths for instance—is it not worthy of critical, objective (in the sense of being free of bias) and rigorous investigation? So, let me ask you the question again: does Buddhism need science?

2. ASKING QUESTIONS

To me the answer is an unequivocal, yes. For if Buddhism is to make a lasting contribution it must engage the predominate paradigm of its time. This is science. No question; no doubt. Science pervades the minds of ordinary people, so much so that marketers now use the term “scientific fact” to sell their products. Science is the religion of the non-religious. Yet, has anyone seen these magical products marketed under the guise of scientism, solve the problems of the world—stress, anxiety or loneliness? In a recent study, for instance, it was shown that the average age of patients being treated for clinical depression for the first time has dropped to the age of 15. The modern world needs something over and above the current pills it is being administered.

Buddhism as it spread from India engaged each new culture at the highest level of discourse. As it comes to the West, it must engage this culture fully—which of course includes the scientific tradition—if it is to find acceptance. For its part, science could play a role in helping the contemplatives to weed out untenable claims and ineffective practices (Wallace, p.146).

Some Buddhists may think: if science were to test the efficacy of Buddhist practice, there is the chance that the teaching of this ancient and refined tradition may be sullied. I say to those people: you are correct. This in fact is possible. However, most scientists—being well read people—already have some understanding of the Buddhadharma. Often their understanding is based on misinformation or even just plain wrong information, and it is for this very reason that it is vitally important that those trained in Buddhist theory and practice engage scientists and do so fully. His Holiness the Dalai Lama has called such people hybrids. These hybrids are people trained in traditional Buddhist theory and practice, and moreover, have gained—to some extent—rigorous training in one or more of the following Western disciplines: science, philosophy or psychology.

While I cannot speak for His Holiness, I can imagine the reason why it is important for these people to be trained in both traditions. It is because the knowledge garnered from meditation is direct, immediate, perceptual and therefore only accessible via first-person inquiry. This knowledge must then be translated into information readily accessible to science. If it is not, it will remain the domain of those trained in the Buddhist tradition, period. For that reason, we need to learn their language, their theories, and their paradigms in order to accurately articulate the phenomenology of meditation. What’s more as Alan Wallace points out:

Tibetan Buddhism’s own Dalai Lama has stated firmly that if science can prove any Buddhist theory to be false, then that belief should be dropped (Wallace, p.147).

His Holiness is not joking. If science was to prove beyond at doubt that a particular doctrine is false, then we must drop that tenet. I, therefore, fully support this call to action. But it does beg the question: false for whom? If science is working off the wrong page, then this ancient and refined tradition could potentially be refuted without proper investigation. Being refuted is one thing; being refuted by simply believing Buddhist theory of mind and its methodologies of first-person inquiry must be wrong by virtue that it is not the same as current science, then setting out to prove just this, strikes me as rather unscientific. However, I did not become a monk simply to belong to a creed. I can say with certainty that in my case at least it was a search for truth—wherever that led. And it is this same spirit of inquiry, which drives science. In that regard in 1963 the physicists Richard Feynman lecturing on the scientific method had the following to say:

Experimenters search most diligently, and with the greatest effort, in exactly those places where it seems most likely that we can prove our theories wrong. In other words we are trying to prove ourselves wrong as quickly as possible, because only in that way can we find progress.

Anyone who has studied and meditated on the deconstructionist methodologies of such Madhyamaka philosophers as Nāgārjuna, Śāntideva or Candrakīrti, will see striking similarities here. Because our dispositional narratives—the stories we tell ourselves, about ourselves—are such that we naturally reify our own existence, we in fact believe our on theories. Through this reification, the bifurcation of subject and object, us and them, ensues. The effect of which is the First Noble Truth—suffering. By applying the Madhyamaka dialectic, the explication of this root cause of dysfunctional states of mind—mental afflictions—can be stripped from our way of engaging the world. We, therefore, must “search most diligently, and with the greatest effort, in exactly those places where it seems most likely that we can prove our theories wrong”. Simply believing there is no inherently existent self will get you nowhere. It is only through critical analysis, which strips away our naive conceptions of ourselves, our tradition, our way of doing things that we can continue to move forward in our project of understanding the human condition.

Science, on the other hand, is a growing body of knowledge with practical applications. Applications such as quantum bits are so advanced that those working in these fields are the only people able to understand them. Yet, it seems to me that the real discovery of this scientific paradigm remains concealed to the very people who discovered them:

The most revealing characteristic of quantum physics is the role of the observer in measurement: it is the act of observation, intimately wrapped up in the point of view of the scientist—his or her beliefs—that determine outcomes such as wave or particle and other physical states. It seems that at the subatomic level, the level that supposedly underlies all physical reality, the mind acts as a potent, cooperative force in the creation of reality as we know it. Subatomic particles, the instruments that detect them, laws concerning their existence and expression, mathematics, and the mind all exist in dependence upon one another (Wallace, p.115).

Scientists, I believe, are yet to fully appreciate the possibilities their discoveries yield. Because mind is inextricably linked to the “role of the observer” and is a “potent, cooperative force in the creation of reality”, perhaps the question should be rephrased to: does science need Buddhism?

3. DOES SCIENCE NEED BUDDHISM?

Although physicists understand the observer plays a role in measurement, still they believe in an underlying reality beyond the mind—for them, there is still something out there. The quantum world—even for these scientists—is fuzzy, difficult to understand and has little direct relevance to the world of people, yet it is still really real. The most important discovery of the quantum world—to use Buddhist parlance—all phenomena are merely dependently arisen, existing in dependence on causes and conditions, parts and an imputing consciousness. This shows that the mind is inextricably linked to the creation of our world. Still, this fact remains somewhat in the domain of those working in the field of quantum physics. While these discoveries have provided the modern world with many benefits—I am writing on one such benefit—science has yet to find a way to integrate these discoveries into our own lives. Science has made the modern world an easier place to live; yet life has not become easier. Clearly, there is something lacking to modernity. Something beyond what is currently known to science.

This, I believe, is where contemplative traditions such as Buddhism can lend a guiding hand. By participating in research projects investigating such phenomena as consciousness, contemplatives can provide information that science does not have access to—albeit from a first-person point of view. That is, contemplatives can provide science with qualitative descriptions of various states of consciousness. Not just what is it like to experience non-referential compassion, but perhaps even non-dual awareness, and the cognition of phenomena as merely dependent-arising. Thus providing science with a motherly push in the right direction and perhaps even providing science with methods for integrating often, abstruse scientific findings, back into the lives of ordinary people.

We need a better understanding of the mind. That goes for those of us who follow a spiritual tradition as well as those with no such interest…[for] a mind made clear by self-knowledge will be better able to understand the message than one immersed in confusion (Wallace, p.164).

Such research has in fact already begun. In the 1960’s doctors from Harvard studied the effects of meditation on metabolism—showing that meditation may decrease the consumption of oxygen by up to 18%. In the 1970’s Jon Kabat-Zinn who has a Ph.D in molecular biology studied the effects of meditation on stress—as a result creating the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program. In the 1970’s and 80’s Professor Herbert Benson—again from Harvard—studied tummo meditation—one tummo practitioner studied was able to reduce his oxygen consumption by up to 64%. Studies of the effects of meditation are not new. What is new is the concept of the hybrid. Someone educated in Buddhist theory and practice directly involved in the research project. Being trained in both traditions these hybrids can act as interpreters. By drawing knowledge of phenomenal structures of consciousness directly from their own mind, they can articulate this directly to scientists, and in their own language. Thus giving science—for the first time—ongoing access to new data and from here—new discoveries.

One such discovery is neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is the ability for the brain to restructure itself from experience. Previously it was believed that neuron connections were fixed in adult humans, degenerating over time. Now we know through study of meditation that the brain can in fact continue to grow even in later life. It is through mind training that enables these neuronal features to reconnect—all this from collaborative projects between meditators and scientists.

Because research has shown we are capable of changing and improving our cognitive capacities. We can, over time, change the way we relate to ourselves in order to reflect something closer to reality—thus becoming healthier people as a result. This ability to change is something that has been recognized by Buddhists for over two millennium—even if it was not under the label neuroplasticity. Yet it is science, which can help us deliver this message to the general community. Not to convert; simply to help. Perhaps then we can begin to recede the trend of 15 year olds being treated for clinical depression.

4. CONCLUSION

For these reasons collaborative projects such as the Shamatha Project are vitally important. It is also why I have begun, in affiliation with the Santa Barbra Institute for Consciousness Studies, a project to establish a similar institute in Australia. The aim of the Australian Institute for Consciousness Studies is to:

1. Establish collaborative research projects between scientists, psychologists, philosophers and contemplatives in order to investigate the nature of consciousness.
2. Establish facilities for people from around the world to learn meditation and engage in short and long term retreats.
3. Establish educational programs, which facilitate integration of the findings from the studies conducted by our research teams.

That is to say, the aim of the institute will be to serve others by way of arranging collaborative research projects, where contemplatives and scientists work together, in a combined effort to understand that which is the producer of human flourishing—the mind. As well as develop contemplative observatories for budding hybrids, allowing these people to refine their meditative skills in conducive and supportive environments. And most importantly to create educational programs whereby techniques for integration of this new information are developed.

Thus, we find ourselves on the cusp of a new era of human flourishing. As knowledge of the human condition is, for the first time, studied from the first, second and third person perspectives. This is something, which science and the world’s great contemplative traditions can only benefit. It is my hope, therefore, that institutions such as Australian Institute for Consciousness Studies and the Santa Barbra Institute will become templates for our future, a place for all people to learn to meditation and be well. I leave you to ponder this wonderful quote from one of the world’s great thinkers—Albert Einstein.

A human being is part of a whole, called by us the Universe, a part limited by space and time. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separate from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few people nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty (Albert Einstein, 1921).

REFERENCES

Wallace, A.B. & Hodel, B., 2008. Embracing Mind: The Common Ground of Science and Spirituality, Shambhala.

Western culture is very familiar with the notion of physical training. However, it is not so familiar with the cultivation of the inner qualities which support a happy life. Given that our mind plays a major role in our experiences, it only makes sense to spend at least some time developing the causes of mental fitness. Why? Because it is through training the mind that we can begin to bring genuine happiness to the world, rather than trying to squeeze it out of the external world. Meditation, therefore, is an integral part of a larger process of becoming healthy.

photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/90664717@N00/

While meditation is both a diagnostic and therapeutic tool used in this endeavor, becoming healthy begins with learning to relax. In classical mindfulness meditation one learns to pay deep attention to the minute processes within the flow of your breath—all the while remaining undistracted by discursive thought. This is the foundation for contemplative practices, where minds such as friendliness, open-mindedness, humor, and integrity are seen as the causes of genuine happiness and developed to their fullest.

The implication of developing these functional states of mind is that discordant minds such as depression, stress, and anger cannot manifest. It is difficult to be cheerful and relaxed, yet stressed, all at the same time. Becoming aware of this fact, we can begin to develop these minds and therefore bring them into our everyday experience.

Meditation can therefore help to overcome our deeply ingrained psychological assumptions, which limits our capacity for change—thus limiting our potential to experience a happy life.

Learn the tools to develop your inner world—learn to meditate.

Hobart Meditation Classes

Beginning from Thursday March 4th, 2010 I will lead meditation classes at the local FPMT centre here in Hobart.We will begin by learning simple breathing meditation which requires no previous experience or affiliation to any particular belief system. These classes are on-going and everyone is welcome to join us. The classes will be broken into small sessions with a little instruction and time for Q&A also.

When: Every Thursday.
Where: 166 Warwick St West Hobart.
Time: 7.00—8.30 pm.

For more on what is meditation see this article

So, how have I been? Dare I say it…same old; same old. Oh wait…actually…I do have some news.

Recently I agreed to join the Journal of Buddhist Ethics (JBE) as a copyeditor. JBE began back in 1994 and in that time has become an example of a well run professional publication in Buddhist studies. This is my first editing type role, and it should provide good experience for the future. It will give insight into how a professional journal runs its publication, and of course valuable information from the writing to publication process. I spent part of yesterday reading their style guide and becoming familiar with the paper I was assigned. The work is very part time, which of course suits me as i am already quite busy. I am looking forward to working with Dan Cozort and co.

Then, this upcoming Easter, I will be traveling to Sydney for retreat with Alan Wallace—the retreat dates are April 2-8, 2010. I am really looking forward to getting away from books, keyboards and thinking, and getting back to some serious meditation practice. Even if it is only for a week, it will be a great week with 9 1/2 hours of meditation per day—it should be a good break. While I do not know if there are any places for the retreat still available, if you are interested there is more information here

During this week-long retreat, B. Alan Wallace will explore in theory and practice a range of methods for developing meditative quiescence, or shamatha. This is an opportunity to gain the skills to take your meditation practice to another level and to reap the benefits of a more concentrated mind.

Lastly, I recently received an invitation to give a keynote presentation at a conference on meditation in Melbourne of this year. Here is last years conference website http://www.meditate09.com.au/

The date of the talk is July 31st 2010. At this stage I do not have any further information. No doubt there will be more to come. I am thinking about writing an essay on dispositional narrative, dysfunction and its relation to mental training for the presentation.

If you cannot see the video because you are reading this in an email, here is the link http://clarkescott.org/aics-introduction-video

Of course the problem with an interview is you only get one chance to get it right! Needless to say, I didn’t. Indeed, there are a number of sentences which do not actually mean anything. My Bad!

I should, however, mention there is a lot of interest in the AICS project—both from in and out of the academy. Most people I talk with get quite excited by the possibility of a project that brings neuroscience, cognitive psychology, philosophy and contemplatives together in order to study the nature, origins and potentials of consciousness. These excited people are not Buddhist—nor meditators. They are scientistic types. People who see science as the last arbiter of truth. They venerate science, and yet they see the benefits that will come from such research. Of course, it is still early days and we have much more work ahead of us..more details as they come.

So, with that said, here is the video:

It is with great pleasure that I welcome the following eminent professionals to our board of directors and advisory board. Each new board member brings a unique skill and focus to AICS. Thus giving the Insitute a wide set of skills and experiences to draw from. You can find more information on each board member including links to their websites here http://australianinstitute.org/board-of-directors/

The new board members are:

Professor Robert Thurman for those who have been in a cave meditating for the past 30 or so years is a Buddhist scholar of the highest order and the father of Hollywood actress Uma Thurman. As a side note—again this is problem not news to most of you—the name Uma is a Tibetan word meaning middle or central—as in the middle way—in Sanskrit the word is madhyama. Prof Thurman comes to us from Columbia university.

Professor Shaun Gallagher is Professor of Philosophy and Cognitive Sciences, and Senior Researcher at the Institute of Simulation and Training, at the University of Central Florida. Shaun attended the Mind and Life conference on attention last year in Dharamsala. I first met Shaun and his wife at this conference. What can I say, I liked them right off the bat. Shaun is not a Buddhist or even a meditator (well, unless he has taken it up over the past 10 months). But is a highly respected westerner philosopher.

Then there is Diego Hangartner. Diego is the Chief Operating Officer and Director of Research Programs for the Mind and Life Institute. He is slated to take over from CEO Adam in the future. His Holiness the Dalai Lama suggested that Diego take over the CEO role once Adam Engle steps down (which may take 20 years!). Diego has been associated with the Mind and Life Institute since the late 1990’s.. After encountering Buddhism, he then spent 11 years in Dharamsala, India, where he first learned Tibetan and then studied for 7 years at the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics.

Then the Ama-la of Mind and Life Roshi Joan Halifax. Roshi Joan is the founder and director of a dharma center in New Mexico called the Upaya Institute. Upaya has some great podcasts from visiting scholar and neuroscienctists such as Richard Davidson. Joan, here is an acomplished dharma teacher, not to mention a medical anthropologist, social activist, and author. She holds a Ph.D. in Medical Anthropology and has been on the faculty of Columbia University, University of Miami School of Medicine, and the New School for Social Research in New York. More than all that she is a very kindhearted person. For instance, when we met (again at the Mind and Life conference) she came up to me during a break and was genuinely interested in my work. Now, being interested in what I do, is not a cause for being a nice person, I could have been a complete boofhead (some would say I am) and she would have been just as interested. I have alot of time for Joan. Too me, it is a clear example of someone having developed loving-kindness.

Then  finally, there is Peter Boord Ph.D. Peter is a neuroscientist and dharma student from Vajrayana Institute in Sydney. He works for Brain Dynamics Center & is the Director of the World Happiness Forum. Peter’s EEG research has included: development and validation of algorithms for EEG analysis. Investigation of EEG spectral changes over the lifespan associated with changes in cerebral metabolic rate (what does that mean? Peter builds his own EEG machine, which, of course is great for AICS). Investigation of the timing (ERP latency) and location (LORETA) of threat stimuli compared to positive and neutral stimuli. Investigation of gamma phase synchrony associated with functional connectivity in temporo-amygdala networks. Investigation of phase-gradients in the EEG. Investigation of gamma phase synchrony changes in schizophrenia. And development of an algorithm for automatic ERP component identification.

I have no idea what all that means. Peter assures me, he does

So, as you can see AICS is progressing steadily. And also in the process of requesting these people to join (there will be more academics joining AICS, particularly from neuroscience, soon) the board, answering their many questions and so on, several very interesting emails—particularly between Diego and myself—took place. Ones that suggest an very intersting future for AICS.

I will end with this from Roshi Joan: “Can specific neuroscientific, cognitive, and affective scientific studies of experienced meditation practitioners serve to make meditation practice seem less “foreign” or esoteric, and therefore more personally approachable?” The answer is yes, and moreover, this question goes to the heart as to why the work of institutions such as the Mind and Life Institute and Santa Barbara Institute are so important. Buddhism and meditation doe not need the validation of science. It is clear to those in the tradition that meditation is effective as a diagnostic, therapeutic and liberative tool. Yet, for some, science yields “real” proof of its utility.

I want to thank Alan for his open and warm approach to the Buddhadharma and for believing in me.

I am delighted to announce affiliation between the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies and the Australian Institute for Consciousness Studies (website coming soon). For those who may be unaware, the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies (SBICS) is an organization established as a nexus for advancing interdisciplinary and cross-cultural understanding that joins scientific knowledge and spiritual practice. It is a non-sectarian organization that reaches out to the scientific and academic communities, a variety of contemplative traditions, and the general public. Most recently SBI completed a study on the Shamantha meditation in collaboration with the University of California’s Center for Mind and Brain and the Fetzer Institute. As a side note the chief scientific investigator on this project was Clifford Saron. I had pizza at Namgyel monastery with Cliff during the Mind and Life conference held in Dharamsala last year. A nice man with a healthy appetite. He ate more pizza than I, and let me tell you—I like pizza.

Anyway, enough of my jibbajabba, here is a copy of the letter of affiliation from B. Alan Wallace.

To whom it may concern,

Clarke Scott is committed to bringing the full vitality of Buddhist theory and practice to the modern world.

It is therefore with pleasure that I acknowledge the affiliation of the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies with the Australian Institute for Consciousness Studies.
In bringing these two institutions together we can further advance the aim of establishing collaborative research projects between contemplatives and scientists around the world.

I fully support the Australian Institute for Consciousness Studies and look forward to working with Clarke and his team as they endeavor to establish research projects and retreat facilities within Australia.

B. Alan Wallace Ph.D
President, Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies

Santa Barbra Institute for Consciousness Studies affiliation letter

The activities of the Australian Institute for Consciousness Studies—AICS—will closely follow the lead of the Santa Barbara Institute and its overall aims. We can get a feel for what this might mean by looking at the following statement from the SBI website:

The Santa Barbara Institute is dedicated to interdisciplinary research and education to advance understanding of the nature and potentials of consciousness. Its comprehensive approach integrates the insights and techniques of contemporary science with those of the world’s classic contemplative and philosophical traditions.

As I have said before: Buddhism is not simply a religious doctrine founded by a long dead ancient culture with little connection to contemporary life. I would claim it is the investigation and articulation of the natural world. I would also suggest that at its core, is not mysticism, but rather empirical data garnered through investigation into such things as the nature of mind and experience. These claims are then evaluated via meditation and just like science these experiments must be repeatable by any individual.

I feel a close collaboration between science and the contemplative traditions, such as Buddhism, could prove beneficial. Buddhism has a long history of investigation into the nature of mind and its various aspects—this is effectively what Buddhist meditation and it’s critical analysis constitutes (The Universe in a Single Atom: His Holiness Dalai Lama P.134).

It is, therefore, my aim and in fact the very purpose of establishing this center to focus on three inter-related fields of endeavor:

1. To establish a collaborative projects between scientists, psychologists, philosophers and contemplatives in order to research the nature of consciousness and experience.
2. To establish facilities for those wishing to learn meditation and or engage in meditation retreats.
3. To establish education which facilitates the understanding of the utility of meditation and its positive affect on individuals and community.

More of what this will actually entail will become available shortly as we flesh out the details and begin building a new website for the Institute.

I want to share with you—the loyal reader—some of the exciting events that have taken place over the past month or two. It all began when I emailed Alan Wallace—a Buddhist teacher and writer with a B.A in Physics and a Ph.D also—to thank him for his wonderful presentation at the Mind and its Potential conference, which some of us monks and nuns attended in the same week as His Holiness Dalai Lama teachings held in Sydney last year. You can hear the panel discussion which included HH Dalai Lama at the ABC radio show All in the Mind here

Eaglehawk Neck-Tasman Peninsula. photo by: noodlesnacks.com

Here is Alan’s reply:

Dear Clarke, Thank you for your kind words of appreciation. I see that you, too, are devoting yourself to bringing the full vitality of the Buddhadharma into the modern world. I believe one of the most important things we can do is establish “contemplative observatories,” where people can spend years in full-time practice, deeply probing the inner resources of the mind. In that regard, you might like to know of the efforts of (name removed for privacy reasons) to create such a retreat center in Tasmania.

While I do not want to go into the details as to what this all entails—this will come later—in order to get a general feel for it; what Alan is proposing—actually he has already begun such a project—is a project which combines first-person and third-person investigation into the nature of consciousness and experience. As you can imagine Alan’s email got me thinking. I started to think more deeply about things such as: what is the best way for me to help others—a university Professor? What am I going to do after my PhD? Am I even capable of doing such things? What is it that I really feel will make the greatest contribution to the West? And so on.

Now, you may think that this is all a little premature? After all I still have two years on my PhD to go. Although this is true, I do think it is worth contemplating this now, as decisions made now, may potentially, take me down a track in which it is difficult to change later. And given that Alan has in effect offered me a job of sorts, I really needed to mull this over now, not later.

For those that may be wondering or even worried about the utility of presenting the ancient teachings of the Buddha in modern contemporary terms, take the time to listen to Alan answering a question on the meaning of emptiness by combining dependent-arising—a concept originally presented by the historical Buddha—and quantum physics here. It is short and pithy and definitely worth a listen.

So, I got in touch with this scientist, which for brevity let us call this person Jo. Jo and I had a short email exchange in which Jo detailed he/her thoughts. And I have a meeting with Jo tomorrow to begin getting into the nuts and bolts of the project. I also emailed my teacher, then spoke with him when I was in Melbourne over Christmas. Suffice to say, I got the go ahead. Thus, below is part of an email I sent to Alan affirming my commitment to the project and my commitment to the long term goal of the overall cause.

Dear Alan,

I am emailing you before my meeting with (name withheld for privacy reasons) on Monday in order to affirm my commitment to a contemplative observatory project, regardless of what happens moving forward. You may also be interested to know that although I was planning on joining a University religious department to teach Buddhist philosophy after my PhD— in fact this was the very purpose of leaving the monastery after 14 years, a decision that did not come easily I might add. As it turns out, I believe becoming a so-called hybrid is a better outcome for it will allow engagement with Western culture, while remaining a monk—something I dearly want to continue—and in a way that is arguably of greater benefit. There are, after all, brighter people than I, already teaching Buddhist philosophy within the academy. I would, therefore, simply be adding to the noise.

Thus, this directional change, I think—and so do my teachers—is a perfect fit. It will allow me to write, engage people by attending conferences/workshops/retreats, actually practice the path full-time and by the combination of all three, make a contribution to modernity—which was the very purpose of leaving the monastery in the first place. So, I want to let you know that by hook or crook I am committed to becoming a full-time contemplative, writing about that experience, helping those wishing to do the same, and establishing the means for such. In that regard, I am thinking about setting up an organization similar to SBI—perhaps in collaboration with SBI or affiliated in some way and for want of a better name calling it the Tasmanian Institute for Consciousness Studies.

Moreover, I believe a retreat center in Tasmania would be the perfect location for a contemplative observatory. Land here is very cheap (and I feel we may need land that is owned by the Institute rather than by any one person—just my opinion). The environment here is very clean, pristine in fact. It is not too hot or too cold in either summer or winter. There are less than 500,000 people on the whole island. And therefore the Institute could easily purchase good, cheap and quiet land—perfect for meditation—which is close enough to the city of Hobart in order to fly in interstate and international people such as scientists and meditators. Tasmania in a lot of ways is unique. There is, perhaps, no other place in the world like it. While not being Tasmanian, I am Australian so perhaps, I am bias. I guess the only down side is its distance from the U.S and Europe. There is also the potential for open group retreats, as many people I believe would want to visit Tasmania as a meditation type holiday. I could also see the retreat land becoming popular among mainland Australians, as Tasmania is a place that many wish to visit.

As a side note, one of my teachers Geshe Loden’s heart son and scribe—a yogi; not a scholar—when hearing of this opportunity told me a story about a nephew of Geshe Loden’s. This nephew is a Rinpoche and apparently of the same continuum as Rahula—the Buddha’s son. This Rinpoche cried when telling the story of how the Chinese burned all the books in his monastery, which was famous for first-hand accounts of meditative experiences. Not just from high lama’s but, first hand accounts of meditative experiences written by ordinary monks. He believes it would be useful to write from a personal point of view just as these monks did. He feels that many Western Buddhists will benefit from detailing the experiences of meditation as it deepens over time and by an ordinary westerner. I’m not so sure I am the right person to do this. We will see what happens.

And just when I thought that life had thrown me enough curve balls—a new project is born.

Below is a video from the Mind and Life Institute. It captures, I believe, the motivation behind and potential benefits of such a project. (if you are reading this is an email, you may need to follow the link here to view the video). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5o6_KB7tDbc

And so, I am hoping to setup such a contemplative observatory here in Tasmania. One in which collaboration between contemplatives, scientists and other academics such as philosophers and psychologists can further our collective understanding of consciousness and the human condition. After all, the ideal of the Bodhisattva—something I take very seriously—is to directly help alleviate the suffering of all beings regardless of creed. And given that UTas has a world class center for cognitive science—the Menzies Research Institute—perhaps such a collaboration is not all a sky-flower. Moreover, I see the establishment of such a center as a place where people from around the world—not just Australians and not just Buddhists—can come to Tasmania to learn meditation and participate in group retreats.

Now, obviously this is a very large undertaking. It is not something, if indeed it is even possible, that will happen over night. And moreover there are no details as yet, just lots of energy.

However, regardless of whether such a center can be established here in Tasmania, in future articles I will outlining the concepts of cognitive neuroscience. How, I believe it can make a contribution to the modern world—including real data from previous studies of the positive affect of meditation.

So, if you are interested please subscribe to the newsletter in order to keep informed when anything new is posted.

UPDATE: I just received an email an Alan Wallace agreeing to the proposed that an Tasmanian center for consciousness be affiliated with the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies. So, now, in principal the Australian Institute for Consciousness Studies has an older sibling.

UPDATE: I have registered a domain for the proposed institute AustralianInstitute.org

Some Useful Link:

Mind and Life Institute
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Buddha said more than two and a half millennia ago: all beings want happiness and wish to avoid suffering. At first glance, this may seem like a simplistic observation, however, a closer examination will reveal an extraordinary implication.

Cremorne Beach, Tasmania.

Everyone has this innate wish, the wish for greater happiness—a flourishing life— it is not a selfish wish, however, we often employee erroneous methods in our endeavors to find happiness. Many people believing that happiness can be found through external conditions such as physical stimuli or financial security, spend their entire lives chasing after money, power and fame, only to be exhausted by their efforts. Buddhism asserts that although external conditions, such as, money or a nice car do play a role in a good life, they are not the real causes of happiness. You don’t need to look too far to find people who are materially well off, yet experience unhappiness, which if left unchecked can lead to depression. It does not follow from this position we should not have material things or work towards providing for our families. Owning a nice car, a big house or having a highly paid career is not the issue. The issue is how we relate to these things. The real source of life’s problems and their resolutions can be found within our mind.

What I find most compelling about the Buddha’s statement is he hints at our fundamental capacity to expand and develop our experiences of happiness. Not the kind of happiness that is generated by forcing yourself to laugh, or the kind of happiness that is sometimes jokingly described as happy happy joy joy. The happiness that is referred to here, is a genuine feeling of joy that naturally arises due to the cultivation of functional states of mind. It is a feeling of contentment with yourself, your life and the things and events that you encounter. It is not a passive experience. It makes you want to embrace life and the people you encounter through it. So his statement, all beings want happiness and want to avoid suffering, is not merely an observation but rather a supremely optimistic statement.

This claim, also hints at our current situation. Like it or not, most people experience unwanted problems. Be they big or small, they are problems nonetheless and they are unwanted. No one wakes up in the morning and thinks, today I hope nothing but problems come my way. In fact the opposite is often the case. We wake up thinking about all the good things that might happen. We plan our day, thinking of the things we need to get done. Yet unexpected problems do arise. We can find ourselves experiencing the tension of a strained relationship, the stress of deadlines, or even the boredom of work. The Buddha points this out as a means of motivating us to begin our journey. Don’t live in denial. Face up to the fact that we do, even if just occasionally, experience these problems but, understand there is something you can do about this situation. You have the power to change your life, no one else can do it for you. In this regard the Buddha once said,

You are your own protector, who else will be this protector?

Actually, this is great news, for you can change your life and it is not that difficult. However, it is a journey, and like all good journeys, it starts with making the decision to go.

To sum up then, the basic framework of the Buddha’s message is. All of us want happiness, yet what happiness we currently experience is fleeting at best. It is possible to experience real and lasting happiness that transcends any experience of happiness or bliss that is generated from external stimuli, and that the methods which enable this can be found within our own mind.

This is where meditation comes in. Meditation is the liberative tool used in the path to Enlightenment. It is both a diagnostic and therapeutic tool in this endeavor. Meditation introduces you to the world of your mind. A world that for many has remained hidden. It brings the world of your mind to the forefront of life, making it work for you rather, than letting it enslave you. Many people are unaware of the potential of their mind or the role it plays in their life, acting out in habitual ways and reacting to events with habitual tendencies. This can, if left unchecked, lead to problems such as stress, anxiety, loneliness or depression. However, it is wrong to think that meditation is for those who suffer from stress or some kind of mental illness. in fact, there is hard-nosed scientific research to show that meditation—even just 15 minutes a day—can help your immune system. Thus, the removal of dysfunctional states of minds, such as anger, jealousy or pride and the development of functional minds such as the minds of loving-kindness, compassion and wisdom constitutes the Enlightenment Project and thus the very purpose of meditation.

Buddhism is not just a religion; it is a pragmatic description of life that details our very existence and shows us methods for eliminating the dissatisfactory nature of much of our everyday experiences. The Buddha showed us the true nature of conditioned existence. And thus It can be said the teachings of the Buddha are a set of mind training instructions that lead anyone who diligently practices these trainings to a flourishing life. Not in the sense of the happiness found through good external conditions or physical stimuli but rather, from the inner conditions of functional states of mind.

photo by: Durai Raj

The Buddhist Path

Beginning over 2500 years ago the Buddhist path is rich in history and has many different methods for training the mind. In fact, the Buddhist canon extends to 84,000 teachings. All of these 84,000 teachings are presented with one aim in mind: to eliminate suffering at its source, so that the conditions that give rise to these dissatisfactory experiences will never return again. The foundational teaching of Buddhism is called The Four Noble Truths:

1. True Suffering
2. True Origin
3. True Cessation
4. True Path
   

(1) that conditioned life bound by karma and delusion is by nature dissatisfactory. (2) That the source of this dissatisfactoriness is a basic belief in a non-existent imaginary – true existence; (4) and that by employing methods (3) one can permanently eliminate the true source of our problems – delusions such as anger, attachment, pride, jealousy and so forth.

The Buddhist path could be summarized as having two main aspects: (1) The removal of dysfunctional states of mind — minds such as anger, attachment and ignorance— (2) and the development of functional minds such as compassion and wisdom. This wisdom is not an ordinary type of wisdom it is a particular kind of knowledge, that is, knowledge recognizing the nature of reality.

You may well ask: why are minds such as anger dysfunctional? Surely at times anger can be useful? Although wishing for happiness the mind of anger, in fact produces an agitated experience. Often when we get angry we lash out either physically or verbally, thinking this will somehow make things better, however, in fact these actions often make the situation worse. For this reason the mind of anger does not function as we intent and is therefore dysfunctional. In contrast to this, the mind of compassion and wisdom are functional because they operate in way that is concordant with our fundamental intentions.

The Purpose of Prayer in Buddhism

Buddhist Prayer and by extension chanting, as chanting is nothing more than rhythmic vocalization of prayer, are guided meditations used to remind us of the internal knowledge that prayer can render. They are also affirmations, by reciting them with heartfelt devotion the spiritual aspirant is reaffirming their commitment, not to some deity or another person, but to the development of ideal inherent in the prayer. For instance, the purpose of this prayer composed by Shantideva in his famous text Engaging in the Bodhisattva Deeds

For as long as space endures. For as long as living beings remain.
May I too remain to eliminate the suffering of the world – Shantideva 7th CE.

is the generation of compassion and the universal responsibility that is a prerequisite to the development of Bodhichitta. Matireya’s Ornament for Clear Realizations defines Bodhichitta as: Bodhichitta means for the sake of others, wishing to achieve complete, perfect enlightenment.

By reciting this prayer the spiritual aspirant is implicitly endorsing compassion and bodhichitta—the mind of enlightenment—and reaffirming their commitment to the development of these minds. All Buddhist art, literature and music has the same intention. Even the folds in a monks robes have symbolic meaning related to the Buddhist path to enlightenment.

So does this mean there is no benefit in praying to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas? No, there is benefit but, if the Buddha is omniscient and has infinite compassion, they, all Buddhas, are already helping us whether we ask for it or not. By praying to these beings for help and inspiration we are opening ourselves to their influence, even more than if we do not pray and, we are also implicitly saying, I think the qualities of the enlightened beings is useful. I would like to have these qualities myself. Therefore I will practice the methods that are the causes of these qualities.