Meditation and Gamma Waves
The Irish Medical Times reports that Professor Billy O'Connor, a neuroscientist, is the new Professor of Physiology at the new Graduate Entry Medical School (GEMS) at the University of Limerick. The article about Professor O'Connor reports that "experiments on Tibetan Buddhist monks have shown a correlation between transcendental mental states and gamma waves."
I don't know about "transcendental" mental states, but gamma waves are brain waves associated with perception and consciousness.
Neuroscience tells us the brain is plastic, Professor O'Connor says. It is constantly re-wiring itself. Your brain is a work in progress. "We have a constantly changing brain in a constantly changing world." So meditate away; it's good for your brain.
Finding a Buddhist Teacher
At Shambhala Sun, Karen Maezen Miller has some great advice for finding a teacher. Here are some highlights:
- "Teachers can be charming, entertaining and provocative, but if you choose based on anything other than the vigor and authenticity of their practice, you will surely be misled."
Most of us seek out teachers because we're looking for someone to give us something we think we don't have. Second-rate teachers and charlatans encourage their followers to think that way. My first teacher, the late John Daido Loori, used to tell us he had nothing to give us. But Daido was a walking manifestation of vigorous practice. Daido was a great teacher.
- "Choose a teacher who has time for you and a practice center you can get to, or your spiritual life might be little more than intellectual tourism."
Buddhist Doctrines vs. Dogmas
I cringed a bit when I stumbled onto a religion forum discussing the proposition "Buddhism is compatible with any other religious belief: Why or why not?" However, most of the responses are well informed, I thought. I especially liked this response (and the LOLcat signature line).
Several of the commenters emphasize the role of dogma in the Abrahamic religions and observe that Buddhism generally is "softer" about doctrines, letting people come to their own understanding of many issues. This is generally true, but I think it's important to remind ourselves why it is true.
Of Gods and, Well, Other Gods
People standing outside Buddhism and looking in often comment that for an allegedly nontheistic religion it has a lot of gods. Which I suppose is true, but Buddhist "gods" aren't gods as most Westerners understand the word.
There's a book review in the Sri Lanka Sunday Times that discusses the distinction from a Theravadin perspective. The book is Gods in Buddhism - Origin, Function and Relevance by Professor M.M.J. Marasinghe. The most important point, I think, comes at the very end of the review. In most religions and cultures, "gods" are beings with special powers and abilities who can help or harm humans. Much of the function of religion amounts to pleasing or appeasing these beings in order to receive favor and blessings from them.
Syncretization Has Its Limits
Earlier this week I wrote about a great post at the blog Enlightenment Ward, making the point that Buddhism is not psychology. I want to look at another point in the post today, about mixing Buddhism with other religions. NellaLou writes,
Buddhism is a side-dish to one's main religious practice. There are a growing number of voices that insist Buddhism should be "compatible" with other religions. Although this has been historically apparent for quite a long time in the philosophical practices of say the Theosophists and other spiritual adventurers at the turn of the 20th century. The idea seems to be that Buddhism should not replace one's original religion or ideology but augment it in some way. Why?
Many people are walking a mixed Buddhist-Christian or Buddhist-Jewish path, as a personal choice, and that's fine. But the truth is you can only do that if you pour Buddhism, or the other religion, or both, through a number of filters first. Pure and undiluted Buddhism doesn't mix with God-based faiths all that easily.
Boston Boy Is the New Gyalwa Lorepa Lama
An 11-year-old Boston schoolboy, Jigme Wangchuk, was enthroned today as His Holiness the Second Gyalwa Lorepa Lama of the Drukpa lineage. As near as I can tell, this enthronement took place at the Druk Thupten Sangag Choling Monastery in Darjeeling, India, but I'm not going to swear to it. I'm having a terrible time getting clear information.
The first Gyalwa Lorepa, 1187-1250, was an accomplished master of yoga who spent many years meditating. According to some accounts, Drukpa is part of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. The head of the Drukpas, or at least some of them, is the Twelfth Gyalwang Drukpa, who has a pretty cool website. There is another branch of Drukpa that is headed by the King of Bhutan.
Jigme Wangchuk's parents moved from Dharamsala to the United States 20 years ago. In 2007 the family visited Kagyu Nalanda Monastery in southern India, when little Jigme fell into a trance and began recounting his life as the first Gyalwa Lorepa. And the rest is history. Mr. and Mrs. Wangchuk have sold their Boston restaurant business and moved with Jigme's sister to Darjeeling to be near their son. And that's all I know.
The Buddhist Middle Way: No Extremes
Through the ages many Buddhist teachers have thought up new and improved ways to realize dharma. Some of these ways were passed on, becoming new traditions that helped many people. So I don't want to put down a new approach just because it's new.
On the other hand, when someone is advertising a "fast track" approach to spirituality, a skepticism filter is warranted. And if they are advertising a "radical, rock-star, make-it-happen-now kind of spiritual path," slap a hand on your wallet and move on.
On the third hand, when they've got Brigadoon on their list of films that enable fast-track spirituality, one might assume they not scam artists; just a tad ditzy.
Buddhism Is Not Psychology
A post by NellaLou at the blog Enlightenment Ward has an imposing title -- "FLM: Dr. Feel-good and the Medicalization of Buddhism (with bonus book review of How to Become a Buddha in 5 Weeks-ouch)." But it's a serious, insightful piece that is well worth reading.
Buddhism, says Nellalou, "is being dismantled whole-sale to serve the powerful purposes of the medical-psychiatric establishment. " There is Buddhism in the West that hasn't been dismantled yet, but I agree that's a real danger.
Facing What Frightens Us
Halloween is a celebration of scary things. Halloween is a time for making benign things appear frightening -- making a jack-o'-lantern out of a pumpkin; dressing up as zombies and mummies. It's all for fun because we know the zombies and mummies are children and the glowing, scowling face is a big squash with a candle in it.
Buddhism teaches us that the things that really frighten us are just apparitions, also; not "real." But when the apparition is a life-threatening illness or financial ruin, it's hard to realize that.
Gandhi, King, and ... Ikeda?
I hope not to offend the SGI members who come here, but this is just odd. There's a traveling exhibition titled "Gandhi, King, Ikeda: A Legacy of Building Peace" currently parked at a high school in Ontario. The exhibition focuses on Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Daisaku Ikeda to show how to work toward world peace. It's been traveling around for about a year, I take it, but I just stumbled into it today.
If you're struggling to place Daisaku Ikeda: He is the president of Soka Gakkai International (SGI), a lay Nichiren Buddhist organization. I'm sure he's a nice fella, and I'm aware that he has directed SGI into doing a lot of good work. But does he belong in the same league with Gandhi and King? I'd like to give SGI members a chance to explain why he does. Maybe there's something I'm overlooking.