Evan Thompson of the University of British
Columbia has verified the Buddhist belief of anatta, or not-self. Neuroscience
has been interested in Buddhism since the late 1980s, when the Mind and LifeInstitute was created by HH Dalai Lama and a team of scientists. The science
that came out of those first studies gave validation to what monks have known
for years — if you train your mind, you can change your brain. As neuroscience
has begun studying the mind, they have looked to those who have mastered the mind.
While Buddha didn’t teach anatta to lay people,
thinking it might be too confusing, the concept
is centered on the idea that there is no consistent self. The belief
that we are the same one moment to the next, or one year to the next, is a
delusion. Thompson says that “the brain and body is constantly in flux. There
is nothing that corresponds to the sense that there’s an unchanging self.”
[W]hen there is no consistent self, it means
that we don’t have to take everything so personally.
It is useful to look at a video of yourself from
the past, or read something you wrote years ago. Your interests, perspective,
beliefs, attachments, relationships, et al, have all changed in some way.
Anatta doesn’t mean there’s no you; it just means that you are constantly
changing, constantly evolving, and shape-shifting. Why is this important? Why
does it matter if there’s no solid “you” or “me”?
Buddhist teacher Kadam Morten Clausen says
Buddhism is a science of the mind:
Dr. Rick Hanson, author of Hardwiring Happiness
and Buddha’s Brain, argues that when there is no consistent self, it means that
we don’t have to take everything so personally. That is, our internal thoughts
are only thoughts and don’t define us. External events are only external events
and aren’t happening to us personally. Or as Tara Brach says, our thoughts are
“real, but not true.”
There is tremendous liberation in not
identifying ourselves with thoughts, or a set idea of who we are. It is then
that we can grow and change, with the help of neuroplasticity. There is then
hope that we can overcome our vices or bad habits (of mind and body), because
if we aren’t stuck with the self-limiting beliefs inherent with a consistent
self, we may orient ourselves toward becoming more of who we want to be.
The belief that we are the same one moment to
the next, or one year to the next, is a delusion.
As science and Eastern thought continue to hang
out with each other, there may be more 21st Century studies to back up
2,600-year-old thoughts. But, as HH Dalai Lama said, “Suppose that something is
definitely proven through scientific investigation. ... Suppose that that fact
is incompatible with Buddhist theory. There is no doubt that we must accept the
result of the scientific research.”
Hearing a pro-science stance from a religious
leader is a relief to many. In the end it seems Buddhism and neuroscience have
similar goals: What is this thing we call the mind, and how can we use it to
make ourselves a little less miserable and a little happier? Maybe even just 10
percent happier, as Dan Harris wrote. If there is no consistent self, it is at
least my intention that my ever-changing self be equanimous and, well, 10
percent happier. No matter who I am.
--
Lori Chandler is a writer and comedian living in
Brooklyn, NY, which is the most unoriginal sentence she has ever written. You
can look at her silly drawings on Tumblr, Rad Drawings, or read her silly
tweets @LilBoodleChild. Enough about her, she says: how are you?
PHOTO CREDIT: Chris McGrath/Getty Images
Source: bigthink.com