Buddhist View of Mind and Emotion

1
Buddhist View of Mind and Emotion

• September 2003
• Gross Lab presentation

2
Scientific Method

• Principles and procedures for the systematic
  pursuit of knowledge involving the recognition
  and formulation of a problem, the collection of
  data through observation and experiment, and the
  formulation and testing of hypotheses. Websters
  Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary
• Does Buddhism include this procedure in its
  inquiry into the nature of the mind and
  consciousness?
• Fundamental spirit of empiricism and skepticism

3
Framework of Buddhist theory and practice Four
Noble Truths

• The truths of suffering
• recognize the nature and full range of suffering
  to which humans are vulnerable
• The source of suffering
• hypothesis that the essential causes of suffering
  are to be found within the mind, specifically in
  terms of cognitive, emotional, and attentional
  imbalances
• The cessation of suffering together with its
  source
• afflictive tendencies can be irreversibly
  dispelled from the mind
• The path leading to that cessation
• detailed procedures for collecting data by
  observing mental processes and experimenting with
  techniques for transforming the mind and
  eliminating its afflictive elements

4
The Buddhist Endeavor

• Primary emphases
• Normal mind is habitually conditioned to states
  of attentional, emotional, and cognitive
  imbalances, but is not intrinsically
  dysfunctional
• Experiential investigation of the mind to
  identify
• Removal of cause of confusion invalid cognitions
  about self-existence
• Facilitate development of long-term beneficial
  qualities
• (i.e., patience, compassion, clarity,
  insight, spontaneity)
• Fundamentally pragmatic orientation
• Ethical conduct
• self-regulation of behavior, thought, and emotion
• Mental concentration
• attention training to dispel imbalances of laxity
  and excitation, and to attain stable, lucid, and
  calm mind
• Wisdom understanding nature of existence
• free the mind of afflictions, obscurations,
  misconceptions

5
Is it possible to observe mental states and
processes with the mind?

• Even with no mental training, we can detect
• Emotional states
• Observe thoughts and images arising in the mind
• Introspectively recognize from moment to moment
  whether our minds are calm or agitated
• Perceive that we are consciously aware of
• objects of consciousness
• the presence of our own consciousness of other
  things

6
Madhyamaka Middle Way View

• Pinnacle of Buddhist philosophy
• Both physical and mental phenomena have no
  independent or permanent ontological status
• Mere localized appearances emerging from a
  network of non-local correlations
• Things exist as dependently related events, not
  as autonomous, inherently existent, localized
  entities

7
Consciousness

• Mind cognizes the mere entity of an object
• 6 types visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory,
  sensory, mental awareness
• Mental factors cognizes features of an object
• 5 omnipresent, 5 determining, 11 virtuous,
• 6 root afflictions, 20 secondary afflictions,
• 4 changeable

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5 Omnipresent

• Feeling (pleasure, pain, neutrality the
  fruitions of previous virtuous and non-virtuous
  actions)
• Discernment
• Intention
• Contact
• Mental engagement

9
Future Prediction

• it is probably safe to say that by 2050
  sufficient knowledge of biological phenomena will
  have wiped out the traditional dualistic
  separations of body/brain, body/mind and
  brain/mind.
• Antonio R. Damasio, (2002) How the brain
  creates the mind. in Scientific American, 12 4-9

10
Meditation and Immune Research Findings

• randomized, controlled study 8-week mindfulness
  meditation stress reduction program applied in a
  work environment with healthy employees
• significant increases in left-sided anterior EEG
  activation, a pattern previously associated with
  positive affect, in the meditators compared with
  the nonmeditators 4 months post-program
• significant increases in antibody titers to
  influenza vaccine among subjects in the
  meditation compared with those in the wait-list
  control group
• magnitude of increase in left-sided activation
  predicted the magnitude of antibody titer rise to
  the vaccine
• Davidson et al. Psychosom Med. 2003
  Jul-Aug65(4)564-70