Mike, You bring up some important points to which I want to respond:
[Mike] Well, I can't speak for others, but this zen practioner finds such articles both interesting and helpful. [Bill!] I can understand that, but interesting and helpful for what? Certainly not for your zen practice. [Mike] Science helps us get down to the 'nuts and bolts' of how and why things are what they are. [Bill!] Science is just another worldview, and it's viewpoint is no more valid than any other worldview. It does help you create concepts of WHY and WHAT things are, but all these are illusions. The 'nuts and bolts' are fantasy (concepts) but very important for science because science focuses on deconstruction. It is based on believing nothing exists as a whole in and of itself, but everything is just a compilation of other things. [Mike] I'm not completely *all* for the jettisoning of the more traditional/arcane side of Zen and meditation (I also like the gongs and incense etc), but an understanding of what physically/mentally happens to us as a result of meditation weakens the grip of the supernatural/esoteric aspects sometimes afforded to Zen/zen. [Bill!] I am for jettisoning ALL the traditional/arcane side of zen, and all the other unnecessary layering that serve only to further obscure Buddha Nature. These unnecessary layers include supernatural/esoteric layers, AND scientific explanations. There is no difference. Layers are layers. Some are just more fashionable at certain times and in certain circles than others. [Mike] If we think, and appreciate, that science has helped us debunk most religious dogma and superstition, then I find it hypocritical to not turn the light of science on zen. [Bill!] Science has merely replaced religious dogma and superstition. You seem to have the idea that science shows us ultimate 'truth' rather than just being another perspective on truth (reality) based on what we perceive to be probabilities. Logic is not truth. Rationality is not truth. Buddha Nature is truth because it is pure experience. [Mike]Or perhaps we'd secretly like to keep zen "cool and mysterious"... ; ) [Bill!] Zen might be thought of as 'cool', but it's certainly not at all mysterious - and you know that as well as I do. ...Bill! ________________________________________ From: "billsm...@hhs1963.org" <billsm...@hhs1963.org> To: Zen_Forum@yahoogroups.com Sent: Sun, 24 October, 2010 10:59:24 Subject: RE: [Zen] Zen and the Brain Ed, You keep posting content such as this. Do you think having a scientific explanation of how zen meditation affects the body is helpful to zen practitioners? …Bill! From: Zen_Forum@yahoogroups.com [mailto:zen_fo...@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of ED Sent: Saturday, October 23, 2010 11:42 AM To: Zen_Forum@yahoogroups.com Subject: [Zen] Zen and the Brain Zen and the Brain >From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Zen and the Brain: Toward an Understanding of Meditation and Consciousness is a book authored by James H. Austin. First published in 1998, the book's aim is to establish links between the neurological workings of the human brain and meditation. For example Austin presents evidence from EEG scans that deep relaxed breathing reduces brain activity. The publishers described their book as a "Comprehensive text on the evidence from neuroscience that helps to clarify which brain mechanisms underlie the subjective states of Zen, and employs Zen to 'illuminate' how the brain works in various states of consciousness". Austin is an MD and has also practiced Zen over many years. Later Austin wrote a follow-up, Zen-Brain Reflections. [edit] See also • Neurotheology • Rational mysticism [edit] References • James H. Austin, Zen and the Brain: Toward an Understanding of Meditation and Consciousness. Reprint edition July 2, 1999. MIT Press. ISBN 0-262-51109-6 • James H. Austin, Zen-Brain Reflections. First edition February 14, 2006. MIT Press. ISBN 0-262-01223-5 [edit] External links • Your Brain on Religion: Mystic visions or brain circuits at work? (Newsweek article on Austin and neurotheology, May 2001) • Interview with the author (James H. Austin, M.D. discusses Zen and the Brain) • Excerpts from the book __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 5558 (20101023) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 5558 (20101023) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 5558 (20101023) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 5558 (20101023) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 5558 (20101023) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com ------------------------------------ Current Book Discussion: any Zen book that you recently have read or are reading! 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