BuddhismBrain 1

JohannesBronkhorst
johannes.bronkhorst@unil.ch

Buddhism,thebrain,textualscholarshipandpsychology
(paperreadattheCongressoftheInternationalAssociationforthePsychologyofReligion,
Lausanne,27-30August2013)

ThescientificinterestinBuddhistmeditation,mainlyfromthesideofbrainspecialists,
necessarilyconcentratesonthestudyoflivingBuddhistmeditators.1Thismaybe
consideredadisadvantage,becauseitisnotatallself-evidentthatallBuddhistshave
alwaysmeditatedinthesamemannerastheydotoday.Itmayyetbeconsidereda
limitationthathastobeaccepted.Asamatteroffact,RobertSharfhasconvincingly
argued(1995)thatitisfarfromclearhowmanyBuddhistsactuallymeditatedin
historicaltimes,perhapsfarfewerthanisoftensupposed,andthatmuchthesameistrue
evenofthosewhowroteaboutmeditationalstates:itisvirtuallyunheardofinclassical
Buddhistliteraturethatanauthorspeaksabouthisorherownmeditationalexperiences.
Thisimpressionisconfirmedbythelimitedrolethatmeditationplaysinanumberof
contemporaryBuddhisttraditions.AboutTibetanBuddhism,GeorgeDreyfusstates
(2003:168):ButhowmanymonksmeditateinthelargeTibetanscholasticcenters?Not
many,itappearedtome.AndaboutKoreanBuddhist,RobertBuswellobserves(1992:
159):thehwadu[whichcorrespondsmoreorlesstotheJapanesekoan,JB]isnot
intendedtogenerateastateofsamdhi,butastateinwhichboththecalmnessof
samdhiandtheperspicuityofprajaremaintained.Thismayaccountforthe
reasonwhyIknewfewSnmonkstohavetheabilityinthedeepmeditativeabsorptions,
ordhynas(Palijhna),thatIhadencounteredbeforeamongtheforestmonksof
Thailand.AbouttheauthorsoftheMlasarvstivda-vinayaduringtheearlycenturies
oftheCommonEra,GregorySchopen(2000:104[15])writes:Unlikemodernscholars,
thesegoodmonksdidnothavemuchgoodtosayaboutmonkswhodidengagein
asceticism,meditation,anddoctrinallearning.Iftheymentionthematallandtheydo
soinfrequentlyitisalmostalwayswithatoneofmarkedambivalence,ifnotactual

1
See,e.g.,Lutzetal.,2007.

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ridicule.Asceticmonks,meditatingmonks,andlearnedmonksappearinourVinayaby
andlargeonlyasslightlyridiculouscharactersinunedifying,sardonic,andfunnystories
orasnastycustomersthatgoodmonksdonotwanttospendmuchtimearound.Itis
notsurprisingthattextualscholarsplayatbestamarginalroleinthescientific
investigationofBuddhistmeditation.
Asunderstandableasthismayseem,thispaperwillyetarguethattextual
scholarshipcancontributetothedebate,andmayindeedcomeupwithessential
informationthatmayconceivablyputthescientificstudyofBuddhismonanewfooting.
ThetextualscholarshipIamreferringtoisofthekindthatstudiestheoldest
survivingcanonicalaccountsoftheBuddhistpathtoliberation.Itdoesnot,Irepeatnot,
consistinminingtheoldtextstolookforpassagesthatconfirmpreconceivednotions.
No,thephilologicallycompetenttextualscholarthatIhaveinmindistheonewhotries,
totheextentpossible,toallowthetextstospeakforthemselves,i.e.,tointerpretthem
firstofallinthecontextprovidedbythosetextsthemselves.Thedifficultyofthis
procedureisoftenunderestimated,andeventrainedphilologistshavehabitually
misinterpretedtheearlyBuddhisttexts.Thisisnotbecausethesetextsareparticularly
difficulttoread,butratherbecausetheydealwithmentalstatesandtransformationsthat
aretotallyoutsidetherangeofexperienceoftextualscholars,includingthosewho
practicemeditationthemselves.2
Letmebeginwiththeobvious.TheearlyBuddhisttextspresentamethodtoput
anendtosufferingandrebirth.Thisgoalistheprimecontextprovidedbythosetexts,
whichnophilologicallysophisticatedinterpretationofotherportionsofthetextsshould
ignore.Partofthemethodconsistsofmeditationalpractices.Itfollowsthatthese
meditationalpracticesarenotanaiminitself;theyarethemeanstobringabouta
permanentstatethatisfreefrompsychologicalsuffering3(Iwillinthispaperleave
rebirthoutofconsideration).Theyarenotameanstobringaboutpleasantmeditational
states,butameanstobringaboutapsychologicaltransformationthatwillsecurethat
psychologicalsufferingwillnolongerbepartofoneslife,whetheronebeina
meditationalstateornot.

2
ForarecentpresentationandanalysisofearlyBuddhistteaching,seeBronkhorst,2009:1-60
(TheteachingoftheBuddha).
3
Isaypsychologicalsuffering,becausetheearlytextsdonothidethefactthatthehistorical
Buddhawentthroughbodilysufferingtowardtheendofhislife.

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Sinceconfusioncaneasilyariseinthismatter,Iallowmyselfasimple
comparison.AtravelerwhohastraveledfromGermanytoItalyandleavesindications
forhisfriendshowtoaccomplishthisjourneyislikelytosayagreatdealabouttheAlps,
themountainrangethatliesbetweenthesetwocountries.Uninformedreadersofthese
indicationsmaythinkthatourtravelerwantstodescribetheAlps,thatheencourageshis
friendstovisittheAlps.Ofcourse,hehasnosuchintention.Ourtravelercouldnotbut
describetheAlps,becauseonlybycrossingtheAlpsdoesonetravelfromGermanyto
Italy.ThemeditationalstatesintheearlyBuddhisttextscorrespondtotheAlpsinthis
comparison:theyhavetobegonethroughinordertoreachtherealdestination,viz.,a
lastingstatethatisfreefrompsychologicalsuffering.
Thecentralclaimofthesetexts,then,isthatacomplete,andlasting,
psychologicaltransformationispossible,andthatthehistoricalBuddha(andperhaps
others)actuallyattainedthistransformation.Thedecisivephaseofthistransformation,
thetextsadd,wasaccomplishedinonesinglenight.Thistransformationisthegoal,and
themeditationalpracticesdescribedinthetextsarepartofthemethodtoreachthatgoal,
andnomore.
Thissimpleobservationshould,allbyitself,beofinteresttoscientists.Itisof
coursepossibletomaintainthatthecentralclaimoftheearlyBuddhisttextsisnomore
thanfantasy,aconfusionbetweendreamandrealityforwhichsomewell-meaningbut
ultimatelymisguidedmonksmustbeheldresponsible.Thisispossible,butbynomeans
necessaryorself-evident.Thereisnothingintheclaimthatgoesagainstestablished
knowledge,whetherscientificorhistoricalknowledge.Moreover,theearlyBuddhist
claimisquiteunique,eveninIndia(withtheexceptionoflatercurrentsthathaveclearly
beeninfluencedbyBuddhism).Ithereforeproposenottobehastyinrejectingwhatis,
afterall,centraltotheancienttextsandinawaytheirveryreasonofexistence.
Alastingpsychologicaltransformationmusthaveaneurologicalcounterpart,
presumablyintheformofalastingtransformationofthebrain,orofsomeofitsparts.4
Thecrucialpartofthistransformationofthebrainhasyettakennomorethanonenight

4
Notallagreewiththis,evenamongscientists(see,e.g.,Kellyetal.,2007),butIthinkithasto
beacceptedinscientificstudies.Amongbelieverstheparallelismbetweenmindandbrain
appearstobeunpopular:AlanWallace,aprominentAmericanBuddhistscholar,speaksforthe
majorityininsistingthatBuddhismisincompatiblewithneurophysicalismtheviewthat
mentaleventsarebraineventsofthesortthatI,likemostotherphilosophersofmindand
neuroscientists,defend.(Flanagan,2011:3)

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tobeaccomplished.Thismaybetakentomeanthattheneurologicalchangesthat
correspondtothisradicalpsychologicaltransformationmaywellberelativelyminor.
UnfortunatelytheworkingbrainoftheBuddhaisnotavailableforscientific
investigation,butifitwere,itseemslikelythatthedifferencefromotherbrainswouldbe
hardtospot.
Thesesimplereflectionssupportthefollowingconclusion:Wemustassumethat
psychologicalprocesseshaveneurologicalcounterparts,butevenmajorpsychological
transformationsmaynotleaveclearlyidentifiabletracesinthebrain.Inordertogaina
deeperunderstandingoftheprocessesinvolved,weneedmorethanonlyinformation
aboutthebrain,wealsoneedapsychologicaltheory.Thispsychologicaltheoryshould
notjustbeshorthandforneurologicalprocesses,nordowewantmerefolkpsychology
(orworse:psychobabble).Understandingbrainprocessesisnotsufficienttounderstand
psychologicalprocesses,leastofallwhenmajortransformationslikethosereferredtoin
theearlyBuddhisttextsareconcerned.Weneedapsychologicaltheorythatisyet
scientificinthestrictestsense.5
Thereasonwhyweneedareallythoughtoutandtestedpsychologicaltheoryis
thatwithoutitwewillbeindangerofcarelesslyusingintuitiveandexperiential
impressions,andendupwithsomekindofpop-psychologythathasnomoreto
recommenditselfthanitsintuitiveappealtosomeofus.Thisdangerisasgreatforthose
whoswearbytheimportanceofbrainresearchonmeditatorsasitisforothers.To
illustratethedangerofproceedingwithoutascientificpsychologicaltheory,Iwill
discussaconcreteexample.
Meditatorssometimescommentupontheintensejoytheyexperienceincertain
meditationalstates.Havingnoestablishedpsychologicaltheorytofallbackon,someof
themclaimthatblissispartofthenaturalstateofconsciousness.6Thisso-called
explanationisofnousetoneurologicalresearch,7norcanitbetestedinanyotherway.

5
WhenPenrose(2005:21)statesUntil[majorrevolutionsinourphysicalunderstanding]have
cometopass,itisgreatlyoptimistictoexpectthatmuchrealprogresscanbemadein
understandingtheactualnatureofmentalprocesses,wemaythinkthatexcessiveoptimism
characterizeshisexpectationsratherthanours.
6
So,e.g.,Wallace,2006:81;2012:68-69.
7
Panksepp&Biven(2012:viii)statethefollowinginthe"PrefaceandAcknowledgments"of
theirbook:"Neurosciencehasremainedlargelysilentaboutthenatureofjoy,whilepsychology
hasseenarevolutioninthestudyanddiscussionofitscognitivederivative,happiness,withfew

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Infact,itdoesnotexplainanythingwhatsoever,foritdoesnothingbeyondstatingthat
theblissexperiencedincertainstatesisnatural.
ContrastthiswithanobservationmadeintheearlyBuddhisttexts.Theytalk
abouttheblissexperiencedincertainmeditationalstatesasresultingfromabsorption.
Absorption,asIusetheterm,iseffortlessattentionorconcentration.8Manymeditators
knowthatblissmayresultfromit.Astudyofmysticalliteratureleadstothesame
conclusion:bliss,whenitoccurs,isalwaysaccompaniedbyabsorption.Thissimple
observationhasneverattractedseriousattention.9Butobviously,ifblissarisesfrom
absorption,thereisnoneedtopostulatethatblissispartofthenaturalstateof
consciousness.Indeed,thereisnoneedtomakehypothesesaboutthenatureof
consciousnessatall.Itsufficestohypothesizethatbliss,ormoregenerallypleasure,
resultsfromabsorption.10
Thislasthypothesisisalotmoreamenabletoempiricalverification,orrefutation,
thantheonethatclaimsthatblissispartofconsciousness.Mysticsandmeditators
experiencetheirblissinastateofabsorption,butalsootherswhoarelessprivileged
experiencetheirpleasuresinstatesofrelativeabsorption.Itistruethatmysticsand
meditatorsmayheightentheirdegreeofabsorptiontoalevelunattainabletomost,and
thatasaresulttheirdegreeofpleasureorblissishigher,too.Thisdoesnotchangethe
factthatlowerdegreesofpleasure,thelevelsthatweallknowfromeverydayexperience,
areaccompaniedbyabsorption,eventhoughthedegreeofabsorptioninthesecasesis
low.DrawinginspirationfromtheearlyBuddhisttexts,wemayhypothesizethat
pleasureisnotsimplyaccompaniedbyabsorption,butisactuallyproducedbyit.Andwe
canrefinethehypothesisbygivingitthisform:absorptiongivesrisetopleasure,andthe
degreeofpleasurecorrespondstothedegreeofabsorption.
Here,then,wehaveastartingpointforwhatcouldbecomeatrulypsychological
theory.Forpleasureisamotivatingforcethatisresponsibleforatleastpartofhuman

insightsintotheneuralnatureofjoy."Unfortunately,judgingbytheIndexattheendoftheir
book,theyhavenomoretosayaboutjoy,orindeedabouthappiness,pleasure,orbliss.
8
Effortlessattentionis,atlast,becomingtheobjectofscientificresearch;seeBruya,2010,andin
particularDormashevscontributiontothatvolume.
9
Indeed,oneofthetwobooksbyWallacereferredtoinanearliernotehasthetitleThe Attention
Revolution: Unlocking the power of the focused mind,andisthereforeawareoftheimportanceof
absorption.Inspiteofthis,itinvokesanaltogetherdifferenttheorytoexplainthebliss
experienced.
10
Thisisapreliminaryhypothesisthatisinneedofrefinement.SeeBronkhorst,2012.

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behavior.Wemighttentativelygofurtherandpostulatethatmost,perhapsevenall,
humanmentalandphysicalbehavioriscarriedoutinthepursuitofpleasure.11More
concretely,humanbehaviorseekstoreestablishsituationsthatwereaccompaniedby
pleasureonearlieroccasions.Thehumanmindispresumablyprogrammedinsuchaway
thatsituations,orobjects(includingpersons),whoseexperienceisaccompaniedby
pleasurebecomedesirablethereafter,andfutureactivitywillseektofindthemback,orat
leastfindsituationsandobjectsthatsharefeatureswiththoseearlierpleasurableones.
IamfullyawarethattheschemeIampresentingherecanatbestonlybeavery
simplifiedpictureofwhatreallyhappensinrealhumanbeings.Thenumberof
pleasurableandunpleasurableexperienceswe,allofus,havehadfromanearlyage
onwardissogreatthatthenumberofmotivatingforcesthatinteractatanyonetimeina
normalperson,andthatarepresumablybasedonthememoryofthoseexperiences,must
beveryhighindeed.However,eventhissimplifiedpictureshowsthathumanmotivation
isultimatelybasedonamistake.Wehaveproposedthatpleasureresultsfromabsorption,
not,ornotdirectly,fromthesituations,objectsandpersonsthatourmemoryretainsas
sourcesofpleasure.Thesesituations,objectsandpersonswereretainedinourminds
becausetheywereaccompaniedbypleasure.However,theywerenotitsdirectcause,
becausethe(oratleastone)directcauseofpleasureisabsorption.
IdonotdeludemyselfinthinkingthatthetheoryofwhichIhavejustpresented
thebriefestpossibleoutlinecanbeconsideredcomplete.Otherfactors,too,willhaveto
betakenintoaccount,butthisisnottheplacetodoso.However,eventhebitthatwe
haveconsideredputsanumberofissuesinadifferentperspective.Supposethatitis
indeedtruethatabsorption,throughtheintermediaryofpleasure,playsacrucialrolein
theworkingsofthemindandinhumanbehavioringeneral.Inthatcaseonecanconceive
ofapersonwhohasdiscoveredtherealsourceofpleasure,viz.,absorption,andwhohas
alsosucceededineliminatingorperhapsweshouldsay:deflatingthememory
tracesthatpullhimorhertothesituationsandobjectsthathadbeenassociatedwith
pleasureinthepast.Thispersonwouldthenknowtherealsourceofpleasureandbefree
toactinaccordancewiththatknowledge,quiteindependentlyofhisorherlife
experience.

11
Thishypothesis,too,isinneedofrefinement.

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Thistakesusbacktoourpointofdeparture.Iemphasizedthattheclaimthatthere
isapossibleenduringstatefreefrompsychologicalsufferingiscentraltotheearly
Buddhisttexts.Ialsodrewattentiontotheneedofapsychologicaltheoryoverandabove
thefindingsofbrainresearch.Well,thetheoryIhavejustoutlinedprovidesuswitha
fascinatingglimpseofwhatfreedomfrompsychologicalsufferingmightlooklikein
termsofthistheory.Itconsistsinthediscoveryofwhatconstitutestherealsourceof
pleasure,andinthemodification,deflation,ofmemorytracesthatpullustoward
mistakensourcesofpleasure.Thistheorydoesnotneedtoassumethatthepsychologyof
theBuddha,orofanyliberatedperson,worksaccordingtoanaltogetherdifferent
schemethanours.Ifthepursuitofpleasureisamajorforceinthementalandphysical
activityofordinaryhumans,wedonothavetopostulatethatthesituationisdifferentin
thosecases.Theessentialdifferenceliesinthefactthatpleasure,inthoseparticular
cases,isnolongermistakenlyassociatedwithearlierexperiencesintheworldandwith
theresultingattachments,butwithitsrealsource,absorption.
LetmeemphasizeonceagainthatIhavedonenomorethatminimallysketch
somenotionsthatmightbedevelopedintoafullpsychologicaltheory.Numerousfurther
questionsremaintobeanswered,amongthemthefollowing:Whyshouldthemere
realizationthatabsorptionproducespleasurenotsufficetoputadefiniteendto
suffering?Andwhydoesabsorptionnotcomeaboutautomatically?Whydowe,ormost
ofus,havetolearntomeditate?ThefullpsychologicaltheoryIamhintingatwould
covermuchmorethanthefewsuggestionsIhavemadesofar.Itishoweverclearthat
eventheskimpyoutlineIhavepresentedmakesmoresenseofthemainmessageofthe
earlyBuddhisttextsthananyothertheoryIamawareof.12Iwouldfurthersuggestthat
theavailabilityofasophisticatedpsychologicaltheoryelaboratedalongthelines
indicatedabovewouldbeausefulguideforthestudyofthebrainprocessesthatunderlie
thepsychologicaltransformationsreferredtointheBuddhisttexts,andpresumablyfor
otherbrainprocessesaswell.

12
Foramoreelaborate,butstillincomplete,versionofthistheory,seeBronkhorst,2012.

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Bronkhorst,Johannes(2009):Buddhist Teaching in India.Boston:Wisdom

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Buswell,RobertE.(1992):The Zen Monastic Experience: Buddhist practice in
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