[Buddha-l] buddhism and brain studies

[Piya Tan]

Ha ha, you didn't get it, did you. I did not, too.

On Thu, Nov 6, 2008 at 5:18 PM, [DPD Web] Shen Shi'an <shian at kmspks.org>wrote:

> This is a good example of the skilful maintenance of "beginner's mind"
> in Zen meditation - that does not cling to preconceived ideas.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Richard Hayes [mailto:rhayes at unm.edu]
> Sent: Thursday, 06 November, 2008 1:20 PM
> To: Buddhist discussion forum
> Subject: Re: [Buddha-l] buddhism and brain studies
>
> On Wed, 2008-11-05 at 18:00 -0800, Gary Gach wrote:
>
> > am finishing my revision of section in my book on cognitive science
> >
> > anyone remember the experiment (mid1970s?) (ekg?):
> >
> > Hindu (TM) and Zen practitioners went into a meditative state, then
> were
> > surprised by the sound of a bell.  The Hindu meditators' brain waves
> > remained constant (Alpha? )))).  The brain-wave chart for
> > the Zen meditators, showed their Alpha suddenly going into beta (?),
> > registering the fact of the bell, and then dipping right back down
> into
> > alpha.
>
> A version of some experiment that I regaled my students with in the
> 1970s had seasoned Zen practitioners and a control group connected to an
> electrode. A bell rang, after which an electric shock was administered.
> This routine was repeated several times. The mad scientists discovered
> that the control group showed signs of anxiety after the bell rang, as
> they anticipated getting a shock, while the Zen people showed no such
> anxiety. I asked my students what conclusions they reached from the
> experiment. The most common (and therefore the correct) answer:
> meditation destroys one's ability to learn from one's experience.
>
> Does that experiment ring a bell? Do you find it shocking?
>
> --
> Richard Hayes
> Department of Philosophy
> University of New Mexico
>
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