[Buddha-l] buddhism and brain studies

[[DPD Web] Shen Shi'an]

Actually, the experiment illustrates not so much of Zen meditation
destroying "one's ability to learn from one's experience", but how it
can train the mind to "unlearn". Of course, this is dangerous if we
don't learn to take precautions from potential dangers. 

However, a good Zennie in the experiment should had wisely run this thru
his/her mind already, before the experiment began - "Hmmm... I'll be
getting an electric shock whether I anticipate it in fear or not. If so,
let me make peace with the inevitable by switching to 'beginner's mind'
mode, which erases such useless fears, so as to accept the shock
graciously, calmly." The mind that is wise unlearns the unnecessary,
while not clinging to knowledge that is useful; merely taking it as a
reference point - which can shift; unless it is some timeless truth like
the 3 marks of existence.

This reminds me of the Sallatha Sutta :
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn36/sn36.006.than.html ,
where the Buddha says its unwise for a person physically shot by an
arrow to aggravate the pain mentally by clinging to it. In the case of
the experiment below, there is clinging to the pain that was to come.
Here are 6 more simple everyday cases of how suffering is optional even
when pain is inevitable - http://tinyurl.com/65oa5h 

-----Original Message-----
From: Piya Tan [mailto:dharmafarer at gmail.com] 
Sent: Friday, 07 November, 2008 5:21 AM
To: Buddhist discussion forum
Subject: Re: [Buddha-l] buddhism and brain studies

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

Snip

> 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