[Buddha-l] buddhism and brain studies

[Erik Hoogcarspel]

Alberto Todeschini schreef:
> Dear Erik and list-members,
>
>   
>> Go to a gym and ask people there if they're
>> happy, most of them will say 'yes' and then listen to them groaning en
>> and grasping for air when they do their workouts. Is that happiness? If
>> we tell ourselves that we're happy, we're just lying.
>>     
>
> If you are interested, there's a fascinating chapter on a similar
> topic in Gregory Berns' _Satisfaction_. I can't remember what chapter
> it is, but anyway in it the author discusses ultra-marathon runners,
> whom he also assisted in a marathon. We are talking about people who
> run 100 or even 125 miles (yes, about 200 kilometers) non-stop in
> 15-30 hours running from the lowest to the highest point in
> California. As you can imagine the experience produces a lot of
> physical pain (bad knees and ankles, massive blisters as well as
> danger of various injuries) and is psychologically challenging and it
> is interesting in so far as it requires an enormous physical and
> emotional investment but goes way beyond what every doctor will tell
> you is sufficient for aiding good cardiovascular health. So one
> question is, if it's such a grueling experience, why do people do it?
> (you can discard monetary remuneration from the possible answers, I
> got the impression that they are all amateurs. It doesn't seem to be a
> professional sport.)
>
> The book discusses other interesting topics regarding the relationship
> between pain, suffering, happiness, satisfaction, etc.
>
> Unfortunately, the author is a scientist and even (gasp!) provides
> data. It's probably safer to leave matters such as these to arm-chair
> philosophers.
>
> Best,
>
> Alberto Todeschini
>   
I've not read the book off course, but it seems to me that much depends
on what you call happiness and what pleasure. Most ancient philosophers
as well as the Buddha as far as I can see thought happiness to be a
more or less continuous state of wellbeing which is not or very little
dependend on circumstances. 

According to this definition the body is not able to provide any
happiness at all, because the way we experience our body depends very
much on circumstances. Doing workouts or having sex entails
manipulating physical circumstances. In both cases moreover some
brainfunctions are off line. 

This doesn't rule out I think the possibility that some physical
experiences like a jhana changes ones look on the world in such a way
that it triggers happiness.





Erik

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