Thursday, February 23, 2017

Travel, 'Textures of Silence', Buddhism and Neuroscience

Greetings from Bangkok, where I am briefly staying before starting my teaching tour to Malaysia, Singapore, and on to Europe. I have only recently uploaded a blog for February, but I will soon be quite busy teaching and travelling, and so do not know when I will be able to send another blog. Also, I wanted to let people know my schedule (attached at the end) in case we are able to meet up somewhere in the world.

My three-month stay at Wat Poo Jom Gom has been very rewarding in terms of peaceful meditation practice. Especially during the last month I was in quite good physical condition from many weeks of walking, the weather was almost perfectly agreeable and the weeks of solitude and regular practice allowed the mind to settle into some exceptionally peaceful states – it does happen sometimes!



I will now enter a more active and busy phase of practice, with quite a few teaching engagements, travels and visits to various monasteries and meditation groups. I will particularly miss my hour and a half pre-dawn walking meditation from the hill-top cave to the monastery hall. Since I usually have my most peaceful meditation early in the mornings, I would normally stay in my lodging to continue with practice. However, living at Wat Poo Jom Gom in a secluded cave some distance from the main monastery requires me to journey down to the hall to go on dawn alms-round.

The walk down is a type of meditation like no other. I usually set off at 3:45 am, through the fresh, cool morning air wrapped in dark, pre-dawn silence. Concentration meditation shifts from focusing on the breath to focusing on the small section of path illuminated by the tunnel of light from the headlamp. Mindfulness meditation shifts to an increase in bodily sensations from the cool air, the careful placement of each step on the uneven surface of the rocky path and the different patterns of pre-dawn sounds: the rustling of dry leaves in the breezes, the melodic patter of sandals on the path, the occasion wild dog barking and the flowing symphony of thoughts and textures of silence in the mind.

I leave the cave before 4 am in order to have an unhurried pace. I can thus relax the body so much (plus a modicum of fatigue from low blood sugar after not eating for 20 hours) that it often feels as if I am floating along the path. The mind can be so calm from several hours of meditation, many hours of undisturbed solitude and the sensory deprivation of the dark early morning, that the experience is sometimes an exceptional meditation. On one occasion the mind was so quiet that I came up with the insight: 'The silent mind is beyond space and time, since the only space is 'here' and the only time is 'now''.

I usually make several stops on the way, turn off the headlamp and gaze at the star-filled sky. Every fourth or fifth viewing I see a shooting star, and occasionally I can see a satellite silently passing steadily through the darkness.

Textures of Silence

I refer to 'textures of silence' to designate the various forms of silence (or quietude of mind). For example, the coarsest texture is the sound of blood being pumped through the body and resounding in the ear drum. The second coarsest texture is the higher-pitched sound of 'ringing in the ears', which for some people has become annoying tinnitus. Then there are various textures of humming or buzzing 'in the head' when thought ceases. I sometimes refer to these as the sound of 'hovering thoughts' (being the listener of thoughts) or 'the sound of consciousness' (being actively conscious of the silence).

One of the most interesting forms of silence is that arising from absorbed awareness of physical sensations. This is interesting because there is a collage of textures of silence, combined with a variety of mental noise. If the sensations are extreme there is a predominance of vascular sound, whereas if the sensations are very subtle, the hum of no-thought predominates. Some sensations may of course trigger mental reactions: memories, feelings of pleasure or pain, emotions of liking or irritation, etc.

Wat Poo Jom Gom is a place where I experience much physical sensation, due primarily to living in such direct contact with heat, cold, sunshine, wind and insects. During almost every waking moment the body is continuously assaulted by a vast array of various sensations, some pleasant, but many unpleasant. I almost always have some insect bite which itches or stings, or there is an insect crawling on the skin. Living largely unsheltered from the weather, I am continuously aware of the varying temperature (fortunately not too much in Thailand): the warmth of sun on the skin, the waves of heat-induced sweat and the cooling or chilling gusts of wind. The main result of this dominant awareness of physical sensation is that there is much less mental activity (or at least less awareness of it), and thus it seems that the mind is more easily able to settle into states of quietude. Of course, this is also supported by many hours of solitude, and perhaps by some degree of altered consciousness from the extraordinary natural environment which, since it is something with which I am quite unfamiliar, can often 'stop the mind' which marvels at it. Also, as there are no stories, associations or memories connected to the environment, the mind just stays at the level of silently seeing it – it is just like this and not like anything else.



On one of the occasions when I had an especially quiet meditation, an insight arose that really there is ultimately just nothingness. That is, when the mind is totally quiet there is nothing there. It then occurred to me how hard it would be to explain this, as most people living in the midst of 'thingness' would not understand. This can only be appreciated when we take into account the Buddha's teaching of the principle of co-dependence or co-existence, that things arise interdependently. Thus, in this situation, there is nothingness because there is, at another level, somethingness.

Buddhism and Neuroscience

Perhaps the most important recent discovery of neuroscience is neuroplasticity, that the brain is much more changeable then scientists first thought. This ability of the mind to change is succinctly expressed by the axiom: 'neurons that fire together wire together'. This means that the network of neurons involved in transmitting information changes depending upon the type of information, and when that information is repeated, these networks create habitual pathways. Thus the network of neurons engaged when we repeatedly think positive thoughts begins to create regular positive thought pathways, which encourage positive thoughts to occur more easily and more frequently, until our personality may become more optimistic.

A number of psychologists have also made some valuable discoveries that help support the Buddha's teaching on non-self. For example, Daniel Kahnemann has explained some of the unconscious distortions and biases to which the mind inclines in spite of the general view that we are fully aware and in control of our interpretations and decisions. Particularly insidious are 'priming effects', which occur in the 'implicit' or unconscious memory where exposure to one stimulus influences our response to another stimulus. In one famous study students were unconsciously fed information implying old age, and were then observed to act as if they were much older than they really were! Also, of note are the familiarity bias, the confirmation bias, the affect bias ('the emotional tail, wags the rational dog.') and a number of others.

There has also been some revealing research on the nature of memory (sañña, in Pali), which is a common source of self-identification, supporting the Buddha's teaching that it is intrinsically impermanent and not-self.

Unfortunately, due to the emphasis on studying brain activity, much brain research inclines to what might be referred to as a materialistic view of a human being. Thus, one researcher concludes that we are merely ever-changing neural activity and no permanent 'self' has been found. While at one level of understanding this is certainly true, at the subjective level most people understand otherwise: We are not just neural processes but much more. But what is that 'more'? My reflection is that the 'more' is that this neural activity has meaning for us, which leads to deeper understanding and new ways of relating to life.

A related example may be music. On one hand it is merely electromagnetic signals impinging upon the ear. Subjectively, however, it is much more, in that it has personal meaning for us, triggering subjective emotions, feelings, memories, etc. In Buddhist psychology there is consciousness of sounds, which then condition name-and-form: feeling, perception, intention, attention and contact. These mental processes create a wide range of special meaning for us. We are then conscious of these phenomena, which again condition further name-and-form, which conditions further consciousness, conditioning further name-and-form, in an ever-expanding web of diverse experiences. At the physiological level we can say that these are all just neural activities. However, subjectively they are much more than that, and it is this meaningful subjective experience which is what we call life, in spite of the objective neural undercurrents.



On February 20 I gave a talk at the Buddhadasa Archive in Bangkok (BIA) on the topic of Buddhism, and what modern brain research has learned about the effects of Buddhist mind-training. This talk will eventually be uploaded to the BIA website:

http://www.bia.or.th/en/index.php/online-dhamma/audio/tradition-of-ajahn-chah

Selected bibliography for those interested in further reading:

The Emotional Life of Your Brain; Richard J. Davidson with Sharon Begley; A Plume Book, 2013

Explains the basic Six Emotional Styles and the results of his research on meditators.

The Self Illusion; Bruce Hood, HarperCollins, Toronto, 2013

A professor of developmental psychology explains the development of the self illusion through our social upbringing.

Thinking, Fast and Slow; Daniel Kahneman, Penguin Books, 2012

Explains the functioning of the two systems of mental activity and how they are subject to limitations confirmed by various distortions, biases and non-attention to information.

White Gloves: How We Create Ourselves Through Memory; Kotre, John, The Free Press, New York, 1995.

Self Comes to Mind Damasio, Antonio, William Heinemann, London, 2011.

The Brain That Changes Itself; Doidge, Norman, Penguin, 2008.

Buddha's Brain; Hanson, Rick, New Harbinger Publications, Inc., Oakland, 2009.



Travel Programme February to November 2017
Feb. 25-March 5: 10-day retreat at Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary, Taiping, Malaysia
March 11-12: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
   March 10: Day and evening retreat at Bandar Utama Buddhist Society:     www.bubsoc.org
   March 11: Talk at Cittarama, 8pm
   March 12: Talk at Nalanda Buddhist Society
   March 13: Talk at Subang Buddhist Society
March 16-20: Buddhadhamma Foundation, Singapore
   March 18-19: Non-residential retreat.
March 21-28 Santacittarama, Italy
March 29 – April 2: Retreat in Paris, Terre d'Eveil; www.vipassana.fr
April 3 – 20: Wat Sumedharama, Portugal
   April 11: Talk at Upaya Centre, Lisbon: upaya.pt
   April 15 or 16: Thai New Year Ceremony, Bajao
April 21 – May 20: Dhammapala Monastery, Switzerland
   May 3 or 10: Talk in Geneva
   May 14: Vesak Ceremony
   May 17: Talk in Bern
May 21 – May 26: Amaravati Monastery, UK
May 27 – June 20: Ratanagiri Monastery (Harnham), UK
   June 10-17: Retreat at Kusala House, Ratanagiri
June 20 – June 28: Cork, Ireland
   June 23-25: Non-residential retreat
  June 27: Talk in Dublin
June 28 – July 6: Santaloka, Italy
July 6 – Oct. 20: Rains Retreat at Hartridge Monastery, Devon, UK

November 3: Arrival in Thailand

14 comments:

  1. ALL THANKS TO DR WILLIAMS FOR THE GREAT DEED HE HAVE DON FOR MY DAUGHTER?
    My daughter suffered from a terrible tinnitus for more than 23 years which started after she turned 5 we all thought it will end but got even worse as days went by. We tried all several treatments and therapy prescribed by various doctors we met but to no avail, she lost total concentration and screamed most times. She usually tells me she hears hissing and ringing noises. This were steady noise that disrupted her entire life, even at night she screams even more because the sounds become louder because everywhere is quiet and she slept less because of this.It was during a casual conversation with a friend that i learned about dr Williams herbal medicine I was able to contact him on his email address. and give him all the necessary information that he needed,few day later he sent me the herbal portion and his medicine was able to restore her back to normal and she is very okay now without any side effects whatsoever. If you have Tinnitus, do not hesitate to contact him on drwilliams098675@gmail.com for advice and for his product. I hope this also helps someone out there

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dr Williams,his medicine was extremely helpful to me. I have had tinnitus for 7 years now , and my doctor told me to have a tinnitus sugary . I am so glad I have found Dr Williams medicine (as I was surfing the net for a solution and saw a recommendation for it on a women's health forum early this year). I have felt so empowered by the knowledge you have given me and I quickly self diagnosed the individual cause of my tinnitus and armed with your clear instructions, I was finally able to beat this monster, in less than 4 weeks of using dr Williams medication. 9 weeks before the tinnitus surgery was due, I asked for a scan and it was clear that my tinnitus were gone,you can also email him on drwilliams098675@gmail.com for help.

    Thank you, thank you , thank you. dr williams "

    ReplyDelete
  3. Am Teresa from United state.
    I felt so awful when I was diagnosed with tinnitus. I felt like my life was ruined since the Dr told me that there was no permanent cure. Upon all of my constant research, I stumbled upon Dr Williams blog and articles of his good work that have been published. YOU ARE AMAZING. You have given me hope. This tinnitus have cause me so mush pain that my life was deteriorating.Dr Williams You are so courageous and I don’t know if I’ve ever looked up to someone so much. Being famous for writing is my dream and I also have always wanted to make a difference in the world somehow. You are doing both and I think its the deepest thing ever. The world needs people like you to end the tinnitus stigma. Never stop being you and thank you for being a voice for us all,you can also email him on drwilliams098675@gmail.com for his product.

    ReplyDelete
  4. DR WILLIAMS HERBAL CURE TO TINNITUS

    Appreciation is the key to doing more that is why I have took some time out to thank some one who cured me of my 4 years tinnitus problem. It became a major problem to me as it was affecting my life and I was no longer comfortable so I decided to look for a solution and I came across a post of Dr Williams and how he has been helping people of the same problem with his herbal remedies I contacted him and tell him all I have been facing in my life. He told me how to get his product and how to take it after every thing I find out that all was now okay with me and that my tinnitus problem was gone that is why I have come out today to say thank you to him and for any tinnitus problem either from man or woman. Contact him on drwilliams098765@gmail.com his a man that take good care of his children

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have been in the tinnitus community for a while now and I have experience what you are going though with tinnitus , I do know people that have got
    tinnitus from having their implants done. Ringing in the ear after an implant can go away on its own, but that is BS of what the mouth and jaw specialist said. I have definitely seen and heard of a connection between tinnitus and teeth and mouth. There is a treatment for ringing ears and if you are
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    ReplyDelete
  6. DR WILLIAMS HERBAL CURE TO TINNITUS

    Appreciation is the key to doing more that is why I have took some time out to thank some one who cured me of my 4 years tinnitus problem. It became a major problem to me as it was affecting my life and I was no longer comfortable so I decided to look for a solution and I came across a post of Dr Williams and how he has been helping people of the same problem with his herbal remedies I contacted him and explain to him all I have been facing in my life. He told me how to get his product and how to taking it after every thing I find out that all was now okay with me and that my tinnitus problem was gone that is why I have come out today to say thank you to him and for any one suffering from tinnitus you can Contact him on drwilliams098765@gmail.com his a man that take good care of his children

    ReplyDelete
  7. COMPLETE CURE TO TINNITUS: I had tinnitus in both ears for fifteen years with a high pitched two tone sound, the noises are constant and have learned to ignore the ringing. Later, another sound was added, a deep tone that has a sporadic rhythm, that mimics human speech. It varies from soft and muted, to painfully clear, and loud. Have try sound machines, ear plugs, my hearing aid, and medication all to no avail rather I have a difficult time sleeping. Lately I was directed to a Doctor called William on internet who provided solution to the problem. Do not be discourage, dr williams product is a permanent cure to Tinnitus. Contact him with this email (drwilliams098675@gmail.com)

    ReplyDelete
  8. ALL THANKS TO DR WILLIAMS WITH HIS HERBAL PORTION I WAS COMPLETELY CURED FROM A TERRIBLE TINNITUS.
    How can I ever stop thanking Dr William for the great deed he have done for me, i got an accident when I was 27 years old, from that day on i started experience ringing ear (tinnitus) i have taken all the western drugs prescribe by various doctor but to no avail my tinnitus was very loud in the afternoon and I sleep less at night because of this problem i stop my work, few days later i was going through the Internet and I saw a post of so many people testifying about Dr William herbal remedies on how they was being cure for over many years suffering from tinnitus the story Really motivated me that I have to speak with my husband about it, and he said i should give him a try, i contacted Dr William and explain all i have be facing in my life. He assured me that everything is going to be fine if only I can get his herbal portion, i said yes and I requested for it, few days later the herb was sent to me in Kuwait,i started using it as instructed by Dr William for me to take it for 21 Days which I did, can you imagine after talking Dr William herbal medicine for just two weeks i started experience results, it was like a miracle,and now i am permanently cure from this terrible tinnitus, i promise that am going to publish his herb on thing my last breath for the great deed he have done for me. For those with similar ear problem should please contact him on his email address drwilliams098675@gmail.com his a good man and am proud of him.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I am Shelley from Los Angeles,California, I want to testify on how i got cured from tinnitus, I have suffered from ringing ears since the year 2011 with so mush pain,that i have to spend so mush money getting pain relief in the hospital, and I have visited several doctor ,but all to no avail, my world was gradually coming to an end because of the buzzing sound in my right ears, until i saw a post in a health forum about a herbal Dr Williams who use herbal portion in curing people from different kind of diseases including tinnitus, at first i doubted if it we be able to cure me, but i decided to give it a try, when i contacted this herbal doctor via his email, he prepared a herbal portion and sent it to me via courier service, when i received this herbal medicine, he gave me step by step instructions on how to apply it, when i applied it as instructed, i was completely free from tinnitus just for 1 months of usage,i we recommend this to all my friend family in the world today who still suffering from tinnitus you can contact him through his email on drwilliams098675@gmail.com for help.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I am sophie from Canada, I once suffered from a terrible and Chronic tinnitus ,in 2016, the doctor told me it has no permanent cure i was given medications to slow down its progress, i constantly felt my health was deteriorating as i constantly go out of breath,and this noise was really terrible especially when am sleeping, i have this constant ringing in my ears for about 8 months, this was really a terrible noise ,on thin one day that i was going through the internet,and i came across a post of Mrs Kate on how she was been cured from tinnitus through dr Williams herbal product, I contacted this herbal doctor via his email and explain everything to him and make purchase of his product,few days later he sent me the herbal medicine through courier service, when i received the herbal medicine i used it for 3 weeks as prescribed and i was totally cured of tinnitus within those week of usage,on thin now i have not hear anything ringing in my ears.if you need his help you can Contact this herbal doctor via his email drwilliams098675@gmail.com for help

    ReplyDelete
  11. ALL THANKS TO DR WILLIAMS WITH HIS HERB I WAS CURED FROM A TERRIBLE TINNITUS.
    . Is my pleasure to comment on this site and i thank the admin of this site for his/her great work so far. I really don’t know how to thank DR WILLIAMS for helping me get cured for over 20 year of suffering from a terrible tinnitus, my tinnitus started when i was 28 year i thought is going to end one day but even get worse as days went by,i have tried all western drugs prescribed by doctors but to no avail i lost total concentration, even at night i screams even more because the sounds become louder because everywhere is quiet. i came across DR WILLIAMS contact through a headline news on internet about how DR WILLIAMS have help so many people to get cured of tinnitus and so many other with similar body problem ,i contacted him and he told me how to get his herb,few day later he sent me the herbal portion which i take every morning for 28 days, and his medicine was able to restore my hearing back to normal and now am very okay without any side effects whatsoever If you have Tinnitus, you can contact him on his email address drwilliams098675@gmail.com for help

    ReplyDelete
  12. For those people whose relative are suffering from Tinnitus and maybe reading this, I find it hard that people are still ignorant of herbal medicine when it comes to treating Tinnitus. I have been through many phases over the last couple of years since my (audiological) exam/diagnosis, my tinnitus once buried me in a negative place where many of you are now - or have been. Believe me when I say, “I’ve been there.” I had sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL), losing 70 percent of my hearing up to 4,000 kHz. I began noticing a low level of tinnitus around 51 years old and the diagnosis changed my life in many ways, I spend most of the time in denial and I keep thinking the tests were wrong. But deep down I knew they were correct. The level spiked dramatically, spiraling me down into a pit of depression. I could not sleep or eat; I stayed in bed with sweats and shaking spells; I lost strength and considerable weight. My wife held me in her arms, trying to comfort me, and still I thought I was going to die. Though sharing his story is very difficult. I was always very successful in being able to accomplish anything I set my mind on doing. Tinnitus is a bitch. I feel a need to express my thoughts and feelings about how it affected my day to day living and how its deteriorated since despite the help of some wonderful medics and medicine.
    I remind myself how lucky to come across aparajita tan herbal medicine which is able to control Tinnitus without any side effect, I felt a moment of relief hoping that I am free from this ailment, and nothing compares to the healing power of nature. Now I believe almost every health problem can be addressed in one natural way or another. The only thing I wanted was for me to feel better. I’m proud to say am Tinnitus free. You can also contact him for advice and more info. aparajitatan@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
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