(photo by aechempati @ flickr)

As I’ve obviously stated in the title of the this blog post, this is a response to Brad Warner’s article published on Suicide Girls blog. In that article he compared Ken Wilber stopping-his-brain-waves video to the art of street juggling. Since I’m the unnamed “Facebook friend” and “commenter” Brad referred to who posted the video on his FB page, I’ve decided to post a response here on my blog to provide more context of what started this discussion which led to Brad publishing that article.

The discussion started like this…

Almost a week ago Brad has a link up on his FB page to his blog post entitled, “I (Don’t) Want to be Sedated“. Apparently, at that time he was scheduled to undergo a procedure that required him to be sedated with drugs. Brad is not a big fan of drugs, even those that are “good for you.” So I posted this comment on his FB thread.

good luck. btw, if other Buddhists are correct (e.g. Tibetan Buddhists, etc.) then those who practiced meditation other than zen (or Vipassana) could maintain awareness even in deep sedation or deep dreamless sleep. here’s one person I know of who demonstrated it in realtime. [then i included this video of Ken Wilber playing with his brain waves] ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFFMtq5g8N4

My point here was three-fold. First, I was really sincere on wishing him luck with his procedure (which turned out to be quite a painful ordeal and I’m glad that Brad is doing much better now). Second, to tell Brad that some people who have practiced other kinds of meditation could maintain awareness even in deep sedation or deep dreamless sleep (or so they claim). To back up that statement I included a link to Ken Wilber’s video manipulating his brain waves at will. Third, I wanted to get Brad’s opinion about it, as well as get an idea whether Brad has previously experienced or whether he’s capable of maintaining an unbroken awareness during waking, dreaming, and deep dreamless sleep.

Why am I interested? Well, because unbroken awareness from waking, dreaming, deep dreamless sleep has been reported by long-time meditation practitioners in different non-dual traditions, specifically Vedanta and Buddhism. In Advaita Vedanta, waking, dreaming, and deep dreamless sleep are the three great states of consciousness (e.g. Ramana Maharshi often talked about this when he was alive). In Mahayana Buddhism there’s the concept of “Trikaya” (or three bodies of a Buddha) which corresponds to the three great states of consciousness: Nirmanakaya (gross body, waking state), Sambhogakaya (subtle body, dreaming state), Dharmakaya (causal body, deep dreamless sleep). However, in Zen even the “three bodies” distinctions are only the play of light and shadow of the mind. That’s how hardcore Zen is–it has a zero tolerance policy on altered or expanded states of consciousness. So maybe that’s why in Vajrayana there is a Fourth body — the Svabhavikakaya which is the unity or non-separateness of the three kayas. I presume that this Fourth body corresponds to Zen’s treatment of the three bodies as “only the play of light and shadow of the mind.” Maybe people who like simplicity gravitate more towards Zen, while people who like differentiation gravitate more towards Vajrayana, and those who are geeky embrace them both.

Brad being a hardcore Zen practitioner, I could understand if he dismiss the three great states and categorize them as another form of illusion, but instead what I got was a sarcastic response, and I quote:

“I always thought that video of Wilber and his brainwaves was fake. The machine looks like a toy, something he rigged up. I’m sure there’s someone off camera working the controls.”

Huh? My reaction was, Ok, if Brad wants to play, I’ll dish out a dose of his own sarcastic medicine. So I responded with this:

“Brad, I wasn’t there when it was recorded so I can’t vouch for its authenticity. but he [Wilber] recorded that way back and showed it only to close friends when he was experimenting with different kinds of meditation. Brad, just because you can’t do it doesn’t mean it’s fake.”

And then I thought that was the end of our conversation. There’s no use to continue with the discussion anyway if the other party throws out the “it’s fake” gambit. To me it was obvious that Brad was not interested in a respectful intellectual discussion on the subject-matter.

But lo and behold! Brad wrote an article on Suicide Girls dissing the Ken Wilber video, comparing Wilber’s brain wave manipulation feat to a street juggler, and along the way insulting and dismissing the Vietnamese Buddhist monks who burned themselves to death in protest. Wow! I must’ve really piqued Brad’s interest. Or maybe I annoyed him so much that he could no longer contain his annoyance so he decided to write about it on a blog full of tattooed women (which I find hot by the way). For a “Zen Master” I noticed a pattern that Brad is easily *annoyed* by people that don’t fit his Zen-flavored worldview. Below is what Brad wrote on his article. I’ll just quote the relevant parts.

But first, let me pay some respects to the Vietnamese Buddhists he insulted, by turning the mirror of Brad’s ignorance towards his Original Face. Here’s what he wrote:

“In the case of those Vietnamese monks who burned themselves, they appear to me to be deeply confused people. When I see that damned video I just get incredibly angry and sad. What a fucking waste. What they did amounted to the most macho display of macho-ism ever. What could be more macho than burning yourself alive and not flinching? The fact that you actually had to die to prove how macho you were just makes you that much more macho.

“If what they did had actually made any difference in the war, maybe I’d think differently. Sadly, I don’t think their tragic wasteful ugly deaths did anything to stop the war in Vietnam. They could have done a lot more by staying alive and working for peace.”

Really, Brad? The best you can say about these Buddhist monks who burned themselves alive in protest for their freedom is that they were “deeply confused people”? I’m not exactly sure who are the Vietnamese monks Brad was referring to. There were multiple incidents of this kind of protests. But the most famous was that of a revered monk named Thich Quang Duc. Here’s how he is remembered today:

“In 1963, after four years of increased oppression by the Diem government towards Buddhist priests and the Buddhist community the Most Venerable Thich Quang Duc perfomed his heroic deed to highlight Bhuddhist demands for religious equality in South Vietnam his act literally flashed around the world by television. At midday, on June 11, 1963, he took a ride to the corner of Phan Dinh Phung and Le Van Duyet in central Saigon (now Nguyen Dinh Chieu and Cach Mang Thang Tam Street). Pouring petrol over himself, he sat in the middle of the corner, struck a match, and immolated himself.

“His body was consumed, and all that remained was his heart. Later when the Buddhist community tried to cremate his heart it remained intact. It was placed in the Reserve Bank of Vietnam and became the symbol of the Holy Heart.”

“Millions all over the globe saw his self sacrifice, and The Most Venerable Thich Quang Duc has become world-famous figure. Before he passed away, he left a letter to the government of the day, and through them, for the people of Vietnam. In Vietnamese culture, this letter is now known as the letter of Heart Blood. The core of his letter was a plea for all Buddhist believers, monks, nuns and lay people, to unite and strive for the preservation of Buddhism. His plan was to demonstrate to the world the injustice that was being perpetrated on the Buddhist religion and community by a repressive regime and it worked extremely well. Many nations worldwide brought pressure on the South Vietnamese government to soften its attitude to the traditional Vietnamese religion. The Saigon government complied.”

Yeah, Brad, what a fucking waste, eh? Let’s not even discuss the physiological/neurological elephant in the room–the fact that the monk just *quietly* sat there while burning *without flinching* until his body dropped dead to the ground. I wonder how someone can do that when “normal” people shriek like a rat at the slightest touch of fire on their skin. (Dr. Lewis Lancaster discussed this briefly on his lecture on Buddhism.)

Then Brad went on quoting a story told by Dogen to support his view, which, frankly, I find boring and typical of Zen stories I’ve read which could be interpreted in different ways. So I won’t even take much time rehashing it here. It’s enough to say that I prefer to have a discourse with actual living people doing Buddhist practice than arguing over ancient Buddhist scriptures and long-dead Zen masters.

And now we come to Brad’s comment on Ken Wilber’s brain waves.

“It annoys me to see someone like Ken Wilber who does tricks — ones that nobody can ever even verify he’s accomplished, by the way — make tons more money than that street juggler down on Venice Beach who does something far cooler. I guess people are impressed by imaginary stuff.

I don’t see any great value in most of what passes for “altered states of consciousness.” Every possible state of altered consciousness is contained within this state of consciousness you possess right at this very moment.”

Yep, Brad is annoyed. He’s so annoyed that he failed to see the *scientific* significance of Ken Wilber (or anyone for that matter) manipulating his brain waves in real-time which is a direct result of decades of meditation practice–different forms of meditation to be exact. As one of my FB friends, Rene, eloquently said on his reaction to Brad’s article:

“I don’t know what methods Brad Warner accepts for validation and calibration. He sometimes comes across as rejecting everything that isn’t achieved through some sort of Zen practice. Insights from psychedelics? Not Zen. Mapping brain states? Not Zen. Zen cannot be named, and only he can not-name it correctly. And beware of anyone who relates awakening to brain states and biochemistry!

“And what’s wrong with some healthy competition? It provides the necessary challenges to refine reflection and mindfulness. Too many ‘spiritual’ people operate outside of any feedback loops and self validate themselves and their states. As if they never got any insights into how easily we all can fool ourselves.

Exactly.

And here’s another succinct observation by another FB friend, Mark:

“I also think it is a bit of poor dharmic understanding on Brad’s part. He wants to have his cool cake and eat it too. When it came to Genpo Roshi, he was rather insistent that Big Mind couldn’t point out your true nature in an hour (stating that such a feat took years of hard work). Now when it comes to Wilber doing tricks he can’t, he is going to focus on the ‘always already’ / ‘ever present’ view.”

Ah, Genpo Roshi, another personality that really annoyed Brad. But I’m digressing already… So back to Wilber…

Brad’s accusation of fakery aside, Wilber’s demonstration flies in the face of mainstream science’s understanding of the brain and subjective experiences. By neurological standards Ken Wilber is a freak of nature. “Normal” people can’t manipulate their brain waves like that, at will, in just a few seconds. It’s so unbelievable so then it must be fake! Brad Warner should be given a James Randi medal for quickly arriving at that conclusion.

But what really stood out for me was that Brad even had the nerve to call it “imaginary stuff” when in actuality it is an *empirical* and *objective* display that the states of consciousness described in different wisdom traditions are not only subjectively real but they also have corresponding physiological signatures in the form of brain waves which neuroscientists, neurologists, and psychologists could then study. This makes me think that Brad is deeply confused by what is imaginary and what is objective. It must be a Zen thing.

Here’s my point: Anyone can claim that they can have unbroken awareness from waking, dreaming, to deep dreamless sleep. Anyone can regurgitate the words of Zen masters and various mystics in describing their states of consciousness or their experience of the “No Self.” Heck, I’m so familiar with the lingo of mystical literature that, to a certain extent, I can even fake it if I want to. Basically anyone can make those claims and proclaim that they are way advanced in their meditation practice or even totally “enlightened.” So how can we tell if they’re just pulling our legs? One way is to verify their claims by objectively measuring the physiological correlates of those states of consciousness. Brain waves (alpha, beta, theta, delta) is one such measurement. I believe that future advances in neuro-imaging technology will eventually pin-point the neural correlates of different states of consciousness and of different kinds of meditation, including the physiological signature of “No Self.”

Anyway, maybe I’m just interested in the scientific implications of it all, while Brad is just interested in sitting Zen-style and rehashing stories by Dogen from ancient Buddhist scriptures. So be it.

In the end, when it comes to Ken Wilber juggling his brain waves, Brad sees it as “tricks” and “competition.” I see it as very interesting skill that can be developed by anyone willing to put the time and effort. Brad sees it as macho machismo. I see it as inspiring and deserving of more scientific scrutiny.

I’ll conclude this blog post with a quote from Ken Wilber’s journal One Taste (April 10 entry) wherein he talked about the video tape of him manipulating his brain waves.

“I dragged the video out and we all watched it. Sam says I make a total ass out of myself by showing this, since it seems so self-serving, so braggadocio. Probably so. But to me it’s just an objective event. Too bad the test subject isn’t somebody else, because the results are striking to the average viewer. It really gets their attention, and much more than my books do. It also convinced the soon-to-be psychiatrist, as it does virtually every scientific type I show it to.

“I had started doing these videos–entering various types of meditation states and videotaping the corresponding brain-wave patterns on the EEG–as part of an integral approach to studying higher states and levels of consciousness (correlating what I would call Upper-Left–subjective consciousness–and Upper Right–objective brain). I’ve found that there really are distinctively different brain-wave patterns for different types and levels of meditation. If nothing else, this could serve as a simple pilot project for more adequate and controlled studies….

“People tend to get very serious after seeing this tape–serious in a good sense, I think, because it shows them that there is truly something profound going on, that primordial awareness is not just an idea you memorize but the result of actual practice that truly changes your very makeup. Some people are discouraged watching this, because they think they can’t do it; but most people are encouraged, encouraged to take up an authentic spiritual practice and follow the current of constant consciousness through all three states, waking, dreaming, and deep sleep, thus finding that constant ray of Spirit that speaks to each and all in no uncertain terms.”

Last night I tweeted this question to all my geeky Buddhist cyber friends.

“to all geeky Buddhists out there, here’s a question: What did the Buddha awaken to?”

I’ve received a lot of interesting answers on Twitter and Facebook.

Tweet responses:

jimcollins: Venus

erisb: The realization of his own mind.

SamTheButcher: Things as they are instead of how we want them to be.

majidrazvi: I’m not sure that question is truly answerable from this side of the dream.

thedazman: I think he basically decompiled reality.

nivarasa: To the nature of suffering, and to the path which leads to its cessation.

hovila: This

MonstrousVermin: The four noble truths.

crazywisdom: imho he awoke to the truth about our existence which is fundamentally one of suffering: the diagnosis,cause,prognosis & treatment

necroichthus: One answer I like is the “lack of truth” a-la: http://bit.ly/90fimp

VincentHorn: Can’t say.

ZenDirtZenDust: A Hangover

dkcarey: ME a cup of coffee?

hokaisobol: A useful answer must be 2fold. Conventionally speaking, to dependent origination. Ultimately, awakening has no distinct object.> >jointly thus, one is directly awake to suchness, allowing recognition of dependent origination everywhere, in many ways.

fivedirections: no self… no separation…the emptiness that’s fully of everything.

will_simpson: 4NobleTruths

jimparedes: MU!

Replies on Facebook:

Eric Calhoun: identity

Gary Sanders: Freedom from clinging….freedom from suffering.

Adam Richards: The 4 noble truths & his own nature

Mila Jake Stetser: being.

Ryan Oelke: this discussion wouldn’t be fun without paradox, so let’s reword the question – What did the Buddha awaken from? in, out, in, out.

Tara Bisgaard: the reality of now

Mike Redmer: to what he couldn’t not be.

Eileen Workman: what is.

Joel Morrison: the integration of the relative and absolute

Aley Crooker Martin: Now, being. Both sounds right.

Scott Zimmerle: mu

As you can see, the responses range from the ineffable (“Mu”), to reality, to “a hangover.” At first glance the answer to the question should be very straightforward. The Buddha, after all, is the icon of awakening. So how come geeky Buddhists have different concepts and assumptions with regards to the question?

Frankly, I don’t know the answer. I would’ve probably answered, “self as no thing,” or as a corollary to that, the Buddha awoke from “separation.”

So what is the “right” answer to the question, “What did the Buddha awoke to?”

I would refer to Stephen Batchelor for the “right” answer to this question. According to Stephen the Buddha awoke to the Four Noble Truths. He has an excellent discourse on this. Listen to the audio below from Upaya Dharma Podcast.

Godless Religion or Devout Atheism? Part 8 of 14 – Session 4

Stephen looks at the Buddha’s central metaphor of “awakening.” According to early Pali texts, the Buddha awoke to the Four Noble Truths. Often, we are taught that the Buddha awoke to original nature, or the Truth. The Four Noble Truths are alive, and they challenge our lives to act appropriately at every moment. In this seminar, Stephen also discusses the meaning of “dukkha,” and that the Buddha urges everyone to fully know it, to go directly into the darkness, where we may ultimately know a deep beauty.

So a few of my geeky Buddhist cyber friends nailed the answer to the question. Nice. Very geeky.

I highly recommend listening to the entire Godless Religion or Devout Atheism series for more context on Stephen’s discourse. I think mainstream Western Buddhists could learn a lot from Stephen’s careful reading and radical interpretation of the original Buddhist texts. In addition, Martine Batchelor (Stephen’s wife) presented a very heart-warming and insightful dharma talks in the series, with emphasis on lovingkindness and compassion.

Readers who are not familiar with Stephen Batchelor might ask why I consider his interpretation to be the “right” answer. First of, I don’t know if there’s even a “right” answer to the question. But given Stephen’s background — long-time practitioner of different Buddhist traditions, scholar, translator of dharma texts — I think he deeply knows what he’s talking about. To me, Stephen’s interpretation is the most probable and logical answer since he carefully quoted, analyzed, and cross-checked the sources from the earliest Buddhist texts.

Finally, Stephen’s interpretation of the recursive and fractal nature of the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path appeals to my intellect and my intuition. For Stephen, the Four Noble Truths lead to the Eightfold Path, and the Eightfold Path leads to the Four Noble Truths — hence its recursive and fractal nature.

In short, the Buddha awoke to a process, not to a static metaphysical transcendent ultimate absolute nature of reality. Nirvana is not some ultimate state or stage. Nirvana is a verb. Nirvana is a continuous process. I like that.

Here’s to all our awakening to the Four Noble Truths.

Shinzen once said that, “When the teacher is ready, the students appear.” I guess Shinzen is ready for me. For those who are wondering why I picked Shinzen as my main dharma teacher, here’s a welcoming video wherein he summarized the reasons.

Another reason is that I like his geeky approach to the dharma and his unique interactive meditation style. But most importantly, he’s a no non-sense teacher who’s not afraid to talk about enlightenment and his first-hand experience as a “liberated” person (Shinzen never calls himself liberated or enlightened, but I believe him to be, otherwise I won’t pick him as a dharma teacher. but that’s just me.).

Finally, on top of it all, his humility and honesty is disarming and he laughs like a geeky kid.

Most you of who are following this blog, my (hyper)stream, and tweets are probably sick of me pimping out Shinzen. But what can I say? I find tremendous value in his teaching so I’m just paying it forward. I hope you find value in them as well. And if you do find value in them, please pay it forward. It’s good karma

May you be safe, be healthy, live with ease… and may Happiness be.

P.S. As of this writing more videos of Shinzen Young are being added to his YouTube channel (big thanks to HPK for recording and uploading these videos). There’s also another YouTube channel with Shinzen’s up-close interviews conducted by Stephanie Nash. Collectively, these videos contain all the up-to-date version of Shinzen’s teachings condensed from his four decades of experience. As an example, here’s the technical foundation of Shinzen’s contemporary reworking of the Buddha’s five aggregates – see The Human Sensory (TSSFIT) System.

I’m glad that Shinzen is doing this “brain dump” online so that many more people will benefit from his style of teaching (which in my opinion is the best that I’ve encountered out there). The best part is that, from what I know, whatever Shinzen talks about in those videos are the same things he teaches in his home-based retreats. This means that Shinzen is making his teachings available as “open source”. You don’t have to pay him anyting to get the gist of his teachings. You don’t have to buy any of his books (though I highly recommend The Science of Enlightenment). You don’t have to pay him squat to benefit from his teachings. You can basically just watch all the available videos and implement it in your daily practice. That’s essentially what I’ve done. I have never met Shinzen in person. I have never attended (yet) any of his residential retreats. Yet, I feel that he’s provided me with all the information I need through his free videos. If that is not Open Source Enlightenment, then I don’t know what Open Source Enlightenment is.

Thank you, Shinzen for your teaching, generosity, humility, and openness. May you live long and kick more ass.

“kick ass dharma” = dharma free of dogma, cultural baggage, metaphysical hubris, institutionalized nonsense, and idiot compassion.

B. Alan Wallace at Upaya

I first heard of B. Alan Wallace years ago in an Integral Naked interview. I immediately liked him due to his intellectual sharpness and his deep knowledge in Buddhist scholarship and hardcore practice. It’s rare to see someone who has the passion and the proficiency on both Eastern introspective practice and Western scientific discipline. But more importantly, Wallace is not the stereotypical armchair philosopher and scholar. He is courageous in talking the talk and backing it up with action — a true hybrid dharma teacher.

There are many things I admire about Wallace. Let me count the ways…

1) He’s a hardcore dharma practitioner, well-versed in both Theravada and Tibetan Buddhist tradition. A prolific author, translator, and researcher whose primary interest is to integrate Buddhism with Western science and create a discipline called, Contemplative Science. (Also check out the audio of his lectures at Santa Barbara Institute.)

2) He’s the Co-principal investigator and Contemplative Director of the Shamatha Project, “a longitudinal, scientific study of the effects of three months-long training in attentional and emotional balance”, in collaboration with a team of cognitive scientists. Listen to his interviews on Buddhist Geeks wherein he discussed the overview of the Shamatha Project.

3) Another of his long-term visionary project is called, Phuket Mind Training Academy. See this video of B. Alan Wallace discussing the Phuket Mind Training Academy. (This reminds me of Professor Xavier’s School for the Gifted Youngsters.)

4) He blends humor, science, and dharma in retreat settings. Listen to his recent retreat at Upaya Dharma Podcast – “Science Meets Meditation”.

5) He is not intimidated by other intellectual heavyweights. See B. Allan Wallace debate/dialogue with John Searle on Consciousness.

For those who are not familiar with B. Alan Wallace, here’s a sample of his passionate, compassionate, and beautiful mind.

B. Alan Wallace @ Google Techtalks – Toward the First Revolution in the Mind Sciences.

For me, B. Alan Wallace is an excellent example of an intellectual samurai. I consider myself fortunate to have encountered his teachings and apply it to my practice. He’s my kind of kick ass dharma teacher.

I just finished listening to Shinzen Young’s The Science of Enlightenment audio CDs. I ripped all 14 CDs into MP3s, synced them to my iPhone and  listened at home, on the road, at the gym, and even at work. I have high expectations, and I was not disappointed.

(Tip: If you don’t care about the CDs and nifty packaging, you can download the Science of Enlightenment on iTunes for less than half of its original price).

Aside from being a Buddhist monk, scholar, meditation teacher, mathematician, and science geek, Shinzen is also a linguist, so he’s very particular and precise with his use of words, pronunciation, and diction (especially with foreign languages). He likes to define and clarify any ambiguity in the terms he uses in his discourses. He doesn’t go into too much philosophical conjecture and speaks in a friendly matter-of-factness tone. The more I listen to him the more I become certain that Shinzen Young is my kind of kick ass dharma teacher.

The Science of Enlightenment was originally published in audio cassette tapes in 1998. Sounds True published the unabridged audio CDs in 2005. So keep in mind that the recorded talks are more than ten years old (that’s ancient time in cyberspace). However, that’s one of the reasons why I find this series so compelling to listen to. Even though Shinzen delivered the dharma in his own contemporary style and science-based lingo, with the advancement in science, his style of teaching apply more today than when he made the recordings ten years ago.

Here is my review and summary of the breadth and depth of The Science of Enlightenment.

some equations on the Science of Enlightenment

Disc 1 – Extraordinary States Of Focus And Presence / Cultivating Concentration Power / Expanding The Scale Of Your Life / Meditation As Part Of All Activities / What Is A Meditative State? / The Physiological Effects Of Meditation / Meditating For Your Health / Common Misconceptions About Meditation / Happiness Independent Of Conditions / A Complete Experience / How Your Meditation Benefits Others / Developing True Friendliness And Compassion

Shinzen starts out by explaining what meditation is and the importance of developing high concentration. He discusses the psychological and physiological effects of meditation practice. For those who already have a regular meditation practice, specifically Buddhist Vipassana practice, there’s not much new information on this CD. However, this is an excellent introduction for those who are new to meditation. It’s also a good refresher course for those who have slacked in their meditation practice.

Disc 2 – The Meditative Core Of World Religions / Three Aspects Of Religious Experience / What Is Enlightenment? / A Link Among The Mystics / Hinduism And The Technology Of Concentration / The Perennial Philosophy / Focusing The Mind With Relaxation / The Lessons Of Effort And Equanimity / Your Wave-Like Nature / The Unified Vibration Of All Life / Changing Your Understanding Of Self / Happiness In The Midst Of Suffering

Here is where listeners will get a sense of the depth of Shinzen’s experiential and encyclopedic knowledge of the common threads of mystical traditions. He elaborates on the terminologies used in different traditions when describing states of consciousness, concentration, and spiritual experiences. He uses the words “waves” and “vibrations” in describing the Buddhist concept of “impermanence.” On my part, I find this description of impermanence as key to understanding its “tangible” and experiential aspects. More on this below…

Disc 3 – The Six Senses / Modes Of Thinking / Dimensions Of Emotions / Being Mindful Of Body Sensations / Noting The Quality Of Your Feelings / Insight And Purification / Acquiring Skill At Feeling / How Thoughts And Feelings Intertwine / The Self As An Interactive Wave / Meditation Teachers As Living Models / The Activity Of Personality / Untangling Your Negative Emotions / Wave/Particle Complementarity / The Moment Of True Peace

This CD is where Shinzen goes into detail in discussing the Vipassana technique, specifically “noting” meditation. Vipassana (or Mindfulness) meditation is a technique of teasing apart the strands of our sensory experience. Using clear science metaphors and with his proclivity for mathematics, Shinzen explains how the tangling of sensory components causes overwhelm, suffering, and produce a sense of self. He then elaborates on the Wave/Particle paradigm of describing our awareness and Buddhist concepts such as impermanence and nothingness. For example here’s how he describes “nothingness” or the activity of the “Source” using the wave metaphor.

“…when we have this unblocked experience of the six senses and they produce their wave, this actually is not the complete experience of the Source. There’s one final step in the reduction. And that takes place when the waves cancel out. And there is a moment of true peace. Not peace in the sense that the mind has stopped thinking. But peace in the sense that all of the expansive and contractive forces that can create this or any universe have come together. And in their coming together they have drawn the richness of this and all conceivable universes, drawn them back into a state that is a cancellation of positive and negative. So it is a kind of nothing, but contains all the positive and negative. So it is at the same time, an everything.”

Very geeky, no?

Disc 4 – Global Relaxation Meditation / Free-floating Awareness Meditation

This is a guided meditation focusing on relaxation and free-floating awareness. Very refreshing and relaxing.

Disc 5 – Meditation As Inner Catalyst  / Paradigms Of Purification / Relieving Friction Among The Senses / The Paradox Of Complete Experience / The Technique Of No Technique / Strategies For Increasing Awareness / Classic Objects Of Meditation / Focusing On Feeling And Thoughts / Fixation And Driveness / Observing Your Thoughts / True Peace Of Mind / Contacting Your Fundamental Confusion / Samadhi Through The Senses

Here the discussion continues with the different objects of meditation, and meditation as a scientific paradigm. Shinzen expounds on thought (or thinking) as one of the six senses and introduced the concept of insight and purification. Those who are familiar with Theravada practice will recognize this as a generalized contemporary discourse on Visuddhimaga (Path of Purification).

Disc 6 – Thinking Process Meditation / Clarifying Meditation

I haven’t tried this meditation, yet. But it’s good to know that this option is available whenever I feel like it

Disc 7 – The Pathless land / Three Layers of Consciousness / The Creative Nature of Impermanence / Relating to Your Intermediate Realms / Relating to Your Intermediate Realms / The Ascent of St. John of the Cross / The Oblique Path of Shamanism / The Body of the Absolute / Fundamentals for Your Practice / Impetus to Follow the Path / Momentum and Maintenance / Liberation vs. Entertainment Meditation

This CD is one of my favorites in this series. This is the part where Shinzen talks about his “three-layered cake” metaphor of consciousness and how different people traverse the spiritual path in an infinite number of vectors. This is a contemporary discourse on the Buddhist teaching of Trikaya (or three bodies)–nirmanakaya, sambhogakaya, and dharmakaya.

In this talk Shinzen criticizes the spiritual materialism which is rampant in New Age circles and religious faiths. A good portion of the discourse is on the dangers and pitfalls of the Intermediate Realm of Power–the layer of the subconscious, unconscious, and archetypes–where the weird stuff (ie, apparitions, psychic powers, demons, gods) arises. Unlike other meditation teachers who avoid talking about their inner experiences, Shinzen openly shares his own visionary encounters. However, he makes no claims on the objective nature of his experiences. He’s humble enough to label his visionary experiences as “hallucinations” no matter how realistic and insightful they were from his subjective point of view. Shinzen also shares some interesting stories of paranormal phenomena he witnessed, but cautions the listeners on exploring the horizonal dimensions of the archetypes. He highly recommends to get enlightened first before mastering the Intermediate Realms of Power.

Shinzen makes it clear that what he’s teaching is a “liberation-oriented” meditation as opposed to “spiritual entertainment.” So he emphasized practice with enlightenment as the ultimate goal; to use illusion to be free from illusion.

Disc 8 – Impermanence As A Facet Of Insight / Suffering And No-Self / Are The Mountains Moving? / The Guises Of Impermanence / Sensing The Vibrations Of Your Body / The Ultimate Inner Massage / The Taste Of Purification / The Marathon Monks Of Mt. Hiye / Digesting Karma / Merging Spirit And Matter / Impermanence As A Unifier / The Activity Called “You”

I just love listening to Shinzen’s discourse on impermanence. It’s different from other discourses I’ve heard before. Maybe because Shinzen uses contemporary and scientific metaphors which appeal to me. Just by hearing him describe impermanence as vibrations, waves, expansion, and contraction enabled me to improve on my meditation practice. Since then I’ve learned to ride the waves of subtle vibrations like a newbie surfer.

Disc 9 – The Formless Womb / Pondering The Obvious / The Pairs Of Fundamental Forces / Daidic Models In Western Philosophy / Mystical Judaism / Rising And Passing In Buddhism / Participating In The Activity Of The Source / The Polarization Of The Whole Universe / The Zero That Is Everything / Cessation Of Thought And Feeling / What Will You Do When The Earthquake Comes? / Being The Master Of Every Situation

More excellent discourse on impermanence, Nirvana, and why Joshu Sasaki Roshi‘s (Shinzen Young’s teacher) metaphor of expansion and contraction is an important breakthrough.  Shinzen also discusses the Dyadic Models (e.g. Ying and Yang) as opposed to Dualistic Models (e.g. Good vs. Evil) of spirituality. Very conceptually handy.

Disc 10 – Breath Meditation / Sensory Field Meditation

In this CD Shinzen guides the listeners to develop the sensitivity to recognize the vibratory, expansive, contractive, and undulatory sensations of impermanence. For me, focusing on these sensations is like being massaged by a vibrating chair from Sharper Image.

Disc 11 – The Science Of Enlightenment / Three “Vehicles” Of Buddhism / Three Geographical Regions Of Buddhism / The Buddha And Asceticism / The Middle Way / Liberation And Responsibility

Although the title of the series is The Science of Enlightenment Shinzen makes it clear that the Buddhist methodology  is only “a science of enlightenment”, meaning that it’s only one of the methods among other mystical practices in the core of other religious traditions, not to mention that enlightenment can also happen in the secular domain, serendipitously, due to some statistical probability. However, according to Shinzen, Buddhist meditation (as originally developed in India) is the most refined and systematic of the liberation-oriented technology. I couldn’t agree more.

In this CD Shinzen wears a hat of a Buddhist scholar lecturing on the history of the three pillars of Buddhism (Hinayana, Mahayana, Vajrayana). He cautions the listeners that he’s only giving a generalized account of the history of the different schools of Buddhism. For those who don’t know the distinctions of the different Buddhist traditions, this is an excellent rundown of the evolution of Buddhism up to the present period.

Depending on where your bias is among the different schools of Buddhism, you might get a bit rattled by Shinzen’s critique of Mahayana and Vajrayana. Remember that Shinzen is an ordained monk in the Vajrayana school–Shingon, Japanese tradition–so I think he knows what he’s talking about. In any case, I will leave this debate to Buddhist scholars. I’m just here to learn a liberation-oriented technology and practice with diligence

Disc 12 – The Complexities Of Zen / Soto Zen And The Relevance Of Sitting Practice / The Practice Of Rinzai Zen / Vajrayana Buddhism / Sexuality And Spiritual Growth / The Relevance Of Ritual / Three Styles Of Buddhism

This is the continuation of Shinzen’s lecture on the different schools of Buddhism. Very juicy.

Disc 13 – Universal Mystical Experience / Different Expressions Of Enlightenment / Origins Of Meditative Experience / The Power Of Ceremony / Internal And External Technologies / The Intersection Of Science And Spirituality

In this CD Shinzen gives his due respect to Shamanism and the spiritual experiences of early humans but he makes it clear that he doesn’t subscribe to the notion of the Noble Savage. No pre-trans fallacy here. He also starts his discourse on the integration of Science and Spirituality.

Disc 14 – The Enlightened Scientist / The Human Significance Of The Impersonal / How Science Illuminates Meditation / A New Model For Enlightenment / New Perspectives On The One Reality / The Spiritual Themes Of Modern Physics / The Next Mode Of Human Awareness

This is the gist of the series: the cross-fertilization of the best of what the East and West have to offer to humanity. Shinzen offers a new model for Eastern enlightenment that is supported by the Western scientific paradigm. He calls for a cultivation of enlightened scientists. Take note that he’s not only asking for scientists who meditate. He wants a group of people who have PhDs and research experience who at the same time had experienced classical enlightenment and attain all the levels of samadhi. Here’s how he put it:

What we really need are individuals who understand both worlds really deeply…. I’m talking about people who could attain all levels of samadhi, have had deep enlightenment experiences, probably meditated for thirty, fourty, fifty years in a very disciplined way, on one hand, and have PhDs and research experience in the sciences on the other hand. And a third characteristic, are iconoclastic, are willing to see beyond the preconceptions of both traditional meditative practices and standard Western science.

What I think is needed, what I would like to see happen is, a generation of individuals like this appearing on this planet. Because ultimately, it has to be inside one person. The disciplines are too deep, they’re too subtle, for specialist in one to try communicate with specialist in the other using words. It’s very difficult. So I think what we need is a few dozen people that are really enlightened masters, number one, top notch scientists, number two, and willing to, as I say, willing to let go of preconceptions of both of those disciplines and look at something in a radically different way. And I think if we had several dozen human beings like that on this planet they could come up with some extraordinary new breakthroughs.

How cool is that?

According to Shinzen, his dream is to teach meditation at MIT. I hope that since he made these recordings he already had a chance to teach meditation at Ivy League schools. Shinzen should be invited to give a presentation on TED Talks. I share his passion for secularizing the dharma and making it more palatable to the scientific community.

Conclusion and Some Observations

Those who are familiar with Ken Wilber’s Integral Psychological Model will probably not find anything radically new on the Science of Enlightenment as far as broad integration is concerned. Wilber has been hashing out the integration of Western Science and Eastern contemplative disciplines for almost four decades now. However, I see Shinzen Young as one of those who are actually fleshing out the integration that Wilber has been calling for. He complements Wilber’s integration using his own style of integration. If Wilber is doing integration at the 10,000 feet level, Shinzen is doing it at the 1,000 feet level. Shinzen’s approach to secularizing the dharma and teaching Vipassana meditation–reworking the vocabulary, applying mathematical concepts, and using scientific metaphors–is, in my opinion, the best way of making it palatable for the scientific community and the academia.

Shinzen Young is one the most sane voices who are paving the way for the enlightenment of science. Since the publication of the Science of Enlightenment ten years ago, there already are promising signs that the cross-fertilization of Western science and Eastern meditative technology have been gathering momentum . One of the leading voices in the field is B. Alan Wallace (a Buddhist practitioner and scientist). See Wallace’s talk at Google: “Towards the First Revolution in the Mind Sciences“. On the more mainstream end, Sam Harris (a neuroscience researcher) is making noises about such integration. See Harris’s essays on the Huffington Post: “A Contemplative Science” and Shambhala Sun: “Killing the Buddha“.

As for Shinzen Young, he’s more active than ever and continues to refine his methodology . The most recent version of his secularized and science-based teaching can be found on his website, Basic Mindfulness.

However, one thing I noticed about Shinzen’s style of teaching Vipassana is that he doesn’t put emphasis on the Jhanas (as originally thought in the Theravada tradition), possibly because he doesn’t want to dwell on them or that he has not specialized in them. I assume that Shinzen’s goal is to make Vipassana meditation more compatible with Western Science, that’s why he prefers to focus on those teachings which could be easily translated into user-friendly scientific terms rather than teaching the jhanas as described in the original suttras of the Buddha. For those who are into more hardcore Theravada, I highly recommend checking out Daniel Ingram’s Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha.

The bottom line: Shinzen Young demystified the concept classical enlightenment, making “happiness independent of conditions” a realistic and tangible goal for people who choose to tread the path of liberation.

Thanks to Shinzen Young I now realize that my kind of practice is Vipassana, my proclivity is towards Theravada, and that, when I grow up, I want to become a hard-nosed rationalist Buddha.

UPDATE: 11/28/2009 – Here’s a video of Shinzen talking about the making of The Science of Enlightenment. I’m more impressed to learn that the whole audio series is from a spontaneous dharma talk. Looking forward to the book version!

Why am I interested with Shinzen Young? Let me count the ways…

1. He is the most articulate Buddhist teacher I’ve ever encountered. He uses clear and concise language in his teachings. It’s probably because he is multi-lingual and scientifically inclined so he understands the importance of semantics and precise language.

2. He is passionate with mathematics, science, and technology. He can integrate his knowledge of Western Science and Eastern Contemplative science. I especially like his algorithmic approach to teaching the dharma. I’m currently waiting for my copy of Science of Enlightenment (audio CDs). (DONE: See my review here: The Science of Enlightenment is Paving the Way for the Enlightenment of Science.)

3. He has extensively studied and practiced all types of Buddhist “vehicles”–Mahayana, Vajrayana, and Theravada–but he chose to teach the Vipassana (or Mindfulness) technique because it’s the most science-like and user-friendly of all meditation techniques.

4. He distilled the essence of Vipassana practice in his own system of teaching using precise language and clear instructions. See Basic Mindfulness.

5. I share his passion for “secularizing” the dharma. In fact, in one of his interviews, he mentioned that one of his missions is “to make Buddhism obsolete”. How can you get more secular than that?

6. His concept and articulation of spirituality is very integrated.  Listen to his examination of spiritual experiences and description of the 4th Dimension of Spirituality.

7. He’s uber-geeky! He could probably be the first teacher with AI (Artificial Intelligence) as dharma successor.

8. He reminds me a lot of Ken Wilber. Like Wilber, he can “pontificate” for hours. He just flows with words and ideas. I think he can out-talk Wilber. For me, Ken Wilber is to Integral Philosophy as Shinzen Young is to dharma and meditation practice.

Don’t take my word for it. Checkout the above videos, read the articles on Shinzen’s website, and listen to the following interviews. Notice how precise he is in articulating his ideas and viewpoints.

Three-part Shinzen Young interview on Buddhist Geeks

An Interview with Shinzen Young on Mindfulness Meditation

Shinzen Young Interviews with Stephanie Nash

I’ve been dabbling with Buddhist practice for more than 15 years now. I’ve tried to get a taste of different Buddhist traditions (Zen, Tibetan, Theravada). I’m realistic and pragmatic when it comes to spirituality. I don’t like to be confined within a religion or cult-like spiritual circles. I don’t like following gurus. I’m very picky with a teacher. But as the old Zen saying goes, “When the student is ready, the Master appears.” Shinzen Young is my kind of kick ass dharma teacher. I take this as a sign that I’m ready to get wet and go deep into the heart of the dharma.

UPDATE 05/31/2009: The more I get to know Shinzen and become familiar with his teaching approach the more I am convinced that I’ve finally found my main dharma teacher.

Shinzen really lives up to his name: Shin (Truth) + Zen (Goodness) = Beautiful activity of compassionate and kick ass teaching.

And most of all I find his humility very disarming. He’s the teacher I’d been looking for all along. Here’s another video that proves my point.

For more Shinzen videos keep checking this Youtube channel ~ http://www.youtube.com/user/expandcontract