I loved the explanation that light from lights point of view, doesn’t experience time, space or mass.  Sounds like consciousness to me.

What do you think?

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In 1963 a fascinating and unique report on Zen meditation was presented by Dr. Akira Kasamatsu and Dr. Tomio Hirai of the Department of Neuro-Psychiatry, Tokyo University. It contained the results of a ten-year study of the brain wave or electroencephalographic (EEG) tracings of Zen masters.[66,67]…

Another finding of the same study concerned what is called alpha blocking and habituation. To understand these phenomena let us imagine that a person who is reading quietly is suddenly interrupted by a loud noise. For a few seconds his attention is diverted from the reading to the noise. If the same sound is then repeated a few seconds later his attention will again be diverted, only not as strongly nor for as long a time. If the sound is then repeated at regular intervals, the person will continue reading and become oblivious to the sound. A normal subject with closed eyes produces alpha waves on an EEG tracing. An auditory stimulation, such as a loud noise, normally obliterates alpha waves for seven seconds or more; this is termed alpha blocking. In a Zen master the alpha blocking produced by the first noise lasts only two seconds. If the noise is repeated at 15 second intervals, we find that in the normal subject there is virtually no alpha blocking remaining by the fifth successive noise. This diminution of alpha blocking is termed habituation and persists in normal subjects for as long as the noise continues at regular and frequent intervals. In the Zen master, however, no habituation is seen. His alpha blocking lasts two seconds with the first sound, two seconds with the fifth sound, and two seconds with the twentieth sound. This implies that the Zen master has a greater awareness of his environment as the paradoxical result of meditative concentration. One master described such a state of mind as that of noticing every person he sees on the street but of not looking back with emotional lingering.

It’s interesting in that Zen, however, you want to put it, is about seeing all things anew, to reference the West’s beloved. No habituation, seeing things deeply, no mind.

But relatedly and equally fascinating is this article: Zen Training Speeds The Mind’s Return After Distraction, Brain Scans Reveal.

Now just think for a moment, if there is no distraction and no coming and going, with everything just being what it is, the bell sound is no distraction, just the universe at this moment in time, requiring full attention.

However our Zen forefathers basically said that to discover ones own true nature one must stop seeking, even seeking after enlightenment. If you correlate that with the idea that we find what we look for, then seeking and seeing are inextricably linked. And that leads to the idea in the Voice of the Silence that we must be deaf and blind to all external phenomena.

In The Labors of Hercules the story of Scorpio concludes when Hercules lifts the Hydra into the light of die and consequently all of its heads to die, but one. A. A. Bailey suggested that the immortal head was sexuality, if I remember rightly. Maybe I don’t. But perhaps this immortal head was seeking. There is no doubt though that sexuality drives a whole lot of seeking of its own. And the sociobiologists would argue that sexual competition drives the need for status, for wealth, etc. I tend to agree.

Yet seeking is very much in the mind. And I think being mindful of this is a very useful tool to aid ones practice. I would suggest that letting go of seeking enables one to be receptive to one’s true nature.

It seems that meditation enlarges certain parts of the brain. Science Daily published an article to this effect. And another article shows that buddhists really are happier.

The danger inherent in this understanding is that it is essentially materialistic. By that I mean that seeing it as a brain function, keeps the understanding as dualistic. Perhaps it might be better to see the changing brain structure as a reflection of a deeper spiritual awakening rather than the cause.

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