Buddha’s Brain - Book Summary & Review

Buddha’s Brain

The Practical Neuroscience of

Happiness, Love, and Wisdom

Rick Hanson

Brief Description of the Book

Jesus, Moses, Mohammed, Gandhi, and the Buddha all had brains built essentially like anyone else's, yet they were able to harness their thoughts and shape their patterns of thinking in ways that changed history.

With new breakthroughs in modern neuroscience and the wisdom of thousands of years of contemplative practice, it is possible for us to shape our own thoughts in a similar way for greater happiness, love, compassion, and wisdom.

Buddha's Brain joins the forces of modern neuroscience with ancient contemplative teachings to show readers how they can work toward greater emotional well-being, healthier relationships, more effective actions, and deepened religious and spiritual understanding. This book will explain how the core elements of both psychological well-being and religious or spiritual life-virtue, mindfulness, and wisdom-are based in the core functions of the brain: regulating, learning, and valuing. Readers will also learn practical ways to apply this information, as the book offers many exercises they can do to tap the unused potential of the brain and rewire it over time for greater peace and well-being.

(From Amazon.in)

Notable Ideas in the Book

What distinguishes the brain from the mind? Our minds are mental processes – thoughts, wishes and feelings. In contrast, the brain is a highly complex bundle of synapses. Thus, the mind is intangible whereas the brain is physical.

Our conscious experiences are the result of a close interaction between brain and mind. But the mind's power doesn't end there: it can also alter the brain's physical structure.

Whenever we experience or feel something, the neurons interact – or “fire” – with each other. Over time, these neurons physically change as enduring physical connections are created between them. This is known as Hebb's Rule, which is neatly expressed in the phrase: “neurons that fire together, wire together.” This experience can alter our brain.

 By engaging in self-reflection we can lead happier, more fulfilling lives. We often feel like we’re victims of our circumstances, that our unhappiness and dissatisfaction with life is an inevitable conclusion. But if we reflect on these mental processes, it can lead to a happier, more prosperous life.  Brain develops and adapts to whatever it focuses on, if we focus on the positive, we train our brain to take in positivity and incorporate them into our lives.

Some people think that being self-reflective means being self-indulgent. But it’s not true. By actively reflecting on our lives, we enable ourselves to become a better person, for both our own sake and for that of the people around us.

 Suffering is a product of evolution; it aids our survival and affects us today. Our suffering derives from a useful evolutionary trait – it warns us against dangerous things. In modern world, however, sometimes these dangers are not so clear. Suffering explains all the feelings in life we don’t like and would rather not experience.

Negative feelings are informative – they tell us what we should avoid. Positive feelings, on other hand, suggest what we should seek out.

Also, our brains are biased toward avoiding harm; negative memories are stored over positive memories in our brains so they stay hidden. Such behaviour continues to play a major role in our lives today – but we have to decide whether to approach or avoid mental states.

Approach behaviours are not completely positive; they can involve suffering too. Some physical discomfort is normal, though we often make it worse than it needs to be.

Unfortunately, pain is impossible to avoid. However our sufferings arise mostly from our reactions to these discomforts. Most of our suffering comes from a “second dart” that we throw at ourselves. This is the second level of pain. “Second darts” are our own reactions to a painful event, be it physical or mental. This vengeful emotional state is the true suffering we feel, and it’s caused by our reaction to the first dart.

But sufferings don’t always need a first dart as a trigger because it always involves strong physical reactions that can trigger further “second dart”. How?

Suffering sends the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) into an overdrive. This increases the flood of adrenalin and heart rate. Then as the SNS activity increases, it causes second-dart reactions which cause feelings like depression and sadness.

 The key to happiness lies in certain ways of thinking.
We all have the means to promote our own well-being. All we need to do is learn a few new ways of thinking.

The first one is mindfulness. Mindfulness is the state of complete awareness, and it can be generated by meditation. Mindfulness promotes well-being by stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS).

The PNS is like a cousin to the SNS, it reduces the heart rate and makes us feel calm and restful. In this way, we feel happy and more relaxed.

The second approach is to think about wholesome intentions. Intentions are a kind of desire, and an example of a wholesome intention would be thinking of ourselves as strong and powerful.

Lastly, practicing composure helps us to control our emotions and reduces any unhealthy desires. Composure is a state of control. When we’re composed, we’re able to separate the link between feeling good because of something, and having an endless craving for it. Practicing composure involves understanding how things make us feel, and realizing that our emotions can be separated from our desires.

Meditation leads to greater insights about oneself and, ultimately, more wisdom. Focused concentration is not only a means for gaining awareness, it’s also the driving force behind many important insights. While meditating, our attention is deeply focused, which leads to insights. Insights help us to clear our misunderstandings and gain a clearer perspective of things.

Meditation can help you to attain a more calm and relaxed sense of self. Our sense of self “I” with which we experience the world, also leads to some of our greatest sufferings. When we let go of this sense of self and submerge ourselves in the world without ego, we feel peace and fulfilment.

However, a strong sense of self is also useful, through meditation we can learn when to take things personally and when to step back from ourselves. Also, a sense of self helps to distinguish ourselves from other people.

 Our brains are hardwired to love. Have you ever wondered why we love? The short answer is that our capacity to love is in our DNA. The structure of the human brain has been, during evolution, developed for love.

We have a large capacity for love and it has been a fundamental part of human survival. Love is a deep-rooted trait in our biological makeup. The biological basis of love is evident in the way feelings of love help to generate trust in communities and play a role in the formation of partnerships. The feelings of love are crucial in human reproduction.

Because our brains are now larger and more complex, it takes longer for an offspring’s brain to fully develop after birth. Due to this, it is important for parents to develop strong bonds with their offspring, in order to care for them and ensure their survival.

 With a greater sense of empathy, one can become a more compassionate and loving person. Empathy and compassion are closely related; empathy is the foundation of true compassion. Having compassion for others means caring deeply about them. When we are empathic toward others, we gain insight into their perspective. On the other hand, when we lack empathy, there can often be harmful consequences, like increased insecurity in relationships.

But there’s more to empathy than compassion. Being empathic can lead to deeper, more successful relationships with others. This is because empathy helps to soothe and disperse interpersonal conflicts. Additionally, empathy helps to eliminate any caution we may feel when it comes to being close to others, which enables us to establish deep connections with others.

Ruchika Verma

You can purchase this awesome book from Amazon.