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Running Head: THE NEUROSCIENCE OF BUDDHISM

The Neuroscience of Buddhism: How to End Suffering with Your Mind

Eliza Peralta
Salt Lake Community College

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Running Head: THE NEUROSCIENCE OF BUDDHISM

The Neuroscience of Buddhism

How to End Suffering with Your Mind
Science without religion

is lame. Religion without science is blind - Albert Einstein.

Religion and science are more often than not controversial viewpoints that divide people into
either side of the spectrum. But they can become hand in hand with one another. Science is what
you know to be true through knowledge and facts, however faith is what cannot be explained.
Science supports the idea that the flow of thoughts can actually shape the brain. Therefore, your
thoughts can create happiness, love and wisdom if you so choose. This can ultimately leave
desire behind. Buddhism teaches us how to end suffering by following the eightfold path, which
essentially also teaches us how to change our thinking errors when it comes to Dukkha
(suffering) and then our way of life. The mind is a very powerful tool. Once you are able to
control your thoughts, you can control your mind and therefore perception the world you live in.
What most fail to realize is that the sky is not the limit, the mind is; it has more capabilities than
one can even fathom at one time. Rewiring your brain from the inside out can help you let go of
the mental desires that cause mental illnesses and addiction which in turn creates a greater well
being, build stronger relationships, and provide inner peace.

Nothing in biology makes sense except in light of evolution - Theodosius Dobzhansky.

From a scientific psychological standpoint, when your mind changes, your brain changes too. At
a neural level, mental activity starts when neurons are fired and wired together, forming new
neural structures. When we make these structures, were forming and consolidating our past
memories which are then connected or correlated into new memories or experiences. This
supports the Principle of Relativity and Interconnectedness, that everything is dependent on

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Running Head: THE NEUROSCIENCE OF BUDDHISM

something, including our memories. Parts of the brain such as the hippocampus are responsible
for memory and learning and are stored into our consciousness. Our consciousness is mindmade;
we learn everything in this world from our environment and people in it - through our 6 senses.
With these senses and our perception of them we form a conscious and thus memories that stick
with us.
Eye + Vision = Eye Consciousness
Ear + Sound = Sound Consciousness
Tongue + Taste = Tongue Consciousness
Nose + Scent = Nose Consciousness
Body + Touch = Bodily/Physical Consciousness
Mind + Thought = Mind Consciousness
However, Buddhist teaching negates the idea of self and therefore consciousness does not
exist. We essentially live in loops of our memories because that is how we are evolutionized to
survive. From the beginning of time, humans have developed a consciousness in order to protect
themselves from danger. Having no soul is proven by Buddhism by the Five Aggregates. 1. Form
(Matter), 2. Sensation. 3. Perception 4. Mental Formation and 5. Consciousness. These are all
interconnected. When we reject the idea of self, we can realize that our lives and identity are
essentially insignificant in the grand scale of the universe. Our own nature does not exist- only a
conceptual nature. We start when we are conceived, we stay and make mental formations when
we are born and continue being reborn through life experiences, and when we die we become
essentially part of the universe again - back to cells and atoms. Pain and anger is a conditioned
emotion because the whole concept of "I am" is relative. This is why the idea of self is the cause

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Running Head: THE NEUROSCIENCE OF BUDDHISM

of all suffering. Suffering includes mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety, and also
addiction. When we are able to realize the origin of these mental illnesses, we can change our
thinking/perception of them, and let go of them..
Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional - Buddha. Depression and anxiety are a
combination of physical and mental suffering. Although they can be caused by a chemical
imbalance in the brain, they are essentially induced by trauma or past experiences. For example,
if a loved one has passed away, many would become depressed because of what they have lost
and anxious because of the unknown after death. Death has a bad stigma; most think of death as
an end to all things rather than a start to a new life. Sometimes the pain that we hold onto when
someone dies, is all the memory that we have left of them - And thats why we basically become
addicted to pain. Another form of attachment is addiction to drugs or mind altering substances.
Most develop these addictions to distract themselves from the pain that comes from their reality.
Inducing drugs basically interferes with the way neurons send out, receive, or process
information in the brain. An overstimulation offeel-good neurotransmitters from drugs can
affect the normal recycling of brain chemicals by targeting the brains reward system. This then
reinforces addictive behavior because our brain is naturally wired to repeat activities that reward
us. The reason why its so hard for abusers to stop their addiction is because the brain adjusts to
the overwhelming surges in dopamine (and other feel-good neurotransmitters) by producing less
dopamine or by reducing the number of receptors that can receive signals. Abuse over time will
reduce the users ability to experience any kind of pleasure in the long run. Attachment to pain or
the desire to induce pleasure to avoid pain are different ways that cause suffering. When we let

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go of these attachments, we let go of pain. We can find ways to do this through the Four Noble
Truths and the Eightfold Path.
When following the Four Noble Truths in Buddhism, instead of denying that we are
suffering, we must realize that there is suffering/unsatisfactoriness. We can then discover that the
origin of Dukkha (suffering) can arise from excessive desire. Once we realize that we can cease
this, we can make efforts to end the suffering. But in order to cease this, we must follow the
eightfold path and reach enlightenment to understand the reason for this suffering. The Eightfold
Path is the essentially a path that leads to the end of all suffering. Those who follow the
Eightfold Path practice discipline, concentration, and wisdom which includes the 8 paths to
enlightenment. Discipline includes practicing the right speech and right conduct, Concentration
means practicing Buddhist teachings with the right livelihood and thus mortality, right effort,
right mindfulness, and right contemplation. To have wisdom means to have the right views and
right thoughts. Meditation can help us realize our thinking errors and actually help us
consciously work through them. When we practice discipline, concentration, and wisdom, we are
essentially stimulating and strengthening parts of the brain that activate feelings of calmness, joy,
compassion, self worth, and confidence. We are learning to let go of suffering and instead filling
our reward circuits with mindful and positive thoughts - changing our whole way of life.
We tend to lose ourselves in our painful stories, but pain is a part of the process and path
to enlightenment. No matter how much we dislike it, pain makes us realize things and sometimes
theres no other way to learn. Each of the Five Aggregates change insubstantially and makes us
who we are. Everything is interconnected and interdependent on something else - therefore we
must not allow our memories to control us. Our realities are interdependent on our environment,

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our consolidated memories, and our human experience. Depression is when one is stuck in the
past. Anxiety is when one is terrified of the future. But when we reach Nirvana, the end to all
suffering, we are living the present moment. When we are able to change our thinking, we can
change the way we look at life. With all things, beauty and life lessons can be found in the most
unconventional, dark places and can help us learn and work through our pain and suffering.
Through Buddhist teaching and the knowledge of neuroscience, we are no longer allowing this
suffering to control us. Ultimately, happiness comes down to choosing between the discomfort
of becoming aware of your mental afflictions and the discomfort of being ruled by them. Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche

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References
Bandara, Wijitha " Lecture." 2016. Lecture/Class Notes.
Hanson, R., & Mendius, R. (2009). Buddha's brain: the practical neuroscience of happiness,
love & wisdom. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications.
Mitchell, Donald W, Buddhism: Introducing the Buddhist Experience