The subject of "free will" came up in class discussion last week. I honestly don't see the place for free will in Buddhist thought. Even when the study about cognitive evidence for free will was brought up in class, I still don't see that as evidence of "free" will. I would like to read the report for myself, but it sounded as though there was evidence of a small moment of "free will" in brain activity decisions. The thing is, however, that even those cells that make up such activity are formed from various causes and conditions. The decisions of that will are constrained by the causes and conditions of the situation. A person does not suddenly decide I will take my next step on Pluto, before coming back to Earth. Our will is not completely free. There are still certain conditions that restrict it.
This does not mean that I am advocating determinism or the idea of predetermined fatalism.
I believe the truth of action lies somewhere in between. We do have will power that influences every moment of our activity. However, all these moments of will are influenced by the conditions of that moment.
No will completely determined. No will is completely free. All will is conditioned.
The important thing in relation to Buddhism though, is we can increase the influence of our will by increasing our awareness of each moment. One of the critical types of klesas, the causes of suffering, according to Buddhism is ignorance. The way to combat ignorance is through increasing awareness. The more awareness we have the greater our power to unify thought patterns and exercise will ---- and the greater power to exercise will in skillful ways that can help reduce or even eliminate our patterns of stress and suffering. But with such awareness, we must be realistic. We must be aware of our conditions in the present moment. For each moment provides the conditions in which to act. Skillful will does not try to walk from Kansas to Pluto in one step. Skillful will puts one step in front of the other because it is aware of where it is. It is conditioned, but with greater awareness, will can use those conditions to break free from patterns of stress and suffering.
Thursday, April 25, 2013
is meditation a real cure-all for anyone?
In the class, we discussed alcoholism issues in the military and PTSD. The issues are definitely linked, and the alcohol culture among current military personnel and vets is very real. However, to what extent can meditation really help someone struggling with addiction issues and PTSD. I think meditation is very good to persue - but it should be done with caution. For someone who stuggles to close their eyes at night because they cannot help but to relive their previous horrors, do we really want to suggest they close their eyes during the day and stop thinking about things? Any meditator knows that it takes time to be able to develop the concentration necessary to maintain focus on the breath or the body, or some other object of concentration - and not have some other streams of thoughts come in that we have to observe, realize they're coming in, and then bring our focus back. I think this could be good practice, but it is rather risky as well.
Meditation is mind training - and like any physical training program we have to be careful when the body isn't completely healthy. Wind sprints might be good for someone trying to get faster, but do you really suggest that for someone who might be naturally athletic, but comes in with a badly sprained ankle?
Likewise, I think we have to be careful in the types of meditation we suggest to someone who might have PTSD or other difficult symptoms due to past traumatic experiences. Meditation can be a great tool. But I think activities that offer guided meditations would be much more beneficial for a while. For example, having a guided body-scan in which new instructions are given every 20-30 seconds can help keep the mind on track, focused on the task at hand. SOme other visualizations could be helpful as well, such as a version of Thich Nhat Hanh's 4 Earth Touchings or any of a series of basic vajrayana visualizations (There are a plethera of vajrayana body-scans and light-based visualizations that could be helpful).
After practice and building up familiarity with the concentration of such practices, more time could slowly be devoted to silence, thus building up the capability to deal with these moments of darkness.
I think similar strategies could be used for those heavy into addiction cycles who have trouble with concentration. Don't start right away with too much blank quiet time. Work at the meditation, but start for a while with something guided, where there is a consistent flow of instruction. Slowly work up the concentration to be able to work with longer periods of silence.
Meditation is mind training - and like any physical training program we have to be careful when the body isn't completely healthy. Wind sprints might be good for someone trying to get faster, but do you really suggest that for someone who might be naturally athletic, but comes in with a badly sprained ankle?
Likewise, I think we have to be careful in the types of meditation we suggest to someone who might have PTSD or other difficult symptoms due to past traumatic experiences. Meditation can be a great tool. But I think activities that offer guided meditations would be much more beneficial for a while. For example, having a guided body-scan in which new instructions are given every 20-30 seconds can help keep the mind on track, focused on the task at hand. SOme other visualizations could be helpful as well, such as a version of Thich Nhat Hanh's 4 Earth Touchings or any of a series of basic vajrayana visualizations (There are a plethera of vajrayana body-scans and light-based visualizations that could be helpful).
After practice and building up familiarity with the concentration of such practices, more time could slowly be devoted to silence, thus building up the capability to deal with these moments of darkness.
I think similar strategies could be used for those heavy into addiction cycles who have trouble with concentration. Don't start right away with too much blank quiet time. Work at the meditation, but start for a while with something guided, where there is a consistent flow of instruction. Slowly work up the concentration to be able to work with longer periods of silence.
Monday, April 22, 2013
Science of addiction
One factor relevant to the addict of any type is the
development of personal traits. Some related
long-held scientific views have undergone vast changes over the past couple
decades. The common view in the
scientific community used to be that neural patterns in the brain were
relatively fixed by a young age and that they could not change thereafter. Numerous studies since then have demolished
that theory. Scientists have since
developed the concept of neuroplasticity, essentially the ability of the brain
to change its own hardwiring. Different areas of the brain can grow and
connections that were once solid can change.
The overarching theme of these revolutions is that conscious thought and
attention can change even our long-time mental patterns. If we learn to become
more aware of those emotions and how we respond in different situations, we can
gain more control over them.
Besides just neuroscience, other areas of study have shed light on the whole-body process in forming addictive patterns. The
paths from our brains to the rest of the cells in our bodies are run by many
little chemical elements called neuropeptides, nicknamed the “molecules of
emotion” by Candace Pert, the Georgetown Medical School professor who helped
discover them.[1] According to Pert, our bodies are addicted
to emotions. Emotions are not just
psychological; they are made up of innumerable biochemical reactions.
Our hypothalamus produces an onslaught of neuropeptides every time we experience emotion. These peptides are assembled according to each emotion and sent racing throughout the body. They latch onto cells which each contain thousands of receptors for peptides. When the peptides lock into each cell, they send signals into it that ultimately create the physical sensations we feel with each emotion.
Our hypothalamus produces an onslaught of neuropeptides every time we experience emotion. These peptides are assembled according to each emotion and sent racing throughout the body. They latch onto cells which each contain thousands of receptors for peptides. When the peptides lock into each cell, they send signals into it that ultimately create the physical sensations we feel with each emotion.
A
critical juncture comes when those cells then divide, because the new cells
then have more receptors designed to receive peptides from those emotions. Nutrients and drugs such as heroin use these
same receptors. The extent of the addiction
may differ, but the fact is that the cells of our bodies help us crave those
chemicals which contain more receptors of our cells. Although we might consider
depression and anger to be negative experiences, they also provide the
emotional rush which ultimately leads to more of those emotions. Awareness of our emotions however can help
ebb the tide, and conscious effort towards desirable emotions can help us
develop productive patterns. [2]
Recent
findings even show the power that conscious thought has over our entire genetic
structure. Genes are not activated
without environmental stimuli. As H. F.
Nijout stated, “When a gene is needed, a signal from its environment, not an
emergent property of the gene itself, activates expressions of that gene.”[3] The genes of our chromosomes are covered by
proteins. When the proteins receive
external signals, they change shape and allow the genetic sequence they were
covering to be activated. No matter what
genes one might have received from their parents, conscious attention to
thoughts and feelings, as well as other factors like nutrition, can help
control which of those genes are actually activated.[4]
These various fields - neuroscience, neuropharmacology, and epigenetics - are all showing not just how addictive patterns form, but that conscious awareness to our actions can at least help alleviate such patterns. These fields still have much research to accomplish, but I think the initial implications in regards to the possibilities for mindfulness and other related forms of meditation training is very relevant and hopeful in its relation to their potential with assisting addiction recovery.
These various fields - neuroscience, neuropharmacology, and epigenetics - are all showing not just how addictive patterns form, but that conscious awareness to our actions can at least help alleviate such patterns. These fields still have much research to accomplish, but I think the initial implications in regards to the possibilities for mindfulness and other related forms of meditation training is very relevant and hopeful in its relation to their potential with assisting addiction recovery.
[1] Candace B. Pert, Molecules Of Emotion: The
Science Behind Mind-Body Medicine (NY: Scribner, 2003), 133–145.
[2] Candace Pert et al., “Neuropeptides and Their
Receptors: A Psychosomatic Network,” Journal of Immunology 135, no. 2
(August 1985): 820–826; Candace Pert, “The Wisdom of Receptors: Neuropeptides,
the Emotions, and Bodymind,” Advances 3, no. 3 (Summer 1986): 8–16.
[3] H.F. Nijhout, “Metaphores and the Roles of
Genes in Development,” Bioessays 12, no. 9 (1990): 441–446.
[4] See M. Azim Surani, “Reprogramming of Genome
Function Through Epigenetic Inheritance,” Nature 414, no. 6859 (November
1, 2001): 122–128; Wolf Reik and Jorn Walter, “Genomic Imprinting: Parental
Influence on the Genome,” Nature Reviews: Genetics 2 (2001): 21–32.
Friday, April 5, 2013
Japan and Alcoholism
Alcohol plays a large role in Japanese culture. From Karaoke bars to easy-to-access vending
machines and 7-elevens, its presence is widespread. But the modern traditions of the businessmen
help manifest it even more.
It is not hard for a person to
develop early drinking patterns in Japan. Although Japan has a drinking age of
20, it is easy for any high schooler to get alcohol. There are no laws limiting
the time or placement of alcohol sales. There
are 24-hour convenience stores like 7-Eleven and Family Mart widely available
throughout Japan. On Tokyo they are on almost every block. Both at places like
these and at local gathering places like a Karaoke bar, they will rarely card a
young person. Moreover, alcohol is
available along somewhere along most streets without any supervision in the
form of vending machines. Many vending
machines around Japan exclusively sell alcohol, so there is person around to
check the ID of buyer. When people gather for college of even high school
gatherings through their clubs and student organizations, it usually involves
plenty of alcohol as well. There is
beer and sake available are usually both consumed in large quantities the same
night. All together, there are ample opportunities for alcohol issues to
develop at young ages for people in Japan.
Alcohol is most prominent in the
life of the “salary-man,” a Japanese term for business people. It is a widespread cultural custom that a
business team work long hours together before going out as a team for food and
drinks as a nightly tradition. Most men
will not return home until midnight or later 5 or 6 days per week. There is a very hierarchical structure to the
drinking. If the boss asks you to go,
you should go. If the boss drinks, you
should all drink with him (I would say “or her” but females in positions of
business rank are still quite rare in Japan).
If you ride the train or subway home at night, it is very common to see
numerous displays of public drunkenness.
Other people will simply ignore the behavior and quietly sit or stand on
the train without paying attention.
Although, such behavior is ignored in public, it is
often detrimental to home life. It makes
most families essentially single parent households. The majority of my Japanese friends expressed
that they barely knew their father growing up because they were always asleep
before he would return home. It is also far from uncommon for families living
in rural parts of Japan to have the father work in Tokyo. He might only return home on weekends or one
weekend every month or two, depending on the situation. Although such people remain the primary
breadwinners of the family, the family structure becomes easily broken down
with two industries that work hand-in-hand: alcohol and prostitution. Even though divorce is not nearly as common
as it is in the US, on average, there is far less close of a relationship
between husbands and wives in Japan.
Sake and other spirits are popular in Japan. Beer was only introduced to Japan 100 years
ago and seems to still remain less a part of the drinking culture. However, according
to one study, at 8.2 liters per person per year, nobody in the world drinks
more spirits than the average Japanese.
Although France comes close at 7.2, both are far ahead of the third-ranked
country, Finland at 5.7 liters. The
average American, by comparison drinks 4.8 liters per year.[1]
According to the 2011 report of WHO, spirits comprise of 42% of Japanese drinks
with beer making up only 22%. The study
shows far more alcohol abuse in men than women as disorders are present in
2.25% of men to only 0.13% of women. Liver cirrhosis and alcohol related deaths
dropped considerably from 2000-2005, but are still a major problem in Japan.[2] Overall, though, due to some of the cultural
patters, alcohol problems are contained to a segment of the Japanese
population. As one can see from the
cultural patterns and statistics, it is much more an issue for men than for
women, and within males, it is much more an issue within the businessman
culture.
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