That’s interesting, but what is the point? You do stuff and it changes your brain. Drink a lot of beer and it changes your brain. Smoke dope. Don’t actively think. It all changes your neurochemistry. As does your mother dying. Your partner shouting at you, or being late for work. Most people don’t meditate for 20 or 30 years so they can do the crossword faster when they are 65. Or, so it might slow down Alzheimer if the are unlucky enough to get it. I know people are fascinated by this Zen brain interaction, but I don’t get it. What does it tell us about our selves, the nature of reality, or how to live our lives. Those are truly empirical questions. And I believe that they are best answered in practice, not looking down a telescope. This might sound a bit harsh. It is not meant to be. I just think that neuroanatomy, and neuropsychology, neurochemistry, are all at levels of analysis that are not that helpful for most people. What it is doing at a Zen center I don’t know. It seems almost like some Zen practitioners need to justify their practice. Not helpful in my view

Jim Hegarty

Hi Jim,

I don’t think the point of doing meditation is to be able to do the crossword faster at age 65! At least that’s not my ambition - it’s best not to have goals or expectations about practice. But practicing meditation over a long period of time definitely does change the brain and there’s certainly an increasing amount of evidence now indicating this.

What I find interesting is that an increasing number of present day scientists are practicing meditation and also doing these scientific investigations to explore what happens in the physical body, over a short period of time and over long periods of time. So many people think it’s just a bunch of hooey and that perceived change is just in the imagination. These studies indicate otherwise, as do studies that have been performed to measure the health benefits. Mainstream allopathic medicine is starting to recognize this and recommend meditation to certain groups, such as cardiac patients.

I believe that the reason why these talks are being presented at a Zen Centre (I attended a symposium last year with several speakers including James Austin and Roshi Joan Halifax) is that there is a kindred spirit between these people through practice. It’s not intended to justify zen practice, although it sheds some interesting light on the physical aspects of long term practice.

In the end, however, you are right. The only way to answer questions about the nature of reality is to practice.

Susan