A Cognitive Investigation of the Zen Meditation through the Lens of Thousand-Brain Intelligence and the Cerebral Reward System
Zhiqing Wang
Qeios May 17, 2024 preprint DOI: 10.32388/m51nwh (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Intervention | Zen meditation |
| Topics | Buddhism Meditation |
| Key points | Proposes that Zen meditation can be understood through Hawkins' theory of thousand-brain intelligence and the cerebral reward system, involving the construction and integration of cortical column models and liberation from everyday addictive behavior. Argues that it is better interpreted as a cultural art and skill from a pre-scientific era than as religiously mysterious activity. |
Abstract
Zen Buddhism is perceived by many Buddhists as the path to transcendent truth, and Zen meditation is considered as an effective and representative approach. This article seeks to decipher the Zen meditation experience with the latest findings from Hawkins' theory of thousand-brain intelligence and the cerebral rewarding system. According to the findings, it suggests that Zen meditation might involve both the construction and integration of cortical column models and the liberation from everyday addictive behavior. Therefore, it may be interpreted as a form of cultural art and skill from a pre-scientific era, rather than religious mysterious activities in the traditional understanding.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on buddhism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mental balance and well-being: Building bridges between Buddhism and Western psychology. | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Buddhist Modernism and the Rhetoric of Meditative Experience | 1995 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Buddhist and Psychological Perspectives on Emotions and Well-Being | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Too Early to Tell: The Potential Impact and Challenges—Ethical and Otherwise—Inherent in the Mainstreaming of Dharma in an Increasingly Dystopian World | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From self to nonself: The Nonself Theory | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cites 5
- Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences November 23, 2011
- Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences November 8, 2004
- Meditation-induced bliss viewed as release from conditioned neural (thought) patterns that block reward signals in the brain pleasure center Religion, Brain & Behavior September 24, 2013
- Meditation states and traits: EEG, ERP, and neuroimaging studies. Psychological Bulletin March 2006
- Increased dopamine tone during meditation-induced change of consciousness. Brain research. Cognitive brain research April 2002