How Russian Scientists Study Altered States of Consciousness in Buddhists

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

“I am not suggesting that this is something divine. I say: this is a physical process that must be investigated. The human brain is a complex object. Therefore, he can do very cunning, non-standard things, but he does not violate the laws of nature, Academician Svyatoslav Medvedev told the VZGLYAD newspaper. Russian scientists have completed the processing of the first results of a large-scale project to study the effect of meditation on the functioning of the brain and the human body.

For a year and a half, a group of scientists from the Institute of the Human Brain of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Moscow State University with the support of the Institute of Radioelectronics of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Department of Physiology of the Russian Academy of Sciences have studied more than a hundred monks practicing various types of meditation from Buddhist monasteries in India.

In mid-October, at the IX International Conference on Cognitive Science (MKBN-2020) in Moscow, the interim results of the work of Russian physiologists will be officially presented. The findings show that traditional Buddhist meditations performed by experienced practitioners can influence the basic mechanisms of the brain.

In the south of India, where seven monasteries are located and about 12 thousand monks live, two permanent Russian laboratories were organized for the study of meditation and altered states of consciousness. Organizational assistance to the project was provided by the Foundation for the Support of Brain Research. Academician N. P. Bekhtereva, Save Tibet Foundation and the Center for Tibetan Culture and Information. The research was also supported by the spiritual leader of Buddhists, the Dalai Lama.

Research on meditation has been carried out by scholars, especially Western scholars, in the past. However, there is still no clear understanding of what happens to the brain, its systems and mechanisms during meditation. This knowledge could be a real revolution in the study of the brain and the work of consciousness.

Russian scientists formulate the goal of their project as "the study of altered states of human consciousness on the model of meditation of high-level practicing monks." A separate subject of study is the cases of the so-called posthumous meditation, known as tukdam.

This state of a person is described as the extinction of all vital functions, but the absence of decomposition of the body, although medical devices have already recorded the fact of a person's death. Until now, there are no reasonable hypotheses about the mechanisms of such a state.

The project leader, Academician Svyatoslav Medvedev, who headed the N. P. Bekhtereva RAS.

LOOK: Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich, where did the RAS scientists get an interest in meditation and Buddhist spiritual practices?

Svyatoslav Medvedev: Our interest in this research is both scientific and human. Not religious. Nor do we tend to take stories for granted. The approach is this: not to discuss in theory, but to conduct experiments and prove or reject hypothesis and views.

We study the psychological and physiological states that arise during meditation, when performing certain Buddhist practices. This is interesting because advanced monks-practitioners can change their state very much. We observe what happens during this, how he does it, what happens with his encephalogram (EEG), with other parameters. This is a completely unique state of consciousness.

LOOK: What is meditation from a scientific point of view?

S. M.: Meditation, translated from the Latin meditatio, means reflection or exercise. Initially, this term was used only in relation to Eastern religious and spiritual traditions. However, at present, there is no single definition for this concept, since there is no specific concept of what kind of practices should be attributed to meditation. Therefore, now the term "meditation" unites a huge number of different practices - both belonging to the spiritual, religious context, and not related to it.

This phenomenon is investigated, firstly, from the point of view of philosophy and psychology. Buddhism has been doing this for thousands of years, and has developed a strict and orderly consistent system of philosophical and logical basis for meditation. But this is precisely a logical system. Another approach is the psychophysiological approach. Its task is to study how exactly the human brain and body provide altered states of consciousness and, in particular, meditation.

LOOK: What do you call an altered state of consciousness?

S. M.: When you perform any activity, you somehow adjust to it. When you go to the exam - you are going to internally, when you go, say, on a date - you are going too, but differently from the exam. What it is? This means that your consciousness is adaptively realigning in order to best suit the task that you have to solve. We can say that each of us at some point experiences altered states of consciousness (ASC).

It also happens in another way, when, under the influence of some factor, the perception of the external world is distorted: a change in the subjective flow of time, emotional state, body schema, value system, the threshold of suggestibility, connection with the real world, distortion of the representation of external reality or awareness of oneself in this reality …

For example, a person in an altered state of consciousness may feel that an hour or more has passed, but in fact the state lasted only five minutes. He can also perceive his body, the location and size of its parts differently than in a normal state (the so-called proprioception).

ASC can be caused by completely different reasons. Short-term "soft" ASCs can occur while listening to music, engaging in reading, playing, in extreme physiological conditions - for example, during a marathon, normal childbirth, in extreme psychological situations. But there are also artificially induced ASCs, induced by various ceremonies, rituals, psychoactive drugs, hypnosis and other psychotherapeutic techniques.

VZGLYAD: Do you see any applied significance in studies of the mechanisms of altered states of consciousness?

S. M.: It's no secret that most accidents and disasters occur due to the influence of the "human factor". If, as an example, we consider an airplane pilot who flies, say, to Cuba for 12 hours, during this time nothing happens, and he may experience such an altered state as monotony.

In its manifestations, this is similar to fatigue, but with the difference that monotony immediately turns into the usual optimal functional state, if, suppose, a significant sensory stimulus appears. In this state, attention is reduced, and it’s not far from trouble.

This means that everything seems to be quiet, normal, calm for the pilot, and if there is some kind of trouble - it usually arises completely unexpectedly - then he is not ready for it. Therefore, the study of altered states of consciousness will allow, in particular, to maintain a human operator in a state that is optimal for the performed activity.

LOOK: And how is meditation related to solving these problems?

WITH. M.: The study of meditations among high-level practicing monks is an ideal method for studying the mechanisms of consciousness and its altered states, because the researcher can clearly specify the type of altered state of consciousness, the degree of state change - and, which is very important, get a homogeneous group of subjects.

The human brain at any given time is busy performing a large number of different tasks. This creates serious difficulties for the study of thinking and consciousness, since it is difficult to single out a certain type of activity for research. Meditation can drastically reduce the influence of "extraneous" thoughts.

That is, it becomes possible to explore "pure" forms of activity. Meditation is a unique tool for studying the deep mechanisms of consciousness, because it is meditation techniques that allow you to operate with the elements of the mind. Different meditations affect the brain in different ways, therefore, versatile studies of the brain supply of consciousness are possible. Knowledge of these mechanisms will allow you to better understand the nature of man and find ways for his natural improvement.

LOOK: For you, meditation is just a convenient object for the study of consciousness?

S. M.: Not quite so. First, the state and activity of the brain during meditation itself are of significant interest to science. Despite the fact that consciousness as a whole is studied by many teams, this concept does not even have a generally accepted scientific definition. Rather, there are even mutually exclusive definitions.

We, people, in everyday life do not always know how to control our consciousness. Though concentrating thought on solving a problem is mind control.

Perhaps meditation is an example of such management. For example, in the process of research, we have shown that the brain of a practitioner who is in the process of meditation of a certain type, perceives signals coming from the outside weaker (although such signals - this has been shown in a number of works - is perceived even by the brain of a person in a coma).

Secondly, within the framework of this project we have a special object for research - a phenomenon known among Tibetan Buddhists as tukdam. The essence of the phenomenon, according to sources and described observations, is that the bodies of some deceased practitioners may not undergo decomposition for many days or even several weeks after biological death was recorded.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama asked us to conduct a scientific study of this phenomenon: what caused it, what happens to the body, how a meditating monk can find himself in this state.

VZGLYAD: Do you think that tukdam is a real phenomenon?

S. M.: There is a very strange story here. I heard about this phenomenon for a long time, but I considered all this to be fictions, legends, or, in simple terms, a duck. But the testimonies that I heard from the monks already during the special surveys we are conducting in India made me think about the possibility of a scientific verification of this phenomenon.

When they tell from hearsay, you don't really believe in it. When you listen to an eyewitness, it makes a different impression. To be honest, I still didn't believe it to the end. Too many in my research practice, I have met possessed people whose stories have not been confirmed.

But then, during our expeditions, I had the opportunity to see the body of a deceased monk in a similar state, and more than once. Each of us, if he is not a pathologist who "communicates" with corpses all the time, has such a feeling not even disgust, but a desire not to touch, not to touch the dead body.

And then, when I came to the dead man, I had one feeling - a feeling of calmness. This is a very strange thing. You touch a dead person and you don't have the feeling that he is dead.

LOOK: There is no feeling of fear, disgust that a dead body causes?

S. M.: Yes. Moreover, I understand that I am still a man, and I was often in operating rooms, I have something to do with this, but those girls who were with me experienced the same - they did not have any discomfort at all. They were completely calm. In the air, I would say, the feeling of death was completely absent.

We could observe the body of the deceased practitioner in a tukdam state for several days. Keep in mind that this is India - high temperatures at which a piece of meat placed on the table will spoil in the evening. Nothing of the kind happens to the human body in this state. There are no cadaveric spots or swelling. The leather retains its usual properties and does not become parchment.

Locals believe that a practitioner can enter a similar state at the time of meditation, especially if he has practiced certain types of meditation throughout his life.

The condition is very strange, very interesting, it can have many different reasons, but in any case, it is very important to try to investigate this phenomenon.

and find the causes and mechanisms of its occurrence. It is the knowledge of what we do not yet understand.

LOOK: How did you come up with the idea of collaborating with Tibetan monks to study how the brain and consciousness work?

S. M.: In 2018, Academician Konstantin Anokhin invited me to take part in the Dialogue between representatives of Russian science and Buddhist scientists "Understanding the World" in Daramsala (India).

There were several meetings with the participation of His Holiness. It was extremely interesting to hear his reflections, as well as the reports of Buddhist monks. Many statements seemed to me unexpected, but gradually I began, like each of the Russian participants, to compare, to look for analogies with Western science.

LOOK: Did Buddhist monks discover something new for you?

S. M.: First of all, the fact that Buddhism has its own science, with a completely different methodology. I listened to the reports of Buddhists, and an understanding was born of the fact that if they are reformulated in the language of Western science, then in many respects our understanding of the world coincides. Western people are not used to esoteric language.

They formulate much more unambiguously than a man of the East does. For example, the seven days of creation from the Bible, being replaced by seven periods or seven steps, simply mean an algorithm for creating the world. Most of the paradoxes of the Bible are easily resolved if translated correctly from the Aramaic and from the esoteric.

And at this conference, for the first time, I listened not to a retelling from a retelling, but directly to specialists of the highest class. In their presentation, much sounded different. In my opinion, this reasoning is very close to the thoughts of the Dalai Lama. He wants to establish close interaction between Buddhist and Western sciences.

Along with the official part, there were several informal meetings with His Holiness. They struck with the depth of his statements and their cardinal difference from those expected from a religious figure. His words: "If I see a discrepancy between the dogma of Buddhism and a scientific discovery, I believe that it is necessary to change the dogma."

Or something like this: "One meaning has when we state something from the standpoint of reflection, and it has a completely different meaning if it is obtained on the basis of scientific research." There were many such statements. There are even more of them in his book "The Universe in One Atom". During general meetings, solemn receptions, I sat very close to His Holiness and could not only listen to him, but also talk with him. Actually, this was the beginning of the work that changed a lot in my life.

VZGLYAD: Can you briefly formulate the goals of this work?

S. M.: In our research, several tasks have been set, united by one goal: the study of the physiological and biochemical support of changes in the state of consciousness during Buddhist practices, including those leading to tukdam.

LOOK: You are a scientist who has been researching the principles of brain activity all his life. Your interest in the topic will be explained. But where did the Tibetan monks come from, hiding their secret practices?

S. M.: Most of the knowledge and practice of Buddhism is based on inferences and obtained empirically. Despite their great importance and high level, the Dalai Lama believes that it is advisable to study them using the methods of modern science.

LOOK: Why do they need it?

S. M.: Let me give you an analogy. Healers in ancient Egypt knew that a decoction of willow bark helps with various diseases, such as colds, inflammation, headaches. However, the effect of the decoction was not effective enough. Scientific studies have shown that the active ingredient was acetylsalicylic acid, what we now call aspirin.

And the effectiveness of pure aspirin is much higher than that of a decoction. Moreover, understanding the mechanisms of its action has led to the emergence of new applications and the creation of new drugs. Likewise, scientific research on Buddhist practices and meditations should be expected to lead to their further development.

VZGLYAD: Before me is a list of project participants. In addition to the Institute of the Human Brain of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Moscow State University, there is, for example, the Institute of Radio Engineering and Electronics of the Russian Academy of Sciences. What is the relationship between meditation research and electronics?

S. M.: There is a very prominent scientist, scientific director of the IRE RAS, academician Yuri Vasilievich Gulyaev. Even 30-40 years ago, he became interested in what physical phenomena accompany human life, including our thinking.

He began to conduct physical experiments, trying not only to record an EEG, but to record all possible radiation. Thanks to Yuri Gulyaev, we now have a device that is considered the best thermograph in the world. It allows obtaining a map of the heat of the human body with an accuracy of five hundredths of a degree.

VIEW: And what attracted the Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences?

S. M.: As I said, most accidents occur due to the human factor. The fact is that even at the Salyut space stations there were a huge number of problems associated with relations within the crew. It's the same with the ISS. The interaction of the crew, the control over it, must be studied in order to understand how it is possible to stabilize consciousness, how to control emotions.

But not only that. If we take long-distance space flight, then in fact most of the mass of the ship is food. Moreover, to Mars, for example, it takes a year to fly, which will have to sit, doing nothing, in a confined space.

Therefore, if there is an opportunity to influence this and somehow alleviate the situation, then this is also very interesting for astronautics. For example, if it was possible to reversibly subject the crew to suspended animation, hibernation. It sounds fantastic, but the researchers are working on different options.

VZGLYAD: Can we say that understanding the processes in the body and consciousness caused by meditation carries a lot of possibilities?

S. M.: In addition to the obvious theoretical value for physiological science, the result of the study will be the possibility of physiological controlled self-control over the emotional state, as well as - to some extent - over the state of the body.

The main result of the implementation of the second part of the project - the study of tukdam - will be, firstly, a huge scientific breakthrough, understanding of the physiological foundations and mechanisms of the phenomenon, about which there are no assumptions in modern science. Secondly, this will give practical solutions for medicine: from the possibility of preserving the body while waiting for the selection of a donor for organ transplantation to the artificial introduction of the body into a state of suspended animation.

In addition, along this path, a whole range of knowledge will most likely be obtained, as is always the case when studying a completely new and incomprehensible phenomenon - in particular, about the existence of tissues and the whole organism in extreme conditions.

LOOK: During your research, did you or one of your colleagues personally try to enter alternative states of consciousness using meditation practices?

S. M.: There is a person in our team whose main occupation is responsibility for the entire psychological program on the ISS. This is Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor Yuri Arkadievich Bubeev, Head of the Department of Psychology and Psychophysiology of the State Scientific Center - Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, chief psychologist of the Mars-500 project. He specializes in the study of altered states of consciousness and himself owns various psychotechnics - from NLP to Sufi rotation, including various meditation techniques.

LOOK: Your group is not the first to study meditation. What makes your research unique?

S. M.: Meditation has been studied by Western scientists for more than 30 years, but it is mostly scattered research: each group, laboratory worked separately and performed its own specific, often narrow task. Therefore, at the moment, a holistic picture of how meditation affects the brain, consciousness, organism has not yet been obtained, what is the role of its various types, comparative studies have not been worked out.

If we talk about the study of the phenomenon of tukdam, then this is a truly gigantic task, the solution of which is beyond the power of one researcher, laboratory, institute or university. It is necessary to combine developments and approaches.

A significant difference between our studies is that the project is planned as a complex interdisciplinary fundamental scientific work, in which the main researchers of the Russian brain, representing several scientific schools, as well as specialists in general human physiology, biologists, without whom it is impossible to study the effect of meditative practices on the body generally.

The project cannot be carried out within the framework of one country, so now we are actively discussing cooperation in the field of studying tukdam with the famous American meditation researcher Richard Davidson.

The uniqueness of our research is also in the fact that the practitioners themselves study meditation on an equal basis with us. We have selected and organized the training of monks-researchers who work with us in our laboratories, and from this year they can already carry out part of the research on their own and transfer data to us. This radically changed the situation.

LOOK: How do you select subjects? Not every Buddhist is a master of meditation to control his mind and body

S. M.: Monasteries are selecting test monks-practitioners for research. Strictly defined types of meditation are being investigated, which were chosen after agreement directly with the Dalai Lama and the abbots of large monasteries. Monks who have reached a high level in these types of meditation are selected.

The assessment is used by the meditation teacher to his student, or only recognized meditation masters are invited to participate in the study. This assessment was developed jointly with the leaders of the research centers of the seven monasteries. Also, with the help of the leaders of the medical council of the Dalai Lama, a notification system is being created about cases of tukdam among Tibetan monks practicing throughout India.

VZGLYAD: And you just have to collect and process the data?

S. M.: Of course not. Although data processing and analysis is a very important part of any research. The Russian headquarters of the project ensures the supply of equipment, design of the study, protocols, on-site visits of Russian scientists on a rotational basis and directly conducts research. Also, on the basis of these permanently operating laboratories, the training of monks-researchers is organized, who take on part of the work to ensure its continuity.

I would also like to mention the enormous help provided by the representative of the Dalai Lama in Russia, the CIS countries and Mongolia, Telo Tulku Rinpoche, and the director of the Save Tibet Foundation, Yulia Zhironkina. They took upon themselves all contacts and actions in connection with the Dalai Lama and his office, monasteries. We would hardly have succeeded without their support.

LOOK: What research methods do you use while working?

S. M.: At present, there are various methods for studying the brain. These are various types of tomography, biochemical methods, methods of cell research. However, it is difficult to imagine successful meditation under functional magnetic resonance imaging with the subject inside a rumbling tube. Similar limitations exist for other research methods.

Therefore, at the moment, the most adequate is EEG with its various methodological approaches and processing methods, depending on the task at hand.

In our research, we use a set of research methods, including both well-known and reliable tools, for example, electrophysiological studies in the paradigms of negativity of mismatch and dichotic listening, and new highly sensitive methods for assessing metabolism, oxygen tension, highly sensitive thermography, and others.

LOOK: The Dalai Lama has long shown interest in Western science. But were you not afraid of being accused of the unscientific nature of your research? After all, you have chosen an object for study, which many regard as some kind of fiction, if not as quackery

S. M.: You are right, the study of such phenomena that are difficult to explain from the standpoint of science can affect the reputation of the researcher. But my task is to conduct research strictly in accordance with the requirements and standards of science and show whether these phenomena really exist and, if so, by what means.

But in every society there is a group of people who “know how to do it” and impose their understanding of the world on everyone else. There was a time when whole areas of science were closed. Indeed, the flow of unreliable discoveries is extremely high. Almost every academician receives letters about great discoveries.

However, we still do not know everything about nature, and for very complex systems it is difficult to theoretically test the correctness of the hypothesis. Remember how, with the development of physics, seemingly unshakable truths, for example, parity, were rejected. When testing any hypothesis, it is necessary not only to thoroughly test it theoretically, but also experimentally.

I am not engaged in philosophy, not in something humanitarian, I am engaged in specific things - I measure the electrical activity of the brain, body temperature, that is, physical parameters. I am only talking about what I see and record.

Can you find fault with this? Yes, of course you can! But I'm 71. I've been through a lot. What am I especially afraid of? But the most important thing is that I, I repeat, measure absolutely clear physical quantities.

If we talk about tukdam, then at the moment I see a fact: bodies do not decompose for many days, and sometimes even weeks. I do not assume and do not admit that this is something divine, unique, incomprehensible. I say: this is a physical process that must be investigated.

I measure the physical characteristics of this body, I study the physiological and biochemical processes in the body. There is no pseudoscience here. I conduct research with physically tested devices. The human brain is a very complex object. Therefore, he can do very cunning, non-standard things, but he does not violate the laws of nature.

LOOK: During your research, you managed to connect devices to monks who were in a tukdam state. Did you manage to carry out some objective measurements?

S. M.: Yes.

LOOK: You have come, you see - the body is lying. At the same time, medical indicators - brain activity, heartbeat - all indicate that the person is already dead?

S. M.: Yes.

LOOK: What did your devices show? Does anything in the human body work?

S. M.: Nothing works. We recorded the EEG, measured the temperature, we tried to fix the signs of cardiovascular activity. The heart is "silent", there is no blood flow. Complete straight line on the encephalogram. There is no activity. Let it be for now.

LOOK: That is, the brain is not active at this moment?

S. M: Absolutely no activity. We initially believed that the tukdam state is a state that is maintained by the human brain. It is now clear that this is not the case. But every cell of the body "received" the order not to decompose. When going into oblivion, most likely, some processes took place that tell the cells - freeze.

Therefore, an invasive study is necessary - to take blood, biological fluids (saliva, intercellular fluid) in order to see what has changed there, why it does not disintegrate. Until now, Buddhists did not allow invasive research, but now, with the support of His Holiness, it may be possible to do so.

LOOK: What results have been obtained so far?

S. M.: We have collected a very large amount of material for the first stage of the study - lifetime EEG recordings in the process of several types of meditation among practitioners of different levels, divided into three groups. During 2019 and February 2020, a total of more than 100 people were examined.

During the quarantine period, we processed and analyzed the material received and, on the basis of this first stage of research, we can conclude: meditation allows us to influence the automatic mechanisms of the brain, which are responsible for contact with the outside world. I repeat that these mechanisms operate even in the brain of a person in a coma.

If you explain this in unscientific language, then I would say this: meditation allows you to influence the automatic mechanisms of the brain, on some systems that are not regulated in a normal situation. This is a very profound effect on a person.

LOOK: Can you describe what happens to the brain of an experienced practitioner during meditation?

S. M.: Not with meditation in general, but with a certain meditation. In conditions caused by certain types of meditation, there is a response to the stimulus in the human brain, but there is no perception of the stimulus. In other words, you get some kind of stimulus, which cannot be turned off without breaking off the nerves that conduct the signal.

Then there is a mechanism that starts to process this. For example, when you look at something, you receive a signal in the primary visual cortex, which consists of dashes - it’s not clear what. Then the signal goes along some such loop, passes through the structures responsible for memory, and there it is determined what it is. The signal is returned not as a set of incomprehensible lines, but as an image of "horse", "man", "machine". And so he goes to the level of consciousness.

We were able to show that the perception of "what is this?" blocked. This is an automatic recognition process. And we have shown that it can be blocked.

Analogy. The signal from the TV center arrives at the TV, enters the input - and does not go further. He comes, he "tries" to be perceived and shown a picture, but he is ignored.

VZGLYAD: How does the Western scientific community react to your results?

S. M.: The experience of Richard Davidson, who started doing these things 35-40 years ago, helped us a lot. Back in America, he went from misunderstanding and accusations of pseudoscience to the fact that now the scientific community perceives the study of meditation as a normal study. The next step is to achieve the same response to the study of as yet unexplained phenomena.

The most important thing is that we are not studying Buddhism, not Buddhist beliefs, we are studying an altered state of consciousness, we are studying physical phenomena that accompany Buddhist practices.

LOOK: Who is funding your research? Is it a grant from the state or private money?

WITH. M.: So far, these are mostly private funds, but I hope that after the first publications and presentation of the results at international conferences, we will be able to receive grants from the state.

I was pleasantly surprised by how interested people are in this topic, in our research - and ready to help. Taking this opportunity, I would like to thank all our sponsors on the pages of your publication.

LOOK: You noted that Buddhism is a complex system of knowledge with its own methodology, which is different from the Western model. Did you manage to study it?

S. M.: The fact is that I really am not a Buddhist. There are so many things I don’t know. And here a dilemma arises. To be considered knowledgeable, you must complete a 21-year course at the monastery university.

It is clear that this is not feasible for me. On the other hand, I hate amateurism. Physiologists nowadays have to apply mathematical methods and approaches, and I have seen a colossal number of errors associated with half-knowledge. Therefore, as a result of deliberation, I decided to protect myself from amateurism in this project.

In principle, I only study the physiological aspects of research. When it comes to its Buddhist components (types, content of meditation, etc.), I prefer to discuss these issues with monks, from His Holiness to our monks-researchers. In addition, partners and experts from the Save Tibet Foundation and the Center for Tibetan Culture and Information provide us with invaluable assistance.

In such a situation, I do not give myself the opportunity to freeze stupidity from a little knowledge, for which later I will be ashamed. But, naturally, the problem of the exact formulation of the question arises in full growth. Therefore, long discussions with the monks were extremely useful for me. Their comments often changed the preliminary methodological plans. It was then that I realized that we should not try to study Buddhism in order to organize research, but discuss every action, discuss with high-level monks.

LOOK: You do not study Buddhism as a scientist, but what can you say about it in terms of personal observations?

S. M.: Conversations with His Holiness, the abbots of monasteries and even with ordinary monks have changed my views on many things. Still, Buddhist philosophy and way of thinking, polished over millennia, make a very strong impression, as well as their way of life. In principle, any knowledge affects the way of thinking, and even more so. However, despite all this, I am far from Buddhism.

I am prone to anger and find it helpful, which I had an extensive argument with the Dalai Lama about. We even jokingly demonstrated to the amazed and laughing monks an imitation of solving the conflict on our fists. We hit it off when we ended up saying that anger or its imitation is certainly important, but that you shouldn't give in to anger when making decisions. I, unlike Buddhists, do not know how to forgive enemies and much more. I repeat: my interest in this research is scientific and human. Not religious.