Talk about extremes of topics!
Yesterday it was gliding, tomorrow it is going to be a celebration of Pharaoh’s 14th birthday and today it is about you!
Kadam Morten Clausen is a Buddhist teacher. Now I would be the first to stick up my arm and say that my understanding of Buddhism is pretty poor. But in the days many years back when I spent time exploring a number of Asian countries I found the culture surrounding Buddhism very appealing. (And I write as someone who is not a religious believer.)
Back to Morten Clausen.
The Kadampa Meditation Center in New York, where Kadam is a resident teacher, describe him as follows:
Kadam Morten Clausen is the Eastern US National Spiritual Director of the New Kadampa Tradition and Resident Teacher at the Kadampa Meditation Center New York City, and also Bodh Gaya Center in Bayside, Queens. For over 30 years he has been a close disciple of Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, who gave him the title “Kadam,” indicating that he is a senior lay teacher of the Kadampa Tradition.
Kadam Morten met his teacher, Geshe Kelsang, while attending university in England. He
taught widely throughout the UK and helped develop many Kadampa Centers in England. Kadam Morten has been teaching in the US for more than 20 years and has established centers throughout the New York area, as well as Washington DC, Virginia, and Puerto Rico. In addition to his local teaching responsibilities, he teaches and guides retreats regularly throughout the United States and Europe.
Kadam Morten is greatly admired as a meditation teacher and is especially known for his clarity, humor and inspirational presentation of Dharma. His teachings are always practical and easy to apply to everyday life. Through his gentle and joyful approach and his peaceful example, he has helped many people find true happiness in their hearts.
So what’s this all about when I say that today’s post is about you?
Enjoy the following, recently published on the Big Think site:
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Science and Buddhism Agree: There Is No “You” There
by
Evan Thompson of the University of British Columbia has verified the Buddhist belief of anatta, or not-self. Neuroscience has been interested in Buddhism since the late 1980s, when the Mind and Life Institute was created by HH Dalai Lama and a team of scientists. The science that came out of those first studies gave validation to what monks have known for years — if you train your mind, you can change your brain. As neuroscience has begun studying the mind, they have looked to those who have mastered the mind.
While Buddha didn’t teach anatta to lay people, thinking it might be too confusing, the concept is centered on the idea that there is no consistent self. The belief that we are the same one moment to the next, or one year to the next, is a delusion. Thompson says that “the brain and body is constantly in flux. There is nothing that corresponds to the sense that there’s an unchanging self.”
[W]hen there is no consistent self, it means that we don’t have to take everything so personally.
It is useful to look at a video of yourself from the past, or read something you wrote years ago. Your interests, perspective, beliefs, attachments, relationships, et al, have all changed in some way. Anatta doesn’t mean there’s no you; it just means that you are constantly changing, constantly evolving, and shape-shifting. Why is this important? Why does it matter if there’s no solid “you” or “me”?
Buddhist teacher Kadam Morten Clausen says Buddhism is a science of the mind:
Dr. Rick Hanson, author of Hardwiring Happiness and Buddha’s Brain, argues that when there is no consistent self, it means that we don’t have to take everything so personally. That is, our internal thoughts are only thoughts and don’t define us. External events are only external events and aren’t happening to us personally. Or as Tara Brach says, our thoughts are “real, but not true.”There is tremendous liberation in not identifying ourselves with thoughts, or a set idea of who we are.
It is then that we can grow and change, with the help of neuroplasticity. There is then hope that we can overcome our vices or bad habits (of mind and body), because if we aren’t stuck with the self-limiting beliefs inherent with a consistent self, we may orient ourselves toward becoming more of who we want to be.
The belief that we are the same one moment to the next, or one year to the next, is a delusion.
As science and Eastern thought continue to hang out with each other, there may be more 21st Century studies to back up 2,600-year-old thoughts. But, as HH Dalai Lama said, “Suppose that something is definitely proven through scientific investigation. … Suppose that that fact is incompatible with Buddhist theory. There is no doubt that we must accept the result of the scientific research.”Hearing a pro-science stance from a religious leader is a relief to many. In the end it seems Buddhism and neuroscience have similar goals: What is this thing we call the mind, and how can we use it to make ourselves a little less miserable and a little happier? Maybe even just 10 percent happier, as Dan Harris wrote. If there is no consistent self, it is at least my intention that my ever-changing self be equanimous and, well, 10 percent happier. No matter who I am.
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Lori Chandler is a writer and comedian living in Brooklyn, NY, which is the most unoriginal sentence she has ever written. You can look at her silly drawings on Tumblr, Rad Drawings, or read her silly tweets @LilBoodleChild. Enough about her, she says: how are you?
PHOTO CREDIT: Chris McGrath/Getty Images
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So if there are times when you find yourself talking to yourself, perhaps the first thing to do is to ask if it is you! (Golly! I can feel a headache coming on!)
Wonder if it is the same for dogs?
Learning from Dogs 
There’s a lot of positive things to be said about Buddhism. At its heart it is panpsychism, and the beauty of that (apart from not forwarding the ludicrious notion of a personal, mindful “god”) is that it places full responsibility onto the individual in the present moment.
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John, there you go using another word that had me reaching for the (online) dictionary! “Panpsychism”.
Hadn’t come across that before but just love the idea!
Many, many years ago when I was pulling myself out of an interesting ‘hole’, with the assistance of a professional psychotherapist, I came across the following:
It reached out to me so powerfully that I made this affirmation into a number of laminated cards, one of which is pinned to the noticeboard behind my chair.
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Panpsychism is wild, and there are some pretty big names, Like Professor Max Tegmark (MIT), trying to prove it real.
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Thanks John. I will follow that up.
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I won’t even begin to say I totally understand this concept but I get the gist of it. We do change year to year. We do it physically as well as mentally. Very interesting read, Paul!
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Susan, delighted to find it was interesting for you! Many thanks!
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I believe dogs to be Buddha, yes. Do they know it? It’s more like, ‘Do they care?’ Which, if you’re Buddha, you do not. Ego-less. Why they are such excellent examples, teachers, the best of friends. Aloha, Paul.
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Bela, that’s such a special observation. Never thought of dogs in that sense before. Thank you!
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Loved this post! Yes, I had to reach for the dictionary too. 😦 I’ve never thought of Buddhism as a religion but rather a philosophy. If it is a religion, none of them are going around killing people because they don’t agree. I’d vote for that. I feel that this idea is closer to the target than anything else we have found. I studied Science of Mind for many years and that brought a great understanding. After the severe nerve damage caused by Bells Palsy, I have also read everything I could wade through on neuroplasticity in order to heal my brain. Since I know the mind is non local the whole thing feels right to me. I read some odd books for a woman. Thanks for sharing this. Signed, One odd duck. 🙂
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Marlene, regarding Buddhism as a philosophy, as a way of being, is precisely how I see it. When you say the mind is non local what do you mean by that?
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Quantum physics says the mind is in the entire body and when you separate one cell from it, it will respond to the thoughts and feelings of the rest of the body and mind. I do not express it as well as Bruce Lipton, Gregg Braden, or Lynn McTaggart. All worth reading in the field of quantum physics.
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