Perceiving and Remembering - Converging Views from Neuroscience and Early Buddhism with Rick Maddock

Recorded on December 12, 2022
The slides used in the presentation are available at audiodharma.us-east-1.linodeo....
Many of the Buddha’s teachings have close parallels in modern neuroscience. This half-day presentation will explore these parallels, with a particular focus on perception and memory. Early Buddhist teachings on emptiness and “situational awareness” (sampajañña) emphasize insights into the nature of perception that can be valuable supports for dharma practice. Similar insights emerge from studies of the perceptual circuits of the brain. Neuroplasticity, or how the brain is changed by experience, is viewed by neuroscientists as the basis of all forms of memory. Early Buddhist teachings on karma and the “storehouse” (alaya) emphasize how this principle affects our well-being. A similar perspective underlies the effectiveness of many modern psychotherapies.
This Sati Center event is offered freely and everyone is welcome. The class is made possible however by the generosity of our audience. If you are inspired to do, please consider making a donation to support these teachings and the Sati Center. sati.org/donate/
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[@charlesly]

This was like Oliver Sacks for Buddhists.

[@charlesly]

What is different about memory savants? People who can remember nearly every detail of every day of their life.

[@cyborg1320]

50:00 the former attorney's question resonated;
my brother seems to think he was abused by both parents whereas I recall a happy childhood.
My dad, I recall being short tempered but in a very predictable way. Don't answer him back for example and you're fine! He's a pro_essor now.
We were never hit by any adults in our lives.
So the answer may lie in the fact I received unintended preferential treatment due to my poor health,nearly dying eyc.
At least I received a lot of more attention and I played to this "favoured child" label.
No It wasnt a simple case of my charm alas,!
I had a congenital hole in my gullet, then , meningitis , psiticosis, septicaemia and oh so much more !
I turned blue choking on food multiple times in my toddler years.
I don't think my brother should blame our parents, I think we got quite lucky qnd I think they aspired to treating us fairly.