The Most Buddhist Cities in America.

According to the study, [by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies (ASARB)] close to 75 percent of Buddhist congregations are located in metropolitan areas with population greater than a million. Of these metro areas, the researchers found San Jose to be the most Buddhist city with approximately 1.25 percent identifying as a Buddhist adherent. The researchers found the greater area of Birmingham, AL to be the least Buddhist city with only 0.006 percent identifying as a Buddhist adherent.

The list includes 50 cities, so I'll post the top ten and rest you'll find in the full article (link):

1). Metro area: San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
2). San Diego, CA
3). San Francisco, CA
4). Seattle, WA
5). Los Angeles, CA
6). Sacramento, CA
7). Las Vegas, NV
8). Oklahoma City, OK
9). Denver, CO
10). Raleigh, NC

Being from the Denver area, I was interested to see it listed in the top 10. It makes sense considering the strong presence of the Tibetan Buddhist, Shambhala tradition here. There is a Shambhala shrine known as "The Great Stupa" in the mountains northwest of Denver. In addition, the city of Boulder is home to the Buddhist university, Naropa. There are also a lot of Vietnamese-Buddhist immigrants in the Denver metro area.

I was surprised that Oklahoma City made the list, and I was shocked that New York City didn't make the top 10. It came in at number 17--just below Salt Lake City!! The following is the how they came up with these rankings:

The researchers define adherents to be those with an affiliation to a congregation including children, members and attendees who are not members, and believe that the adherent measure is the most complete and comparable across religious groups. Congregations are defined as groups of people who meet regularly at a pre-announced time and location.

The least Buddhist cities include: Birmingham, Alabama and Cincinnati, Ohio.

~gassho~

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Supernatural Science: Between Life and Death

TheDocumentarySite; Dhr. Seven, CC Liu, Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly

Thousands of people claim to have had near-death experiences. Do these experiences offer proof for the existence of an afterlife? Or do they tell us something about the human brain's response to extreme stress?

Soul and Not-Soul

What is the "soul" (gandhabba) commonly referred to as spirit or ghost? In Buddhism it is a transient phenomenon composed of five "heaps" or aggregates. These factors are functionally-integrated by the mysterious power of karma that can bear results at a time distinct from an action undertaken. What are the five groups?

The first group is labelled "form." It is composed of four heaps, referred to as earth, wind, fire, and air but explained by the Buddha as actually being qualities of materiality: solidity, motion, temperature, and cohesion. Buddhist physics articulated in the Abhidharma go into great deal about these qualities. Moreover, instructions are given for seeing/experiencing them first hand as objects of insight meditation practice. (Success in such meditation is dependent on the depth and strength of concentration -- serenity, absorption, mastery of samadhi -- one has previously developed and has at his or her disposal. The strength of the mind is only available in the absence of hindrances, defilements, and taints.

The second group is labelled "feelings" -- not emotions but sensations. Emotions are more complex, and while they may be felt in the body, they are more likely categorized under mental/heart formations. There are six sense bases, the ordinary five and mind. Feelings are pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral, and may be therefore thought of as 18 (6 x 3) in all. They also serve as objects of insight and are much easier to become aware of in a stable way than the kalapas (particles of perception) in Buddhist physics.

The third group is labelled "perceptions." When the six sense bases apprehend, perceive, or note in accordance with their types of objects (eye sensitivity sees forms, ear sensitivity hears sounds, etc.), perception takes place. Feelings and perceptions are two types of mental/heart formations, but they are so salient and important in our experience, that the Buddha singled them out for special attention. Perceptions arise from the six sense bases. Note that the eye does not see, but rather what sees is that property of the eye -- what might today be called the rods and cones of the retina -- that sends its impulses (mind moments, cittas?) to the nervous system's bulbous processing center we call the brain.

The fourth group is labelled "mental formations" but should not be regarded as exclusive to the brain. Much of the process of being aware actually emanates and returns to the heart, the literal heart area where the "mind door" is located -- a greenish mirror reflecting sensory experience. There is absolutely no need to believe this, for one may experience it directly. Seeing replaces believing, so one should not remain satisfied with an admixture of religious faith and skeptical doubt when investigation and verification are available and urged. The Buddha is famous for saying of the Dharma, of his teachings, "Come see." There are 50 groups under this rubric, in addition to the fact that the two previous groups are also special kinds of mental formations. They serve the important function of conditioning karma as skillful, unskillful, or neutral. See more at sankhara.

The fifth group is labelled "consciousness." Together with the previous three, this group forms what may be referred to as "mind." it is not a tangible thing but an interdependent process. The first group, form, is "body." A body is not limited to gross sensual bodies; fine-material (rupa) bodies, such as those of ghosts and spirits and light-beings (devas) also qualify as form. Not everyone, however, has a body. Ghosts have bodies but they long for sensual bodies. Beings in heavenly worlds have (fine material) bodies and are glad to be done with these dense material frames. The most rarefied beings in the four Immaterial Sphere (arupa loka) planes of existence are formless (arupa). But these four are the only exceptions. Otherwise, these Five Aggregates are always together, just as the qualities of materiality are bound up with one another and only analyzed (dissected, set apart) for the purposes of discussion (analysis) and the development of insight. Consciousness is awareness, which depends and influences the other aggregates.

So it is never correct to say, when conventionally speaking, that there is no self or that the Buddha teaches that there is no soul or no self. There is a soul (atta), there is a self (atta), there is an ego, there is a spirit (a subtle material body we may regard as "light" or ordinary matter in an extraordinary state such as a flux or higher energy state).

Likewise, it is never correct to say, when ultimately speaking, that there is a soul or self. There is NO soul or self. But this must not be taken on faith, for faith may supplant direct experience and lead to absurdities such as making the claim, "There is no soul, no self." Such claims by mystics who have seen is fine. But such claims by lay Buddhists is ridiculous and leads to doubt, scorn, and/or dismissal of Buddhism's philosophy leading to liberation. Philosophy does not lead out, practice does. With practice the philosophy makes perfect sense. With scholarship, it breaks down. So it is more important to practice meditation than to study ideas.

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The Zen of Pain.

I have from time to time heard of monks who can meditate in the freezing cold and maintain a warm body temperature, and those who have a high threshold for pain. Well, it seems that science has proven that meditation helps reduce pain.

AFP, March 3, 2010

Montreal, Canada -- ZEN meditation helps lower sensitivity to pain by thickening a part of the brain that regulates emotion and painful sensations, according to a study published recently. University of Montreal researchers compared the grey matter thickness of 17 Zen meditators and 18 non-meditators and found evidence that practising the centuries-old discipline can reinforce a central part of the brain called the anterior cingulate. "Through training, Zen meditators appear to thicken certain areas of their cortex and this appears to underlie their lower sensitivity to pain," lead author Joshua Grant said in a statement.

Building on an earlier study, the researchers measured thermal pain sensitivity by applying a heated plate to the calf of participants. This was followed by scanning the brains of subjects with structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The MRI results showed central brain regions that regulate emotion and pain were significantly thicker in meditators compared to non-meditators.

James: This isn't news to Buddhism because reports of over-coming pain have been known in Buddhist history for centuries. It is interesting though to see science proving it. It makes sense though that meditation, which regulates the mind would help reduce pain. There is clearly a connection between the mind and body, so it isn't any wonder that Buddhists teach that oneness of body and mind through meditation and mindfulness opens the way for a calmer state of being. This is proving that through meditation one can literally rewire the brain, which surely has something to do with realizing long-term enlightenment.

I have noticed actually a higher pain threshold since beginning my Buddhist practice. I blew it off at first as being pseudo-science experiences but this makes me rethink that position. When I get tattoos I can sit through the pain to where at times it actually feels good!! I think that's in part because I meditate while getting the tattoo. The first few tattoos that I got where quite painful and ironically enough that was a time before I was practicing Buddhist meditation.

This also makes me think of the pain experienced from doing sitting meditation when first starting out or when returning to a dormant practice. Because the more you practice, the less painful it seems to get:

"The often painful posture associated with Zen meditation may lead to thicker cortex and lower pain sensitivity," Grant opined. Several of the meditators tolerated a maximum 53°C produced by a heating plate. They appeared to further reduce their pain partly through slower breathing: 12 breaths per minute versus an average of 15 breaths for non-meditators. "Slower breathing certainly coincided with reduced pain and may influence pain by keeping the body in a relaxed state," Grant said in the earlier study. Ultimately, Zen meditators experience an 18% reduction in pain sensitivity, according to the original study.

James: If everything is interdependent and interconnected then clearly it makes sense that the body can be tempered by the mind when its steered in the right direction. The mind in my opinion isn't entirely useless or bad as some Buddhists might believe. I see it as a wild horse that if tamed, it can accomplish some amazing things. After all, if we shut off the mind completely then we'd be piles of mush unable to be moved to practice compassion, loving-kindness and good will.

ADDENDUM: The blog just surpassed the 400,000 mark of visits--Thanks to everyone for all your visits, comments and conservations. Let's keep it going!! Bowing...

~Peace to all beings~

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Gay Men and Straight Women Share Brain Detail.

LONDON, June 17, 2008 (Reuters) — Gay men and straight women share some characteristics in the area of the brain responsible for emotion, mood and anxiety, researchers said on Monday in a study highlighting the potential biological underpinning of sexuality. Brain scans also showed the same symmetry among lesbians and straight men, the researchers wrote in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Brain scans of 90 volunteers showed that the brains of heterosexual men and homosexual women were slightly asymmetric with the right hemisphere slightly larger than the left, Ivanka Savic and Pers Lindstrom wrote. The brains of gay men and heterosexual women were not.

James: This comes as no surprise to me but it is very interesting none the less. Buddhism has been more progressive than many other religions in regards to sexual orientation for the most part. There isn't usually condemning of homosexuals by Buddhists but instead treating them as equals to heterosexuals, as it should be. This view is still radical today as most religions still see homosexuality as very taboo and "evil."

The precept about avoiding sexual misconduct focuses on avoiding causing harm and suffering but does not single out homosexuality, bisexuality or other sexual orientations for being "bad" or deviant. Everyone is advised how to handle sexuality in a compassionate and loving way regardless of sexual orientation.

In fact one of the most revered figures in Buddhism, Avalokiteshvara is often seen as androgynous. In the form of Avalokiteshvara this Bodhisattva is seen as a man but when referred to as Guan Yin (Kuan Yin/Kannon) he/she is seen as a woman. This makes total sense to me as Avalokiteshvara/Guan Yin is seen as the Bodhisattva of compassion and thus seems perfectly natural as that compassion is spread to all beings equally regardless of gender and sexual orientation.

Avalokiteshvara/Kuan Yin is literally the embodiment of non-duality in regards to sexuality.

This is not to say though that homosexuality/bisexuality/intersexuality is automatically seen as acceptable in predominately Buddhist countries. Social and cultural discrimination of homosexuals is found in these countries as they are in most places.

I'd be really interested in reading more about this and about more studies of this nature. The more science learns the more I find it has in common with Buddhism.

~Peace to all beings~

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