Siddhartha's Brain

Unlocking the Ancient Science of Enlightenment

De: James Kingsland

Narrado por: Steven Crossley

A groundbreaking exploration of the “science of enlightenment,” told through the lens of the journey of Siddhartha (better known as Buddha), by Guardian science editor James Kingsland.

In a lush grove on the banks of the Neranjara in northern India—400 years before the birth of Christ, when the foundations of western science and philosophy were being laid by the great minds of Ancient Greece—a prince turned ascetic wanderer sat beneath a fig tree. His name was Siddhartha Gautama, and he was discovering the astonishing capabilities of the human brain and the secrets of mental wellness and spiritual “enlightenment,” the foundation of Buddhism.

Framed by the historical journey and teachings of the Buddha, Siddhartha’s Brain shows how meditative and Buddhist practice anticipated the findings of modern neuroscience. Moving from the evolutionary history of the brain to the disorders and neuroses associated with our technology-driven world, James Kingsland explains why the ancient practice of mindfulness has been so beneficial and so important for human beings across time. Far from a New Age fad, the principles of meditation have deep scientific support and have been proven to be effective in combating many contemporary psychiatric disorders. Siddhartha posited that “Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think.” As we are increasingly driven to distraction by competing demands, our ability to focus and control our thoughts has never been more challenged—or more vital.

Siddhartha’s Brain offers a cutting-edge, big-picture assessment of meditation and mindfulness: how it works, what it does to our brains, and why meditative practice has never been more important.

Very good book about mindfulness meditation.

Most people got stuck and have never reached the other sides. One of the main problems is their method of mindfulness medication is not effective, not easy, not simple enough.

I had similar experience when I was 18. Until I ran into a stupid Thai monk. Okay, he was more of an uneducated monk since he can not read nor write. Buddhist monks generally needs to know how to read and write. He could not.

Maybe because of his inability to read, it frees him to see through too much bullshits and get straight to what really counts.

I tried his extremely easy mindfulness meditation for 5 minutes. I knew he got it. The catch? You have got to do it with your eyes open.

No, seriously.

It was the best approach
and go against practically all other meditations. The idea is to not take it seriously. Meditates like we are playing around.

It is not the body movement that matters. It's the brief silence of the body movement that counts.

See Mahasati dot org for his method. Yeb, as free as in beer. No strings attached.

Great book - new insights

Definitely worth the listen. Mindfulness is not overrated. The style of reading and flow of ideas was easy to follow.

Wonderful!

This book is worth four stars based solely on the skillful summary of scientific evidence on the benefits of mindfulness. The author is an experienced science writer and it shows.

The book earns a fifth star for the surprising, ambitious, thoughtful chapter on "The Fall," which claims that mental illness and suffering evolved in the African Savannah, when humans diverged from chimps. It is a fascinating theory that puts the book's claims in a much broader perspective. As I listened to the final chapters on the mindfulness studies, I found myself anxious for this chapter to arrive.

Any drawbacks are minor: The summaries of the science are repetitive at times, but the author breaks up the parade of data with interesting and illustrative anecdotes. The speculation about the biology of "Siddhartha's Brain" feels a little clumsy and forced at times—but it's a small part of the book, and it helps to emphasize the secular and scientific dimension of the book's argument. (I.e., the Buddha had a brain, too, like the rest of us.)

Mindful meditation scientifically explained

Kingsland merges ancient Indian philosophy, Gotama Buddha's teachings, and contemporary science into a convincing case for the benefits of mindful meditation. The vignettes of Gotama Buddha's life and search for an end to human misery are not only illustrative of the development of his approach to enlightenment, but show him as human as the rest of us.
Crossley read with humor and earnestness.

Both Eastern & Western approaches to meditation

If you could sum up Siddhartha's Brain in three words, what would they be?

Enlightening
Enjoyable
Encouraging

What was one of the most memorable moments of Siddhartha's Brain?

Learning about the brain and meditation

What does Steven Crossley bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His accent is very pleasant to listen to. And his engagement with the material makes for easy-listening.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, too much information for me to consider in one sitting. I listened in bits. Set it aside to digest. Then listened more and again, digested.