從當今社會的醫學角度看佛法
文／澳洲寶林禪寺英文研經班學員 Jacques Joubert
Recently, two events have been flashed around the world, and, for a medical practitioner such as myself, have shown proof that there is beyond the seen world, outside the concepts of scientific materialism, a realm that can influence our physical beings as well as our minds.
The first was the recent documentation of an aged Tibetan Lama, who died in New Zealand, and for a period of over two weeks, although clinically dead as certified by the medical and community authorities, showed no evidence of physical decomposition. The second was a French Catholic nun who had severe, incapacitating Parkinson's Disease, and after making aspirations to Pope John Paul, was totally cured. For a medical practitioner, both the physical changes to the body after death, and the effects of Parkinson's Disease can be easily evaluated.
Although there are no rational explanations for these conditions, both these events have their foundations in deep spiritual traditions. The first one is Buddhist, with years of contemplation and mind training underpinning the lama's life; the other Christian, where faith and positive aspirations play a central role. But both point to a similar truth, and it is that truth which draws one as a student and disciple to come regularly to the Bao Lin Chan Monastery in Melbourne where the ancient wisdom and practices of Chan are presented at the dharma talks.
These two events lead to a discussion of a whole new science which is developing and gaining ground at the most prestigious universities in the United States and Europe. The information that is currently coming from the scientific community is that through studying the effects of the ancient practices of Buddhism in the laboratory, scientists are now demonstrating that the invisible part of ourselves, our mind or consciousness, can affect the brain in a way that can be objectively measured. Mental processes and positive emotions as advocated by the Buddha actually have beneficial effects on our immune system, and produce an interaction between brain and heart. For the first time, the inner world is being exposed to scrutiny, and what was always thought not to be measurable is being measured in the laboratory.
The area of enquiry is called contemplative neuroscience. The neuroscientists are investigating the neuroscientific underpinnings of contemplative practices, mainly in the Buddhist context, and in particular, to see how the brain can be transformed through the engagement with purely mental practices. Professor Richard Davidson of the University of Wisconsin says that the brain is the one organ that is built to change in response to experience, which means the intentional deployment of mental strategies can result in an enduring change to both the structure of the brain as well as the mental state. Although not directly stated, Buddhist practices such as committing to memory The Eight Realizations of Great Beings hint at such an effect. Scientific evidence indicated that there appears to be a two-directional interaction between the mind and the external world through the medium of the brain. This may have enormous consequences in terms of physical and mental health as well as a significiant effect on society as a whole.
Genes are proteins that are present in all cells of the body. They influence how different body parts, including the brain, function. Recent scientific evidence has shown that these genes can be affected by experience. Experience (“inner actions” such as thoughts and emotions, and “outer actions” such as words) can change how these genes operate. This has important implications for brain function. It has been stated that there is no more effective way to introduce changes in the brain than through behavioral interventions. This resonates with the fundamental concepts and practices of Buddhism. More than three thousand years ago, Buddhism used the laboratories of the mind to research ways of living more harmoniously and happily. One of the pivots for this is the two noble truths that were promulgated by the Buddha, namely that there is suffering, and that there is a way to end suffering. In the past, both psychology as well as neuropsychology have focussed on the study of negative states of mind. Now, we are turning to one of the most important positive emotions, one that can effectively change not only individual lives but also societies.
The focus of scientists was on compassion. The objects of study were long-term practitioners, mainly monks, who had systematically cultivated compassion over years. They were considered the “expert” in this area. Lay people with one-week's experience were studied as a comparison group. The evocation of “non-referential” compassion—where love and compassion permeates the whole mind, with no object to focus on, was the object of meditation. Using functional MRI studies, it revealed that the long-term practitioners showed dramatically different patterns of increased activity on the functional MRI compared to the novice meditators. It means by inference that cultivating compassion causes something to take place in the brain. On the personal level, effects of meditation can be enormous and easily measurable with instruments. There is potential for populations to be affected in positive ways with these techniques.
These findings are not the only reason why Chan practice at Bao Lin is, for myself as a medical practitioner, a worthwhile undertaking. They also indicate, however, that the practices are powerful ways to influence not only our minds, but, through our minds, our brains, which can hopefully produce permanent, positive changes that will help us to reduce suffering in ourselves and others.
（近來，有兩個事件在現代資訊的傳播下傳遍全球。對身為醫生的我而言，這是一種證據，證明在科學唯物的觀念外，的確有一個肉眼看不見的領域，影響著我們的生理與心理。
第一個事件是：一位年老的西藏喇嘛在紐西蘭往生，雖然已開立了死亡證明，但過了兩個多星期，色身竟然沒有腐壞的跡象。第二個事件是：一位法國天主教修女罹患了嚴重的帕金森氏症，舉步維艱，在她向約翰保羅教皇祈禱許願之後，竟然完全痊癒了。身為醫生，對人死後人體數小時內產生的物理變化，以及罹患帕金森氏症的症狀，是很容易評斷的。
在這兩個事件中，我們無法對這種特殊的現象提出合理的解釋，但這事件中的主角都有深厚的宗教傳統作為基礎：前者是佛教徒，喇嘛的生活有著經年的觀行與心念的訓練；後者是基督徒，信心與祈願扮演了核心角色。兩件事都意味著相似的真理，因此，我來到了寶林禪寺，在禪修課裡學習亙古的智慧與禪修。
這兩個事件引發歐美最負盛名的幾所大學展開全新科學領域的探討，此項探討正在發展並愈來愈有進展。訊息顯示，科學家們在實驗室裡研究佛教修行的成效，驗證了我們的心與意識，這個無法眼見的部分，以某種方式影響著腦部，而且能夠客觀地測量出來。不僅如此，我們心念的運作和正向的情緒──如同佛陀所倡導的一樣──對身體的免疫系統的確有正面的影響，並使得腦部與心臟產生互動作用。這是首次對於過去無法測量、而現今可以在實驗室裡測量出的內在世界，作徹底的檢視。
這個領域稱為「冥想神經科學」。神經科學家們正在進行以修觀為基礎的研究，以佛教為主，並以目前神經科學最先進的技術與觀念，特別觀察腦部如何透過純粹的心智訓練得到改變。威斯康辛大學的Richard Davidson教授說，腦部竟然是個可依經驗而改變反應的器官，也就是說，刻意運用心理策略，可以持續地改變腦部的結構和精神的狀態。雖然佛法沒有直接說明，但修行方法中如背誦《佛說八大人覺經》，就隱涵了這種功效。現在的科學證據顯示：透過腦部為媒介，心與外在世界似乎有著雙向互動。若真如此，這些研究對於身心健康可能有重大的效用，對於整個社會也有相當大的影響力。
基因，是遍布全身所有細胞的蛋白質，影響著身體每個部位的運作，包括腦在內。最新的研究報告指出，基因是會受經驗影響的。經驗──包含內在活動，如：念頭和情緒，以及外在的活動，如：語言、文字──能改變基因的運作。這一點對腦部功能有著重要的意義。「據載，沒有任何一項已知的方法，比干預行為更能有效地改變腦部。」這一點呼應了佛教的基本觀念和修行方法。三千多年前，佛教就已使用這個心的實驗室，探究活得更和諧、更快樂的方法，其主軸之一在於佛陀所教導的苦諦與滅苦之道二個真理。過去，心理學和神經心理學一直著墨在負面心念的研究，如今，這盞探照燈轉向了，照到最重要的正向情緒之一，如果我們有效地運用這種正向情緒，將可以改變個人乃至整個社會。
科學家們的焦點放在「慈悲觀」。這項研究的對象是長期的修行者──主要是僧侶，他們多年有系統地修習慈悲觀，在這個領域被視為專家。另一組用作研究比較的是，只修一週慈悲觀的居士。這種慈悲觀是將愛與慈悲充滿心中，並沒有所觀的對象。利用核磁共振研究顯示：長期修行者與初學者比較起來，有顯著的不同，在共振儀上的圖像出現較多的活動紀錄。以此推論，修慈悲觀會導致腦部發生某些改變。禪修的成效極大，又可以輕易地用物理儀器測量出來，若能把禪修的法門推廣出去，將能對廣大的群眾產生正面的效益。
雖然上述的這些醫學成果，僅是我參加禪修的理由或與寶林結緣的原因之一，但它確實指出，我們所學習的禪修法門，不僅是影響這念心的有力方式，並且，透過心念的轉變，我們的腦部也會產生永久性的、良好的結構變化，以幫助我們減輕自身與一切眾生的苦惱。）
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