Fully Comprehend the Consciousness

~ By Ajahn Jayasāro ~

Our experience of the world may be divided into two categories: things such as height and weight that can be measured and things such as love and hate that cannot. One of the most popular beliefs of the modern age is that things that can be measured are somehow more real than those that can’t be. People will often say of an immeasurable quality, “What’s really happening here is …” and refer to a measurable quantity. It is due to this way of thinking that mental states are reduced to a matter of brain chemicals. In fact, although such materialist beliefs may be proclaimed to be scientific, they are more akin to religious dogma.

Tears are not the cause of sadness, and a mothers’ love is not caused by oxytocin. Neuroscience has increased our knowledge of correlation rather than causality. Consciousness remains the great mystery of the universe. To be fully comprehended, it is to the Eightfold Path of the Buddha that we must turn.

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"Food for the Heart", a series of Dhamma teachings handwritten weekly is posted on the Buddhadāsa Indapañño Archives page with Ajahn's kind permission.

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For other teachings by Ven. Ajahn Jayasāro, please visit the Panyaprateep Foundation website.