Your Brain on Nembutsu

Source: “Functional Brain Mapping During Recitation of … Namu Amida Butsu,” see below for full attribution. Copyright 2008. All rights reserved by the original publisher.

Source: “Functional Brain Mapping During Recitation of … Namu Amida Butsu,” see below for full attribution. Copyright 2008. All rights reserved by the original publisher.

With thanks to Akira Sumida for supplying these links and information.

Monks Chanting the Nembutsu and Chanting Sutras
Neuroscientists continue to explore the effect of chanting and meditation in Buddhism on the human brain, and the results are fascinating to anyone interested in the mechanisms by which we may be changed by our Buddhist practice, and specifically in the popular culture concept of brain plasticity — that is, can we rewire our own brains?

Looking at chanting, one study looked specifically Japanese monks and at how recitation of the Nembutsu affects the brain — and it turns out differently from how chanting a sutra would do so.

 
“These results suggest that different types of meditation in Japanese Buddhism showed different brain regional activation. The Nenbutsu activated the prefrontal cortex, and the Sutra activated the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and right parietal cortex. ”
 

Here is the study Akira wanted to share with the rest of us.

Tsuyoshi Shimomura et al., "Functional Brain Mapping During Recitation of Buddhist Scriptures and Repetition of the Namu Amida Butsu; a Study in Experienced Japanese Monks" Turkish Neurosurgery 2008 (18: 2) 134-141. See the PDF here.

Glosses on Terms

The study is written by PhDs for other PhDs but for our benefit, Akira provided short definitions (glosses) of most terms here. You may want to open the window and keep it open as you read the PDF.

Follow Recent Updates on Brain Science

Akira recommends the following websites.

  • Happiness Beyond Thought. Established to support the legacy of spiritual teacher Ramana Maharshi (Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi) (1879-1950). Last October, Akira referenced Maharshi’s Upadesa Saram. The blog section has frequent posts on developments in neuroscience as it relates to Buddhism. Scroll down from the introduction to find recent postings.

  • Neuroscientifically Challenged. A lively, well-maintained website aimed at helping nonscientists understand the brain.

  • Science Direct. A website useful for finding open-source, peer-reviewed articles on many topics.

Don’t Be Afraid of Wikipedia
Akira recommends Wikipedia as a useful resource to learn more too.