Siddhartha’s Brain: Unlocking the Ancient Science of Enlightenment
James Kingsland
343 pages, 2016
Nonfiction
This book appears to start out with the same old, familiar story of the life of the Buddha that makes me want to skip the beginning and read ahead to the good stuff. Fortunately, I didn’t skip ahead, and the good stuff began right away. James Kingsland integrates in each chapter: an experience from the life of Shakyamuni Buddha, one of the basic teachings of Buddhism, a psychological truth having to do with that teaching and the most modern interpretations that science has to offer about that whole package. He includes the wisdom and experience of scientists, monks, mindfulness teachers, poets, writers and psychologists to give as full a picture as possible of each aspect of the various practices.
As neuroscience has advanced, much has come to light about mindfulness and the healing of mental health disorders such as PTSD, ADHD and depression. It is clear that following Buddhist practices does have positive effects upon the brain. Kingsland clearly explains how these practices are expected to show, in future studies and research, even more benefits than have been currently scientifically validated.
Kingsland’s thorough research and artful synthesis of legends, scriptures, teachings and data have brought us up to date. Now it only remains for us to keep on practicing, studying, researching and experiencing all that the Buddha’s teachings have to offer, while healing and improving the functioning of our brains.
Tricia HutchinsConcord Public Library
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