582. Daniel P. Brown

Dr. Daniel Brown has been a clinical and forensic psychologist for almost 50 years. He has been at Harvard Medical School for almost 40 years. He has been a student of, translator for, and meditation master in the Indo-Tibetan and Bon meditation tradition for almost 50 years. He has the only Western neuroscience study identifying the brain changes in the shift from ordinary mind to awakened mind.

Books:

Pointing Out the Great Way: The Stages of Meditation in the Mahamudra Tradition
Transformations of Consciousness: Conventional and Contemplative Perspectives On Development (New Science Library)
Self-Arising Three-fold Embodiment of Enlightenment: [of Bon Great Completion Meditation]

Websites:

pointingoutway.org
drdanielpbrown.com
mindonly.com
attachmentproject.com

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.

Summary and transcript of this interview.

Interview recorded January 10, 2021

Video and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast.
YouTube Video Chapters:

00:00:00 - Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump
00:05:15 - The Universal Trouble of Relationships in East and West
00:09:11 - Morality and Enlightenment
00:13:18 - Realizations and Enlightenment
00:17:37 - Practicing Automatic Emptiness and Unbounded Wholeness
00:21:52 - The correlation between brain activity and subjective states
00:26:09 - Shifting the Basis of Operation
00:30:03 - The Speed of the Mind and Baseball Training
00:34:10 - The Indestructible Essence in Buddhism
00:38:14 - The Purification of the Body
00:42:12 - The Transformation into Rainbow Body
00:46:23 - The Desert Fathers' Teachings and Controversy
00:50:21 - The Seven Deadly Sins in Meditation
00:54:23 - Putting Realizations into Practice
00:58:40 - The True Test of Realization
01:02:29 - Differentiating Awakened Awareness from Ordinary Awareness
01:06:35 - The Ninth Stage of Concentration
01:10:43 - Training the Mind to Concentrate
01:14:42 - Realizing the Power of Non-Reactivity
01:18:35 - Alternative to Traditional Tibetan Preliminary Practices
01:22:42 - Balancing Enlightenment and Conduct
01:26:39 - Different Paths to Enlightenment
01:30:49 - Different Perspectives on Ultimate Reality
01:34:49 - The Dying Tradition of Cave and Hermitage Monks
01:39:10 - Concentration versus Effortlessness
01:43:03 - Deep Transformation of the Nervous System
01:46:47 - The Influence of Conspiracy Theories
01:51:02 - The Danger of Fragmentation and Isolation
01:55:14 - The Limitations of a Human Being
01:59:44 - The Influence of Suggestive Influence and Soundbites
02:03:58 - Conclusion and Farewell