Someone just sent me a link to a research paper
Can enlightenment be traced to specific neural correlates, cognition, or behavior? No, and (a qualified) Yes. The problem that I have stated in the past regarding research into meditation is they all fail for the following reasons.
There are a number of problems that must be addressed by anyone wishing to study deep meditation states, whether with machines, or actual practice. The first obstacle to overcome is the schools of Buddhism, nor any other religion, do not even agree upon what constitutes deep meditation states and enlightenment.
Also, all of the studies I read did not even collect a case history of what the subject actually experiences as a deep meditation state on a regular basis, and/or during the test session.
So, before the machines get turned on, one studying deep meditation states and enlightenment has to understand what they are, and also understand that ALL religions are frauds, because they have been run by frauds for thousands of years.
Thanks for the link. It just shows me another research paper on meditation states and enlightenment that has not done the work.
The work is:
1] Retranslate all ancient literature that describes meditation states and enlightenment, because when I did that I found ALL of the translations were wrong. This includes the Bible, Gospels, Bhagavad-Gita, Yoga Sutras, and Pali Canon.
2] Sort through all of that literature to find the few that actually describe the authentic experience, and are not just marketing hype from a pretentious religion.
3] Once one actually has a clear view of what meditation states and enlightenment are, then go looking for subjects who manifest these phenomena.
4] Then test those subjects, and do not be surprised to find every one of your subjects have been marginalized by their respective religion; and there is no observable physiological effect to record.
I have done 1-3. And, I can provide a researcher with subjects (here) who manifest these phenomena in a relative sense. However, not a single researcher has shown up to ask for subjects to study. Why? Because all of those who claim to study meditation states and enlightenment have not done the basic research to find most people claiming enlightenment are frauds.
