Case Study of Ecstatic Meditation

[bodhimind]

I just chanced upon this case study and thought that it was interesting because it actually involved some kind of discussion about the jhanas themselves: http://www.hindawi.com/journals/np/2013/653572/

Jhanas are Altered States of Consciousness (ASC) that imply major brain changes based on subjective reports: (1) external awareness dims, (2) internal verbalizations fade, (3) the sense of personal boundaries is altered, (4) attention is highly focused on the object of meditation, and (5) joy increases to high levels. The fMRI and EEG results from an experienced meditator show changes in brain activity in 11 regions shown to be associated with the subjective reports, and these changes occur promptly after jhana is entered. In particular, the extreme joy is associated not only with activation of cortical processes but also with activation of the nucleus accumbens (NAc) in the dopamine/opioid reward system.

And this diagram from the paper:



How close do you think they are?

[Jhanananda]

As I see it there are a number of problems with this Case Study of Ecstatic Meditation: fMRI and EEG Evidence of Self-Stimulating a Reward System.
1] It is nice to know that they used the term 'Ecstatic Meditation,'because as far as I know I coined the term, and I have used it extensively.
2] However, they are using terminology that relates to me without referencing me.  That is a problem for their credibility on the topic of Ecstatic Meditation.
3] The article refers to access concentration.  There is no place in the sutta pitaka of the Pali Canon where the concept of access concentration appears.
4] If the sutta pitaka of the Pali Canon does not refer to the concept of access concentration, then either: the sutta pitaka of the Pali Canon is an imperfect record of the meditation experience; the Abidhamma is a better record; or the Abidhamma is a flawed interpretation of the meditation experience.
5] While they claim that they used meditation subjects who could access all 8 stages of samadhi on demand, the claim is outrageous.

[Jhanon]

Hmmm, I will message you, Jhananda. I almost posted it, but...it doesn't feel 100 percent.