I am special but I do not exist

Life hurts, a lot; there is no doubt that this path we follow through life is
full of unsatisfactory experiences and suffering. Life has always been
this way and humans have observed this and been curious about these
characteristics of life. Fortunately, nowadays we can trust modern
scientists of a broad range of fields of study to help us understand the
reasons why we behave the way we do. However, sometimes the mere
understanding of things do not bring the needed relief we need in this
life; luckily, humans have also find their ways to build an alternative
explanation of life through spirituality. The Buddhist practice is
specifically built on the idea that there is a way to end unsatisfaction and
suffering of life and offers a whole set of defined steps towards this
release. In the present essay I will briefly state how I think modern
science supports and sometimes enters in conflict with Buddhist claims
about our mind and our mind during meditation practice. Modern
science can be definitely be a key in the understating of the goodness of
the incorporation of Buddhist meditation practices in everyday life
although there are some good reasons to think that the Buddhist
thought goes against the rational current of some modern science
theories.
Since the very beginning of this online course, during the first week on
lectures like Feelings and illusions and Evolutionary psychology of
the First Two Nobel Truths there was stated some of the main principles
of Evolutionary thinking in science, which goes to the theory of natural
selection, which makes life in this planet survive and pass their genes
through generations by reproduction. According to a Darwinian thinking,
human beings just like any other forms of life, naturally tend to prioritize
their own needs and have evolved in order to do so in a finer way from
generations to generations.
Synthetized and summarized main ideas of Buddhist thoughts and
practice according to last weeks lecture, focus on reaching a state of
liberation by understanding four aspects of life as a human being: the
lack of existence of the self as an external and internal interpretation,
the concept of emptiness and the impermanence of everything. By the
adoption of those fundaments, we would be able to see and feel
continuity between ourselves and our environment, to understand that
the aspects that makes us human are just illusions and we do not really
exist, that everything has characteristics that we can perceive but we
shall not put personal attributes on them and that everything on this life
cannot last forever.
The experience of the meditation and appropriation of the not self-
principle not only offers a higher awareness of a collective existence of
everything but also gives a moral perception that in practice is
translated in compassion and sympathy for other beings. This idea can
be conflictive when it comes to evolutionary terms, as we are able to
completely quit selfishness and leave our own survival needs apart.
On the other hand, modern science can be a true ally when talking about
the structure of the mind and the processes of it during the practice of
mindfulness meditation, which is the insight and awareness that
situations and things in life are neither good nor bad.
According to the Self control video lecture, there are three main
connections between meditation, specifically mindfulness meditation,
and the modular view of the mind, which is the modern
neuropsychological theory that the mind works in modules. The first one
is that the default mode network, that is the module of the mind that is
active when we do not focus on a task and just wander between
thoughts, is less active during many kinds of meditation. This
phenomenon might be explained as a practice of defocusing the
attention that many other modules of the mind claim in a specific
moment.
The second has to do with the exercise of being mindful in every aspect
of our lives, including feelings; this practice might lead to an ability of
determination of the modules that may or may not rule over the mind.
Finally, the third connection with the effects of meditation and the
modular view has to do with the long-term consequences of mindfulness
practice. The more we are able to detach feelings and situations without
an evaluation, the more empowerment we can give to particular
modules that help us live a less unsatisfactory life.
In conclusion, human mind and human life is indeed a wonder and a gift,
we can think and we can feel and we can also understand why we do
that. I am personally amazed by the fact that we have constructed
science to understand our universe and ourselves, but we have also
created spiritual practices to complement our understanding and life.