Reply To: Consciousness (Mind v Brain) Citta Vithi

#37301
Lal
Keymaster

Hello Dipobhasadhamma,

The critical points to be addressed are in the following part of your comment: “Since science has determined that the brain is not consciousness nor does the brain cause consciousness, where does consciousness come from? This is the puzzle to end all puzzles. What is the connection between the brain and consciousness?”

1. Modern science is purely materialistic, i.e., it is based on the assumption that everything in this world can be explained as “material phenomena.”
– It assumed that the “complexity” increases in the following order: physics, chemistry, biology. Then once complex molecules and structures arise and SOMEHOW lead to consciousness.

2. Following is the explanation in Buddha Dhamma: Consciousness arises in the “seat of the mind” (hadaya vatthu), which is created by kammic energy.
– That hadaya vatthu is the critical component of the manomaya kaya (gandhabba).
– When one acts with lobha, dosa, moha such actions/speech is based on powerful javana citta with abhisankhara.
– That is why “avijja paccaya abhisankhara” ends up in “bhava paccaya jati”. That means a new existence and births within it can be traced back to those (abhi) sankhara generated with avijja (ignorance).

So, modern science will never be able to explain consciousness within the current framework.

I suggest reading the following posts. Please free to ask questions after you have read them. You may have read some of them. Since I don’t know how much you have read, I am just suggesting a few. When you respond, I may be able to point to more relevant posts.

Will Quantum Mechanics Be Able to Explain Consciousness?

Gandhabba (Manomaya Kaya)

P.S. I saw your second comment after I posted the above.
The post, “Brain – Interface between Mind and Body” could be helpful?