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