What if you could magically "forget" your neuroses, bad habits, traumatic memories. Would you be a different person? Would you have changed your karma?
Brain researchers have discovered a memory-altering drug -- kinda like in the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind:
"This possibility of memory editing has enormous possibilities and raises huge ethical issues," said Dr. Steven E. Hyman, a neurobiologist at Harvard. "On the one hand, you can imagine a scenario in which a person enters a setting which elicits traumatic memories, but now has a drug that weakens those memories as they come up. Or, in the case of addiction, a drug that weakens the associations that stir craving."
Carrying this further: If you could literally forget all craving and jettison every memory that your ego clings to as "self" through pharmacology...would you?
4 comments
The ability to strategically forget raises tough questions for me. Yeah, I would like to live in the "now." Also, most Buddhists teach that craving and attachment to ego cause nothing but suffering. But "forgetting" all that sounds like Alzheimers. I wouldn't want to go there.One thing that appeals to me about Nichiren Buddhism is that Nichiren does not urge us to abandon our worldly desires (craving, ego) but to transform them. If you "forget" it all, that's abandoning rather than transforming.It all goes back to the fundamental question: Can you have enlightenment without delusion? To what extent -- and how -- are enlightenment and delusion interdependent?If you erase delusion, do you also erase the potential for enlightenment? Something tells me yes, but I cannot prove it.Sorry to answer questions with more questions but I assumed you were proposing this as a hypothetical for the sake of discussion.
First, my prejudice is that I mistrust drugs meant to alter mood. I realize that this prejudice is ridiculous, since these drugs help millions of people who suffer from hormone imbalances, depression, etcetera. My drug of choice is caffeine. It is a mood altering substance for me.A drug to edit memory? Yes, in some severe circumstances, it may be the only way to help people have a life beyond horrible trauma.For myself, as a "karma changer," I must say no. Whether we remember our karma or not, we still have our karma. My non-scientific belief is that karma is stored in every cell of our being, not just certain portions of the brain.
Brooke wrote, on this subject:
This is so true. However, I have learned in our tradition, the SGI, which, like all of Buddhism, is in transformational change, that there is the "inferior ego" and the "Superior ego". That is, the "inferior ego" is the supposed "animality" that we are born with that is ever in some form, however quietly or loudly manifest, that says: "You have to look out for yourself, you dummy. No one else will. Look how much you have suffered, so don't be stupid. Take care of yourself first and then you can, MAYBE think of others. But, don't be fooled. It is a cruel world out there and you have to TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF FIRST!!" Ergo, so grab that donut, rat out your friend, lie to the authorities, if necessary, and torture the "whoevers" because "you have to" or "It's my job, they said so" or "Poor me, I have a job where I have to torture and execute people".Then, there is agape, there is Nichiren's absolutely superb Gosho, "The Wealthy Man Sudatta", brought to my attention on the SGU listserve lately by, well, Bill A., check it out if you want, SGU (see right column), a Gosho which is so beautiful, it nearly brings me to tears with Nichiren's enlightened mercy.Well, there is so much more I have been thinking about with this profound topic and thank you for that, but I am tired this night and will take up more of what has been wracking my personal brain about the subject since you found and proposed it. More later,ArmchairI am still thinking about this subject, now weeks later. Brooke says,
To this point, Nichiren had to say, "When the sky is clear, the ground is illuminated." To me this has indicated that when I am "deluded", which is to say "confused" or "unable to discern the true way toward solving some problem or understanding something fundamentally important", it is cloudy in my mind and life. He infers that by chanting NMHRK, the sun of enlightenment will come out and clear up the clouds and then I will be able to see clearly what to do. I have found this concept very helpful when I am of muddy mind. Now, the question is, does shining the light of MRK clear up the delusions in other peoples' minds? I know of many people who are miserable because of their illusions, not to mention my own. Enlightened realization? Truth? If someone is harming me because of their delusions, do I have the right to chant for their clarity of mind to appear? Or do I just smack them a good one on some level? There's that boddhi ethic!!Then, Auntie talks further about what if we could erase torturous memories. She thinks, if I have read her right, for her, not. One thing about the horrible memories part is how did I get in such a situation and could I forestall doing that again? Maybe yes, maybe no, depending upon the situation. Myself, I have a significant case of PSTD from majorly traumatic events in my life. And, I have long had some brain chemical disorders for which I take appropriate medication. These medications make my like way more livable and I am grateful for them. As for the horrible memories, and they are still being created, unfortunately, the great balm is the beings who love me and know that I am not being stupid or incorrect to do what I am doing though I tend to get harmed for it. Ultimately, I have to answer for myself and say I have no regrets. Being correct in one's personal attempt to transmit the Law appropriately and truly and those who love one for trying one's best to be a good being are the only antidotes I have found for having to deal with this kind of pain. Do I forget? I do. There is a brain overload or one wouldn't, couldn't continue. Please, I ask, do not suppose I am aggrandizing, exaggerating, or lying. It is painful enough and something much on my mind. So, if you should choose to say something about this, please do not be critical but further healing thoughts are, of course, welcome.Armchair