Ancient Eastern Wisdom and Mental-Neuronal Patterns

Eastern traditions have spoken for centuries about impermanence, balance, and Compassion. These traditions and modern neuroscience may appear far apart, yet they converge in surprising ways.
This blog explores how Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism resonate with the neuroscientific view of mental-neuronal patterns. They meet in depth and meaning A deeper comparative table is available in the addendum.
A meeting of East and West
For a long time, the wisdom of ancient Eastern traditions and the findings of modern neuroscience seemed worlds apart. Yet when we look closely, they begin to echo one another. Where Buddhism emphasizes impermanence and interconnectedness, neuroscience speaks of overlapping mental-neuronal patterns that never remain exactly the same. Where Taoism praises natural flow and balance, Western science reveals the brain’s own resilience and flexibility.
Lisa sees this as more than coincidence. The resonance is not superficial. Both East and West point to the same living reality: the human mind is not a fixed thing but a dynamic process. What the ancient traditions expressed in poetry and practice, neuroscience now articulates in patterns and ensembles.
Eastern wisdom in brief
Buddhism places impermanence at its heart, teaching that all phenomena arise and pass away in dependence on others. Taoism emphasizes the way of nature, the Dao, which flows effortlessly and brings balance without coercion. Confucianism highlights the cultivation of virtue, a steady practice that transforms a person from within.
Taken together, these traditions speak of reality as a web of relations rather than a collection of isolated parts. They invite people to live with compassion, harmony, and respect for the interconnectedness of life.
Mental-neuronal patterns in brief
From a neuroscientific viewpoint, the mind is shaped by vast ensembles of neurons working in concert. These are often called mental-neuronal patterns, or MNPs. They overlap, shift, and adapt, making possible memory, learning, creativity, and empathy.
This perspective is vividly explored in Patterns in Neurophysiology, where MNPs are shown to be the true carriers of meaning, rather than single neurons. They reveal why no thought is ever exactly repeated and why memory is always reconstructed. In other words, the scientific picture resonates with the Buddhist insight of impermanence and the Taoist vision of constant change.
Illustrative parallels
The parallels between Eastern wisdom and MNPs become clear in everyday experience. When the brain shows graceful degradation — losing function gradually rather than all at once — it mirrors Taoism’s idea of wu wei, the flexibility of bamboo that bends in the wind.
Another striking example is the predictive brain. Neuroscience now shows that perception is shaped as much by expectation as by sensory input. This finds an ancient counterpart in Yogācāra Buddhism, which describes the world as shaped by the mind’s own projections. A third resonance lies in empathy: shared patterns in the brain make it possible to feel with others. This matches the Buddhist practice of compassion, the cultivation of resonance with the joys and sufferings of others.
These three examples are developed in greater detail in the addendum. They also appear in related writings, such as The Heart of Buddhism, which discusses emptiness and compassion as central to Buddhist practice, and shows their relation to deep mental processing.
Why this convergence matters
These parallels are more than intellectual curiosities. They touch directly on how people live, heal, and grow. On the personal level, transformation does not come from force but from gentle re-patterning within. This insight links Eastern meditation practices with modern approaches like autosuggestion. Both speak to the brain’s natural language of patterns.
In health, too, this convergence matters. Illness and wellness are not fixed states but points on a continuum. Taoist harmony and the neuroscientific view of gradual shifts between states both remind us that balance, not perfection, is the key. In ethics, compassion is not only an ideal but is embedded in the very structure of our brains through overlapping neuronal patterns.
Going deeper with five further insights
Recent reflections deepen the resonance even further. In Mental Depth as Distributed Patterns, depth is shown to emerge from interconnection — much like Buddhist interbeing, where true compassion arises from the felt reality of being woven together.
In Patterns Behind Patterns, Lisa shows that some patterns remain hidden and cannot be grasped directly. This parallels Taoist wu wei and the Zen embrace of mystery: transformation happens by invitation, not by control.
The Broadness of Subconceptual Patterns explains why meditation and empathy feel expansive: broad, overlapping patterns allow the mind to resonate beyond narrow limits. This naturally connects with Buddhist loving-kindness and Taoist harmony.
The Being of Complex Patterns takes a further step, suggesting that patterns do not cause consciousness but are consciousness. This echoes Buddhist emptiness and the Taoist Dao, both describing being as nothing separate from the flow itself.
And finally, Patterns in Neurophysiology shows the fluidity of memory and thought at the neuronal level. This scientific discovery beautifully parallels Buddhist impermanence and Taoist change.
The full comparative picture
What emerges is a landscape of resonance. On one side, science describes flexible patterns, ensembles, and emergent depth. On the other, Eastern wisdom speaks of impermanence, compassion, harmony, and non-duality. Together, they show us a vision of mind and reality that is richer than either alone.
For those who want to see this convergence in detail, the addendum to this blog presents a full comparative table of twenty-three features of MNPs alongside their Eastern parallels. It is a guide to how deeply the two traditions intertwine, each illuminating the other.
Conclusion
Science and ancient wisdom do not stand in opposition. They are like two languages speaking of the same reality. Where one offers poetry, the other gives explanation; where one emphasizes practice, the other offers mechanism. Together they form a bridge that can help us understand ourselves more deeply, live more compassionately, and act with greater harmony.
When Eastern wisdom and Western science meet in the language of patterns, we glimpse something timeless: the unity of human insight, born from different traditions yet pointing to the same truth.
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Table: Ancient Eastern Wisdom and Mental-Neuronal Patterns – Comparative Table
MNP Feature / Insight | Description (Western science) | Eastern Resonance | Explanation of Parallel |
1. Graceful degradation | Patterns don’t collapse when damaged; they fade gradually. | Taoist wu wei (natural flow, flexibility) | Both show resilience through flexibility: like bamboo bending in the wind, mind and life adapt without breaking. |
2. Concurrent multiple soft constraints | Several patterns influence each other simultaneously. | Buddhist pratītyasamutpāda (dependent origination) | No single cause defines reality; many interdependent factors co-shape the whole. |
3. Content-addressable memory | A partial cue evokes a whole memory. | Zen koan practice | A fragment can open a vast horizon; the part awakens the whole. |
4. Predictive brain | Perception is shaped by expectation. | Yogācāra Buddhism (mind-only) | Both dissolve the myth of a purely “objective” world: experience is shaped by mind. |
5. Degrees of robustness | Stronger patterns are more resistant to loss. | Confucian dé (virtue cultivation) | Deeply ingrained virtues (patterns) endure through challenges. |
6. Learning from experience | Knowledge forms mainly through lived practice. | Buddhist emphasis on practice | Real transformation flows from doing, not abstraction. |
7. Conditioning-like phenomena | Patterns engrain subconsciously, positively or negatively. | Buddhist karma | Habits of mind shape the present through repetition. |
8. Spontaneous generalization | Overlapping patterns cluster into categories. | Buddhist impermanence & interconnectedness | No phenomenon stands alone; each dissolves into broader relational flows. |
9. Forming of internal ontology | Children discover categories naturally. | Taoist Dao as natural order | True structure arises spontaneously, without rigid control. |
10. From exemplars to categories | One instance anchors recognition of many. | Buddhist upāya (skillful means) | A single parable or image opens pathways to universal truths. |
11. Mental depth through overlapping patterns | Depth emerges from distributed, overlapping MNPs. | Buddhist śūnyatā (emptiness) | True depth arises from interconnection, not isolated essence. |
12. Whirlpool phenomena | Feedback loops can spiral into harmony or imbalance. | Taoist yin-yang dynamics | Life flows in spirals of constructive and destructive interplay. |
13. Attribution across domains | Patterns in one area activate others elsewhere. | Buddhist metaphorical resonance | An image in one domain lights up insights in another. |
14. Mental overlap → empathy | Shared patterns enable intuitive resonance with others. | Buddhist karuṇā (compassion) | We are interconnected minds, capable of deeply feeling with others. |
15. Spontaneous pleiotropy | One configuration produces effects in different domains. | Taoist unity of opposites | One root gives rise to many branches; unity behind multiplicity. |
16. Degeneracy | Different patterns reach the same outcome. | Buddhist “many paths, one awakening” | Diversity of means, unity of destination: liberation has many roads. |
17. Graceful fading between health and illness | Continuum, not sharp border, between states. | Taoist balance and harmony | Health and illness are dynamic shifts within the same whole. |
18. Competence without comprehension | Deep learning without explicit concepts. | Zen beginner’s mind (not-knowing) | Wisdom is lived, not explained; presence is deeper than concepts. |
19. Mental depth as distributed patterns | Depth arises when many overlapping patterns interact. | Buddhist interbeing, compassion | Depth of self and compassion emerge from interconnection. |
20. Patterns behind patterns | Deeper, partly unknowable patterns shape us invisibly. | Taoist wu wei, Zen mystery | Transformation happens by invitation, not control; trust the unseen. |
21. Broadness of subconceptual patterns | Subconceptual patterns overlap widely, even across people. | Buddhist mettā, Taoist harmony | Empathy and meditation feel expansive because patterns naturally overflow boundaries. |
22. The being of complex patterns | Patterns don’t cause consciousness; they are consciousness. | Buddhist śūnyatā, Taoist Dao | Consciousness is not separate from being; non-duality at work. |
23. Patterns in neurophysiology | Concepts exist in overlapping ensembles; nothing is ever identical. | Buddhist anicca, Taoist change | Impermanence is evident in each thought: all is flow, never repeated. |
Explanation of each resonance
1. MNP side: graceful degradation
In the brain, when part of a mental-neuronal pattern weakens or fails, the whole doesn’t collapse abruptly. Instead, functioning gradually declines while still keeping a recognizable form. For example, forgetting parts of a foreign language doesn’t erase the whole; you may still understand or speak in a simpler way. The pattern degrades gracefully, never fully breaking apart in a sharp “all-or-nothing.”
Taoist side: wu wei
In Taoism, wu wei is often translated as “non-doing,” but more accurately it means acting in accordance with the natural flow, without unnecessary force or resistance. A Taoist sage adapts like water that finds its way around rocks, or like bamboo bending in the wind. Flexibility, not rigidity, is the secret of endurance.
The resonance between both
Graceful degradation shows that the mind/brain itself is not brittle but resilient through flexibility. Taoism points to the same principle in human life: if we resist change rigidly, we break; if we flow, we endure. In both, imperfection doesn’t destroy function — it softens it into a new balance.
👉 Keep flowing with what remains, adapt gracefully, and the pattern of life (or mind) still carries meaning.
2. MNP side: concurrent multiple soft constraints
In MNPs, many influences shape a pattern at the same time. For instance, how you think or decide can be colored subtly by your current mood, background memories, or expectations — even if you are not fully aware of them. The outcome is never the product of one cause but the gentle negotiation among many.
Buddhist side: dependent origination (pratītyasamutpāda)
Buddhist philosophy teaches that nothing exists independently; every phenomenon arises because of multiple conditions coming together. A thought, an emotion, or even life itself has no single cause. Everything is co-arising, shaped by interdependent factors.
The resonance between both
MNPs show us that the brain naturally works through simultaneous constraints — no single element determines the whole. Buddhism expresses the same truth: life unfolds through interdependence, not linear causation. Both perspectives highlight a world woven from many threads, never reducible to one cause.
👉 Neuroscience and Buddhism meet in showing that wholeness arises from interconnection. There is no isolated self, only patterns in relation.
3. MNP side: content-addressable memory
In the brain, even a fragment of a memory trace can reactivate the whole. A smell may recall a childhood scene, or a single word may revive an entire conversation. Patterns complete themselves when given partial cues, bringing the larger whole into awareness.
Zen side: koan practice
A Zen koan is a short paradoxical phrase or story given to a student. At first glance it seems incomplete or nonsensical. Yet, in meditation, this fragment can open up a vast experiential horizon. The koan doesn’t give the “whole picture,” but it awakens a deeper knowing beyond the words.
The resonance between both
MNPs reveal how part of a pattern spontaneously evokes the whole. Zen koans use this same principle to guide the mind into depth. In both, a small spark touches a hidden reservoir, showing that the whole is always present in the part.
👉 Neuroscience and Zen together remind us that depth can be awakened by the simplest fragment, if approached openly.
4. MNP side: predictive brain
The brain is not a passive receiver of information but a proactive predictor. It continuously anticipates what it will perceive, filling in gaps and shaping experience. What you “see” is often guided as much by expectation as by raw sensory input.
Buddhist side: Yogācāra (mind-only school)
In Yogācāra Buddhism, what we perceive is largely a projection of the mind. Reality is not grasped as it is in itself but as it appears through the coloring of our expectations, karmic imprints, and habits of thought. The outer world is deeply intertwined with the workings of consciousness.
The resonance between both
MNPs demonstrate that perception is constructed by prediction; Yogācāra teaches that experience is shaped by mind. Both dissolve the illusion of a purely “objective” world, showing instead that we live in co-creations of inner patterning and outer conditions.
👉 Modern neuroscience and ancient Buddhism meet in revealing that reality is not simply “out there” but arises through the play of mind.
5. MNP side: degrees of robustness
Some mental-neuronal patterns are more resilient than others. Strongly meaningful patterns — like deeply held values, core memories, or well-practiced skills — resist fading, while weaker ones may dissolve quickly. Robustness reflects the depth of integration in the brain’s networks.
Confucian side: cultivation of virtue (dé)
Confucian philosophy emphasizes lifelong cultivation of moral character. Through repetition, reflection, and practice, virtues become firmly rooted, shaping not only actions but the whole person. Virtue is not a surface rule but an ingrained pattern of life.
The resonance between both
MNP robustness mirrors Confucian virtue: what is repeatedly practiced and deeply valued becomes enduring. Just as robust patterns stabilize thought and behavior, cultivated virtue stabilizes moral life, guiding responses even under stress.
Conclusion
The science of robust patterns and the wisdom of Confucian virtue both affirm that depth is built through steady cultivation.
6. MNP side: learning from experience
Most knowledge arises not from abstract instruction but from lived action. Mental-neuronal patterns form and strengthen during real-life engagement. Around 70% of practical learning happens this way, woven into daily doing rather than conscious memorization.
Buddhist side: practice and direct experience
Buddhism places emphasis on meditation, mindfulness, and ethical conduct as lived practices. True understanding (prajñā) does not come from conceptual study alone but from embodied practice — walking the path, not merely thinking about it.
The resonance between both
MNPs show that depth of learning comes through experience; Buddhism insists wisdom is experiential, not theoretical. Both affirm that real transformation flows from practice, not from words or abstractions.
Conclusion
Science and Buddhism converge in showing that truth must be lived: knowing is doing.
7. MNP side: conditioning-like phenomena
Mental-neuronal patterns can become engrained without conscious awareness. Repeated associations form habits — sometimes helpful, sometimes harmful. For example, one may learn to fear social situations through repeated subtle cues, even without explicit memory of when it began.
Buddhist side: karma
In Buddhism, karma means “action” and refers to how past deeds, thoughts, and intentions condition present experiences. These influences are not always conscious but shape tendencies and reactions, much like grooves laid down in the mind-stream.
The resonance between both
Conditioning in MNPs and karmic imprints both reveal the weight of repetition in shaping the present. Neither is about a single event but about accumulated patterns that quietly steer perception, emotion, and behavior.
Conclusion
Both neuroscience and Buddhism remind us: habits of mind are powerful. To change the present, we must carefully sow new patterns.
8. MNP side: spontaneous generalization
Overlapping mental-neuronal patterns tend to be recognized as belonging together. A child may see several animals and quickly recognize “dogness,” even if each dog looks different. The brain naturally creates categories through the blending of similar experiences.
Buddhist side: impermanence (anicca) and interconnectedness (pratītyasamutpāda)
Buddhism teaches that no phenomenon stands alone or fixed. Each moment arises in relation to others, dissolving into broader flows of change. What seems unique is part of a continuum of interconnection and impermanence.
The resonance between both
MNP generalization shows that single instances are never isolated; they blend into larger categories. Buddhism sees the same truth in existence: phenomena are not discrete but waves in a larger ocean of change and relation.
Conclusion
Science and Buddhism agree: no experience is sealed off; each carries us into the whole.
9. MNP side: spontaneous forming of an internal ontology
Children naturally learn to organize the world into categories — like distinguishing nouns from verbs — without explicit teaching. Mental-neuronal patterns cluster into modular systems that create order from experience.
Taoist side: Dao as natural order
In Taoism, the Dao is the underlying flow and structure of reality. It is not imposed from outside but arises spontaneously, harmonizing the ten thousand things into patterns of balance and rhythm.
The resonance between both
Just as the brain self-organizes categories, the Dao reveals an inherent order in nature. Both show that true structure arises without rigid control, unfolding organically from within.
Conclusion
Neuroscience and Taoism together affirm: order is not forced, it emerges naturally when conditions are allowed to flow.
10. MNP side: from exemplars toward categories
One vivid instance can serve as an anchor for many related patterns. For example, a single meaningful event may stand out and attract numerous overlapping memories, helping to form a larger category of understanding.
Buddhist side: skillful means (upāya)
In Buddhism, teachers often use a single story, parable, or image to open the door to profound truths. The example is not the whole truth but a gateway that allows many related insights to arise in the student’s mind.
The resonance between both
An exemplar in MNPs organizes many patterns; a skillful example in Buddhism gathers many teachings. Both work by letting the part illuminate the whole, with the power of a single instance resonating far beyond itself.
Conclusion
Science and Buddhism both show that one spark — whether a memory or a parable — can ignite an entire world of meaning.
11. MNP side: mental depth through overlapping patterns
Depth of mind arises when many distributed patterns overlap and reinforce each other. The richness of experience and wisdom grows out of this web of partial connections, not from any single isolated pattern.
Buddhist side: emptiness (śūnyatā)
In Buddhism, emptiness does not mean “nothingness” but the absence of independent, fixed essence. Everything exists only through interconnection. Depth of reality is revealed as a field of relations, not as a solitary core.
The resonance between both
Overlapping MNPs create depth; emptiness in Buddhism describes the same process at the level of existence. Both show that true depth emerges from interconnection, not from isolated entities.
Conclusion
Neuroscience and Buddhism converge on a profound truth: richness comes from relations, not from standing alone.
12. MNP side: whirlpool phenomena
When many patterns interact, they can spiral into self-reinforcing structures — positive or negative. This may show as upward spirals of growth or downward spirals of stress and illness. Such “whirlpools” are dissipative structures, shaped by flow and interaction.
Taoist side: yin-yang dynamics
Taoism teaches that reality is the interplay of yin and yang — complementary forces that cycle, balance, and transform into one another. Harmony or disharmony arises from the way these forces interweave, like currents in water.
The resonance between both
Whirlpool MNPs and yin-yang dynamics both highlight patterns of feedback that can spiral toward harmony or imbalance. Life is not static but flows in circles, sometimes constructive, sometimes destructive.
Conclusion
Both perspectives remind us: to live wisely is to sense the spirals we are caught in and guide them gently toward balance.
13. MNP side: attribution across domains
Patterns from one area of life can partially activate or influence patterns in another, even without a clear conceptual link. For example, stress at work may affect family life, or a melody may evoke emotions tied to a personal memory.
Buddhist side: metaphorical resonance
In Buddhism, teachings often use metaphors to reveal connections across seemingly unrelated domains. A simple image — like a lotus rising from the mud — resonates with personal struggles, spiritual growth, and universal truths.
The resonance between both
MNPs show how overlap across domains allows meaning to flow beyond boundaries. Buddhist metaphors use the same principle: an image in one domain awakens insights in another. Both reveal the mind’s capacity to weave links across life’s tapestry.
Conclusion
Science and Buddhism meet in showing that insight often comes from resonance — when one pattern lights up another unexpectedly.
14. MNP side: mental overlap leading to empathy
When our neuronal patterns overlap with those of others, we can intuitively feel what they feel. This resonance enables empathy — sensing another’s joy, pain, or state of mind without needing explicit explanation.
Buddhist side: compassion (karuṇā)
Buddhism places compassion at the heart of practice: the ability to feel with others and act to alleviate their suffering. It arises not from abstract reasoning but from directly sensing shared humanity and interconnectedness.
The resonance between both
MNP overlap explains the neural basis of empathy; Buddhism cultivates this resonance into active compassion. Both affirm that we are not isolated minds but interconnected beings, capable of feeling each other deeply.
Conclusion
Neuroscience and Buddhism agree: empathy is woven into our very patterns; compassion is its flowering.
15. MNP side: spontaneous pleiotropy
A single configuration of neuronal patterns can lead to diverse effects in different domains. For example, one core emotional pattern may manifest in both physical pain and psychological depression, showing its influence across multiple expressions.
Taoist side: unity of opposites
Taoism emphasizes that the same source can give rise to many forms. The Dao is one, yet it manifests as the “ten thousand things.” Opposites and differences share a common root and often transform into one another.
The resonance between both
MNP pleiotropy shows how one underlying configuration can generate varied outcomes; Taoism teaches that all diversity emerges from a single flowing principle. Both point to unity behind multiplicity — one seed giving rise to many branches.
Conclusion
Science and Taoism together affirm that the many are not separate from the one: diversity is expression of an underlying unity.
16. MNP side: degeneracy
Different neuronal configurations can lead to the same outcome. For instance, students may learn the same concept through varied strategies, or multiple neural pathways may support the same function. The system allows flexibility in reaching a goal.
Buddhist side: many paths, one awakening
Buddhism recognizes that people follow diverse practices — meditation, chanting, mindfulness, devotion, study — yet all can lead to the same awakening. There is no single rigid route; what matters is the transformation of mind and heart.
The resonance between both
Degeneracy shows the brain’s flexibility in finding different roads to the same end. Buddhism embraces the same truth: many paths may converge in liberation. Both emphasize diversity in means and unity in destination.
Conclusion
Neuroscience and Buddhism affirm that freedom lies not in one right method but in many authentic ways leading to depth.
17. MNP side: graceful fading between health and illness
Mental-neuronal patterns don’t flip abruptly between “healthy” and “ill.” Instead, there are gradual shifts along a continuum. Symptoms may wax and wane, and the difference between wellness and disorder is often a matter of degree rather than kind.
Taoist side: balance and harmony
Taoism sees health as the dynamic balance of yin and yang. Illness is not an enemy but a sign of imbalance. Life flows along a spectrum of harmony and disharmony, always in motion, never fixed in absolute states.
The resonance between both
MNPs reveal continua between states; Taoism describes the same with yin and yang. Both affirm that health and illness are not opposites but fluid positions within the same living process.
Conclusion
Science and Taoism converge: wholeness is about balance, not perfection; illness is a shift, not a separate realm.
18. MNP side: competence without comprehension
Neuronal patterns can support complex abilities without conscious awareness. For example, children acquire the grammar of a language without understanding grammatical rules, or we ride a bicycle without being able to explain the physics behind balance.
Zen side: not-knowing mind
Zen values beginner’s mind — openness beyond conceptual grasping. Deepest wisdom is often wordless, experienced directly rather than understood intellectually. Insight arises from presence, not from clinging to explanations.
The resonance between both
MNPs show that genuine competence can unfold without explicit comprehension. Zen celebrates the same truth: knowing is deeper than thinking, and presence is wiser than concepts.
Conclusion
Science and Zen meet in affirming that life’s most profound skills and insights are lived, not explained.
19. MNP side: Mental depth as distributed patterns
Mental depth arises when many neuronal patterns overlap and interact. The richness of thought, feeling, and identity comes not from one central pattern but from distributed networks. Depth is emergent from interconnection.
Buddhist side: Thích Nhất Hạnh speaks of interbeing
No person or phenomenon exists alone. Compassion flows naturally when we sense our lives as woven into the fabric of others and of nature.
The resonance between both
Distributed MNPs mirror interbeing — true depth comes from interconnection. Just as compassion arises when one feels part of a greater whole, neuronal richness arises from many patterns converging.
Conclusion
Both science and Buddhism show that depth is not isolated essence but shared being. Compassion is the living proof of this depth.
20. MNP side: Patterns behind patterns
Beneath the patterns we can observe lie deeper layers that are not directly knowable. These “patterns behind patterns” shape us without being fully grasped. To work with them, we must invite rather than force.
Eastern side: Taoism’s wu wei
This means acting without forcing, trusting the natural flow. Zen likewise values openness to mystery, accepting that what is deepest cannot be pinned down conceptually.
The resonance between both
Both perspectives affirm that the most powerful forces are unseen. MNPs remind us that much of mind operates beyond awareness; Taoism and Zen teach us to trust and flow with this hidden ground.
Conclusion
Real transformation comes not from control but from invitation — trusting the hidden depths to do their quiet work.
21. MNP side: Broadness of subconceptual patterns
Subconceptual patterns are broad, overlapping within individuals and between them. This explains why empathy and meditation feel expansive: the patterns are not confined to one narrow domain but resonate across boundaries.
Eastern side: Buddhism cultivates mettā (loving-kindness)
This is about radiating goodwill outward in widening circles. Taoism emphasizes harmony — balance that extends beyond self into the natural world.
The resonance between both
Broad MNPs make sense of why empathy feels so wide, why meditation opens space, why kindness expands. Both affirm that the mind naturally overflows its boundaries into shared resonance.
Conclusion
Neuroscience and Eastern wisdom meet in showing that inner broadness is outer connectedness; love and calm are expansive by nature.
22. MNP side: The being of complex patterns
Complex patterns do not “produce” consciousness; they are consciousness. Being is simply being, not something created behind the scenes. Consciousness is the pattern’s own existence, emergent and inseparable.
Eastern side: Buddhism’s śūnyatā (emptiness)
This shows that no self or awareness exists independently — it is relational being, not a hidden substance. Taoism’s Dao is likewise the natural flow of being itself, not something “caused” but what simply is.
The resonance between both
Both perspectives dissolve duality: there is no consciousness apart from patterns, no Dao apart from the flow. To seek a separate cause is to miss the truth.
Conclusion
Science and Eastern wisdom converge: consciousness is not added on but identical with the living weave of patterns.
23. MNP side: Patterns in neurophysiology
ind concepts are not stored in single neurons but in overlapping ensembles. Each recall is slightly different; memory is reconstructed anew. Nothing is ever exactly repeated — even thought is impermanent.
Eastern side: Buddhism teaches anicca (impermanence)
Nothing remains the same from one moment to the next. Taoism emphasizes that life is constant change, the flow of yin and yang without fixed form.
The resonance between both
Neurophysiology shows impermanence at the neuronal level; Buddhism and Taoism show it at the existential level. Both affirm that no moment or thought is ever repeated; all is flow.
Conclusion
Neuroscience and Eastern wisdom agree: reality is fresh each moment, and change is the only permanence.