No Self, No Problem: How Neuropsychology Is Catching Up to Buddhism

by Chris Niebauer

Gazzaniga determined that the left side of the brain created explanations and reasons to help make sense of what was going on.1 The left brain acted as an “interpreter” for reality. Furthermore, Gazzaniga found that this interpreter was often completely and totally wrong.

These studies strongly suggest that we live our lives under the direction of the interpreter, and for most of us the mind is a master we are not even aware of. We may become angry, offended, sexually aroused, happy, or fearful, and we do not question the authenticity of these thoughts and experiences. While it is clear that these experiences are happening to us, we somehow

The mind is a tool. The question is, do you use the tool or does the tool use you? —Zen proverb

This internal dialogue is happening continually for almost everyone on the planet, and it plays a central role in the creation of the mirage that we call the self.

Language can obviously be extremely helpful in communication with others, but the left brain also becomes so dependent on language that it mistakes the map of reality for reality itself. There is an old Zen proverb that points to this problem, advising against “confusing the menu with the food.”

Our association of our true self with the constant voice in our head is an instance of mistaking the map (the voice) for the territory (who we really are). This error is one of the biggest reasons the illusion of self is so difficult to see.

creates two different perceptions of the same reality. The root of the problem is that many of us do not see language as a representation of reality, but confuse it with reality itself. This

For the one who perceives all beings as the Self, there will be no more delusion or grief. —The Upanishads