Feeling is Believing: The Convergence of Buddhist Theory and Modern Scientific Evidence Supporting How Self is Formed and Perpetuated Through Feeling Tone (Vedanā)

The human brain has evolved to support our species survival through simple neural mechanisms that help us remember where to find calorie-dense sources of food, while at the same time avoid danger. How do these survival mechanisms function in (Western) modern day, where food is plentiful, and danger exists primarily as theoretical threat? Now add in the cultivation and introduction of chemical substances and social technologies that literally hijack these neural pathways, leading to addictive behaviours such as substance use disorders, gambling, internet pornography and even smart-phone-based texting. Simply put, feeling the pleasant effects of intoxicants (chemical and behavioural) builds and supports a ‘self’ that requires their continued use to survive. New links are now being drawn between early Buddhist psychological models of the perpetuation of self-related processes (e.g. ‘dependent origination’) and modern-day science (e.g. operant conditioning) that may shed light on current conundrums surrounding an increasingly addicted society. Further, clinical trials involving specific training targeted towards the very behavioural mechanisms highlighted as problematic (e.g. feeling tone and its relationship to craving) suggest potent therapeutics – and even ways to tap into or ‘hack’ these very mechanisms for benefit, while neurobiological studies illuminate brain mechanisms linking modern-day science back to the Buddhist origins of suffering.