Neurological basis of average age of enlightenment
Siddartha Gautama was enlightened at age 35, whereas Jesus of Nazareth’s breakthrough came at the age of 33. What is it about the early-to-mid-thirties anyway?
Neurologically, we can surmise that cumulative synapse formation after thirty-plus years of life brings about some kind of critical mass where the brain is primed for the massively transforming experience that these religious leaders had. What is the nature of this nerual “readiness”, and what type of synaptic development processes could lead to it over a period of three decades? And in what way, if any, does continued brain development after that time act to lessen the likelihood of such quantum leaps in consciousness?
June 8th, 2006 at 2:43 am
A fascinating question ! And one very similar to a question I have been asking since I lived for four years in a Tibetan monastery in India from 1988-92.
The curent Dalai Lama reports that he directly experienced “emptiness” in this life at age 35. The founder of the Dalai Lama’s sect, Tsongkapha repoted that he experienced emptiness directly in his 40th year.