An important place where I believe science may meet Buddhism is when looking deeply into the nature of space and time and their relationship to consciousness. So the question I'm going to ask may seem a little crazy coming from a scientist, but its aim is to help me deepen my understanding on this issue in the light of non-self.

When I look at a bird sitting on the branch of a tree and listen to his singing, and this singing brings up a smile in me, I can see in that smile that I'm not separate from the bird. However, it seems that the point of view on reality that I have access to through my senses, my here and now, appears different from the point of view the bird has access to through his eyes, from his place and time.

So what seems to make up my self is a particular point of view on reality which seems different from the point of view of any other being or entity, whether it be a bird, another human being, a sunflower, a stone, a chair, or even a cell of my own body.

So here comes the crazy question. Since I and the bird are not separate, are one, since we are one, how come I cannot sense, I cannot see the world, I cannot see things through the eyes of the bird? And I mean, not just by an indirect way through imagination, but directly. How come I cannot see the world through the eyes of the bird, and how come I cannot seem to feel the wind on his wings?

Yeah, I like crazy questions. Because in Buddhism there are many things that look crazy like that also, like non-self, no self. While everyone believes that there is a self, and the Buddha said there is no self. Quite a crazy idea.

But very helpful. It makes us not too sure of ourselves, and that is a possibility of advancing on our path of understanding. You know, and the scientists also confirm that our brain is a social brain. Our brain is made of other brains. During the time we were still in the womb of our mother, that already started to work like that. And during the first six years of our life, during the development of our brain, we received the non-self elements, non-brain elements in order to form our brain. So physically, our brain is a social brain.

And as far as consciousness, the same thing is true. Our consciousness is somehow a collective consciousness. Your idea of beauty or ugliness is not your own, but you have been influenced by the idea of beauty and ugliness of the others. When you go to a department store and buy a shirt or a necktie, you think that you make the decision which one is more beautiful, which one suits you.

But you don't know that underneath, it is not exactly who decides. Your decision has been influenced by the view, by the feeling, the idea of beauty or ugliness of other people. So there is nothing as an individual brain. There is nothing as an individual consciousness. And you cannot be sure that it is your way of feeling, that feeling.

We know that there are trillions of cells in our body. And every cell, not only the nervous cell, has its own brain, has its own feeling. I learned that each cell has a membrane. And the membrane has the capacity of receiving information and making decisions. And each cell has its own brain.

And our brain is not just in the skull. In the heart, there is another brain. And we know that more than sixty percent of the cells in the heart are neurons. And our enteric system is also another brain. Our anxiety, our feeling are much more here than here. So I like to think that there is a community of cells that cohabit, that coexist, and together they produce that feeling.

That feeling is a collective feeling, not exactly your feeling. There is no you. It is a collective feeling. And you know that there are trillions of human cells in our body. But there are more, there are also trillions of cells that are not human. And they coexist. And their feelings are very much participating in what you call your feelings.

So many, many brains are within, and they combine. And you know that inside of our cells, there are mitochondria. And their DNA is quite different from ours. And they are at the center of our cells. And without them, we would have no energy in order to think, to feel, to speak. And so you cannot be sure that it is your idea, your feeling. The notion of self should be reconsidered.

So there is a feeling, yes. There are feelings, yes. But to say that it is my feeling or your feeling, I am not very sure. And the membrane is a kind of brain. I like to say that our brain is non-local. It is not situated here. It is all over our body, and it is also out of our body, outside our body. Mind is non-local. But brain, to my understanding, is also non-local.

You cannot situate the locality of your brain, even if you are using EEG, MRI, and so on. And each membrane is a member of the brain community. Mem-brane. And each membrane contributes its perception, its insight, its feeling. And what you call your feeling is their feelings also.

And that is to say only about human cells. But there are more non-human cells in us, and they do have their feelings, their perceptions. And your perception is their perception. And that is why I am sure that the feeling of the bird, the perception of the bird is somewhere in your perception. There is no separation. This is an invitation for scientists to work harder. Thank you.

[One sound of the bell.]