http://toadjaw.com/article?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hindu.com%2F...
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It's pretty clear that the Buddha was a clever and insightful chap. It wouldn't surprise me to find that some of the things he said about minds and bodies and persons fit well with contemporary science. It would be interesting to read something about this written by someone with no axe to grind. The hyperbole of the linked article, though? A waste of space.
Though it's only a few minute spot directed rather to non-tech people, it scratches the surface.
Spiritual text has a "goal" in mind. The text is then written very vaguely so that most text is open to interpretation. In the end people seem to make each scripture of any sort apply to current everyday life, even with new evolving views on life, society, new technologies, etc.
Too much rejection of emotions may at best lead one to be a Buddha, or perhaps just dull, or maybe even worst, a sociopath.
Nice.
The Buddhist sutras take the position that "objects of mind" are just leaky abstractions created by our limited minds, which struggle to make sense of the world. The greatest fallacy, in this view, is conflating the "objects of mind" with the real objects (+) they supposedly represent.
(+) Buddhist philosophers in India developed a concept of atomism, which leads to existential riddles like, "If I look at this pile of atoms, and see a chair, is the chair inside my mind, or outside?" (If you answer either way, you're wrong! ;)
There are lots of Buddhist meditation techniques, but, from what I understand, the most fundamental technique is simply observing your experience. It's not about trying to change your experience or get to some idealized state, but to really just look at your experience as it is, rather than how you wished it to be.
Many people have the misconception that meditation is supposed to be some peaceful, blissed-out state. That does happen sometimes, but a large part of it is also sitting with emotions raging inside of you and turning your attention to look at those unpleasant emotions again, and again, and again, resisting the urge to get the hell out of there and find something, anything to distract yourself.
There's a lot of fascinating work being done in Buddhist Psychology; in fact, I'm in the middle of a course on precisely that subject as part of an M.A. in Buddhist Studies. Unfortunately, this article only hints at the subject.
If, however, you are looking for a more general introduction to Buddhism (and Buddhist psychology) from a rationalist perspective, I'd recommend Stephen Batchelor's "Buddhism Without Beliefs."
Because attaining enlightenment and nirvana are rational, factual, non-dogmatic "events" that can be dated.
