The Brain's 'Compensatory Function' from the Perspective of Vijñānavāda

Question: Recently I saw a video online about a child who was frightened at six months old, and from then on became like a fool—his language, behavior, and ability to communicate with others were all severely impaired. But now that he has grown up, an astonishing phenomenon has appeared: his mental calculation ability in mathematics is remarkable, surpassing almost everyone in the world, even rivaling a computer. How can this phenomenon be explained according to the Yogācāra principles of the Buddha's Dharma?

Answer: The supreme faculty (indriya) of a six-month-old child's brain is not yet fully developed. Modern medicine has found that at birth, a child's cranial size is only about one quarter of an adult's, and at six months, a child's brain capacity is still less than half of an adult's; his mind consciousness and bodily organs are all very fragile. When he received a great fright, the manas reacted abnormally, prompting abnormal reactions in the brain's nervous system; the qi and blood could not circulate normally, activity in the brain region was obstructed, and as a result, the function of a certain part of the supreme faculty was damaged.

The flow of blood from the heart became abnormal and could not smoothly deliver blood to the whole body, leading to subsequent problems in brain development, ultimately resulting in a brain disability—what is commonly called brain damage. But such brain damage is not complete impairment, because when a person's supreme faculty is locally damaged causing functional impairment, the functions of other parts are instead enhanced. This is what modern medicine calls "compensatory function," and the younger the age, the greater this compensatory capacity of the brain develops.

The area of the supreme faculty at the back of our brain has an extremely complex structure; it is divided into many, many regions, with each region responsible for a certain function of the body. The entire brain is composed of the seeds of the four great elements. The solid substances such as the cerebral cortex and nerve fibers formed by these four great elements, as well as liquid substances such as brain fluid and blood, are all material form (rūpa-dharma). The blood flowing through the brain carries nutrients of the four great elements, providing nourishment for the development and operation of the supreme faculty in the rear brain. These nutrients can influence the brain's thinking and influence the discriminating activities of the mind consciousness or the six consciousnesses. When he was frightened, the blood flow became abnormal, blood stagnated in certain local areas, and the brain tissue in those areas where blood could not circulate stopped developing and even atrophied.

Under normal circumstances, the nutrients composed of the four great elements are evenly distributed throughout the entire brain. Because the material form was distributed unevenly, a certain part of the supreme faculty received abundant nourishment, the function of the brain in that region became vigorous, and the corresponding function of consciousness in that area was enhanced. In other regions that received no nutrients or insufficient nutrients, the corresponding functions declined and atrophied.

This child's mathematical thinking is especially quick and well developed—it was not adversely affected; rather, he was affected in language and other areas. Also, his walking is abnormal, which shows that the function of a certain part of the cerebellum was also affected, because the cerebellum is responsible for bodily balance and for walking. The affected areas had their corresponding functions weakened. Where did the weakened functions go? They went to compensate for the parts whose functions were relatively well developed.

This compensation occurs in two aspects: one in material form, the other in mental dharma. Actually, the word "compensation" is not quite precise; it should rather be said that his thinking function in a certain area became extraordinarily developed through compensation. Because the supreme faculty corresponding to this part of the function was not only unaffected in absorbing the material four great elements, it also absorbed the nutrients of the four great elements that should have been delivered to other brain regions.

This is the explanation from the aspect of material form. Explaining from the aspect of mental dharma: for a person whose supreme faculty develops and grows normally, the functions of his six consciousnesses should develop in a balanced way. Because of the impact of the fright, this child's six consciousnesses developed in an unbalanced way. In language, behavior, and the ability to communicate with others, the six consciousnesses were clearly deficient compared with ordinary people, but in mathematical thinking, calculation, and memory, they unexpectedly received compensation. If modern medical science were advanced enough to classify in detail the various functions of the supreme faculty and to locate the corresponding brain tissue regions anatomically, it would be found that the brain tissue and neurons responsible for mathematical thinking are especially well developed. The six consciousnesses take the faculties and sense objects as conditions, so the strength or weakness of the supreme faculty naturally influences the thinking of the mind consciousness.

Because I lack relevant knowledge of medicine and physiology, I cannot give a detailed explanation in this regard, so let me just give an example from the perspective of Yogācāra.