Mind = Brain just like Steam = Water = Ice

1. Mind, Brain and Buddhism
What is mind? And where is mind? Is the mind the same as the brain?
Buddhism often articulates about mind and matter or mind and body. This means
that the mind and the body (matter) cannot be understood separately from one
another. Basically, mind is a pattern of consciousness that is born from
awareness. In fact, mind is known as consciousness in individuality and it is more
objective and involves clear discrimination – differentiates and understands the
characteristics of objects. If one refers to the cycle of Dependent Origination,
manas that unfolds against the backdrop of consciousness (preliminary) is an
architect that activates mind and body creations. Mind and body are simply two
aspects of the same thing.
In the dependent nature, everything that exists would comprise with energy and
energy is nothing more than mere vibration. Therefore, manas would vibrate in a
certain unique frequency pattern – a wave of collated high and low vibrations. This
blueprint of vibrations would subsequently bring forth a conflation of mind and
body. The principle in effect: the lower the frequency, the slower the vibration;
the higher the frequency, the faster the vibration. Slower vibration would lead to
the body and the sense bases formation and faster vibration would lead to the
mind formation. Collectively, it brings about a new life existence with a unique
individuality that would not allow the disruption by any kind of external
interference; thus it maintains a self-identity.
In other words, mind and body are present in every created thing as one integrated
whole. Even an atom has a kind of mind that is unique or individualised. The
nucleus of the atom, around which electrons vibrate in standing waves, constitutes
the atom’s individuality. As a result, one atom distinguishes from another atom –
just as one person is different from another person or as one thing is different
from another thing. Therefore, the origin of individuality is the same as the origin
of the mind. Nevertheless, the mind is comprised with two terms i.e. prevailing
consciousness and subtle consciousness. Both the prevailing and the subtle mind
consciousnesses would arise in the sentient beings but for other things, merely
subtle mind consciousness would arise. In addition, it is the mind, the
consciousness of individuality, which holds together the atoms and molecules as
one integrated body in a lifetime. Scientifically, the atoms are held together by
covalent chemical bonds but the synergies of it would give rise to the mind, the
consciousness of individuality.

2. For general understanding, consciousness is synergy. Synergy is generally defined
as the interaction of elements that when combined produce a total effect that is
greater than the sum of the individual elements, contributions, etc. In other words,
synergy is energy that expands through cooperation and it is a key to the
geometric expansion of consciousness. When the nervous system in a new body is
formed, sense consciousness would arise simultaneously. Sense consciousness is
a subtle synergy resulted from the interaction of subtle mind consciousness in the
new body i.e. the electrochemical transmission along the neurons throughout the
nervous system. Moreover, the central nervous system especially the brain would
comprise with the highest density of neurons in the entire nervous system of the
new body and this circumstance would give rise to another type of synergy
identified as prevailing mind consciousness – a prevalent synergy.
The prevailing mind consciousness is regarded as the ‘working’ consciousness or
the mind-in-command i.e. the mind that can lead, take charge, concentrate, make
decision and convey action. Basically, prevailing conscious mind is closely related
to the physical body or more specifically, the brain. This means there would be a
biological clock being attached within it i.e. there would be duration for staying
awake and for resting. Without the brain, there would be no prevailing mind
consciousness in existence. In other words, mind consciousness and brain are
symbiotic; one never exists without the other. The brain is actually a coagulated
form of the conflated prevailing and subtle mind consciousnesses itself - just as
water looks like ice, the mind looks like the brain, and the body. With high density
of neurons, the brain could perform a variety of complex functions beside
transmitting signals and sending messages to each other parts of the body. Among
the complex functions are controlling, regulating, analysing, organising, wishing,
interpreting, memorising, etc. – for these complex functions are basically, the roles
of prevailing and subtle mind consciousnesses.
On the other hand, subtle mind consciousness is somehow independent from the
physical body. For general understanding, subtle mind consciousness does not
consume as much energy as prevailing mind consciousness. Subtle mind
consciousness can process and store information without a lot of work or the
intervention of prevailing mind consciousness. In other words, subtle mind
consciousness could operate in the absence of prevailing mind consciousness with
the least of energy consumption on 24 hours/day and 365 days/year - this would
mean a plenty of energy reserves for prolonging the lifespan of a body in a lifetime.
In fact, for over 90% of the time in a lifespan, the body is administered by subtle
mind consciousness and it simply operates like a radar detector – sensing all
spectrums of vibrational frequencies from the surroundings and across the time
stream (past, present and future).

3. As such, one would notice that an enlightened subtle mind consciousness would
operate like a long range radar detector which is highly luminous and vigilant to any
development of circumstances and surpassing time. When one has reached the
maturity of a lifespan, the mind and body would go through a dying process,
inevitably. And the first type of consciousness to depart the body would be the
prevailing mind consciousness. In the sentient beings, the prevailing mind
consciousness that bonds strongly the atoms and the molecules together would
die out and evolve into other energies concurrently. This incidence would lead to
an impulse occurrence with a demonstration of a final burst of energy nearing the
moments of death. Subsequently, the segregating process would conquest with
most of the subtle mind consciousness departing the death body.
For an ignorant being, during a disintegrating process, the elements of prevailing
consciousness or so-called the ‘chain of consciousness’ would die out and the
force of Ignorance (an outward tendency force) would overcome the force of
Awakening (an inward tendency force). The elements of subtle consciousness
would then liberate into fragments. The amount of liberated fragments is very
much dependent on the level of Ignorance or Awakening within the being. And for
an ignorant being, the level of Ignorance would surpass the level of Awakening and
this would mean the intensity of Ignorance is higher than the intensity of
Awakening. A higher intensity of Ignorance would mean a higher intensity of
becoming. A higher intensity of becoming would mean a higher amount of liberated
fragments. On the other hand, for an awakened being, the amount of liberated
fragments is much lesser than an ignorant being because there is lower intensity of
Ignorance as compared with the intensity of Awakening. Also, the dispersion of
liberated fragments is more confined and restricted to much fewer new individuals.
As a conclusion, mind and brain are two aspects of the same thing. In fact, the
brain is a coagulated form of the mind itself. The prevailing mind consciousness
and sense consciousness would not arise without the manifestation of a physical
body. In other words, there is a need for the existence of a physical body or
precisely, a brain, before the attaining of a full enlightenment by individuals is made
possible. This is because prevailing mind consciousness is a necessity for
conjuring up one’s sheer determination to end the state of suffering conclusively;
without it, the achieving of full enlightenment is impossible. On the other hand,
subtle mind consciousness that is somehow independent from the physical body
and would continue to play a significant role in the wheel of life. During the
segregating process, sense consciousness and the lingering subtle mind
consciousness would evolve into other energies concurrently with the body
decomposing process. At the end of the day, the fragmented subtle mind

4. consciousness with some retained subtle information within the elements of subtle
memory would sustain freedom of sorts and waiting for the next aligning process
and the new balanced phenomena to arise, thus depicting the continuous flow or
repeating cycle of birth, life, death and re-birth - known as samsāra.