“Following the 8 Precepts of Buddhism Contributes Significantly to My Life.”
By: Vaibhav Gupta
Tags: People, PhD, Meditation, Interview, Life Stories

1. Who are you, what do you do, and what is your current side project?

My name is Abhijit. I’m currently pursuing my PhD in Computer Science and Neuroscience at the University of Colorado Boulder. With an orthodox upbringing, I have always been curious about the science of religious practices and mindfulness.

That was always my side project, until it became my main project when I started my PhD program to study mindfulness though AI. I am an aspiring applied-AI scientist.

I still remember the questions that motivated me to pursue my PhD in the first place:

“What is meditation?”

“Does meditation actually work?”

“How does meditation manifest in the human brain?”

“What regions of the brain are uniquely selective to meditation state?”

I feel like I have come very close to answering many of these questions.

[About me:] If you peel the onion of my character you will find compassion, fun(niness), and a strong morale in the first layer, love and motivation in the second layer, and spirituality and wisdom in the _ layer.

I would say the third layer but it is an onion. They are more three layers deep.

2. Talk to me more about your fascination with meditation. Were there any key experiences from your youth that you can share? How do you feel about meditation and self-care becoming a billion dollar industry?

My first memory of meditation is probably when I was 6 or 7 years old. My parents were participating in a meditation camp and I was running around trying to volunteer and help as much as I can. Throughout my schooling, university and even now, I always found myself surrounded by people involved with meditation in some form.

I have been fascinated by the human brain ever since I was in school. I chose computer science during my under-graduation because I believed I could understand the human brain and program robots to replicate human behavior.

In this contemporary society, the need for meditation is exponentially increasing. However, we must be careful to explore different meditation techniques to find the one that works for us.

It is unfortunate that mental health has become a billion dollar industry and will only keep growing. If you want a deeper look and criticism of one such example, I highly recommend watching the Netflix series “Wild Wild Country”.

[A/N: Wild Wild Country is a Netflix documentary series about the controversial Indian guru Osho and his community of followers in Wasco County, Oregon.]

While I would call meditation essential, there is no clear definition and direction that can work for everyone. To stay physically healthy and fit, you would go to the gym everyday. Similarly, consider meditation as an exercise to stay mentally fit. Nothing more, nothing less.

3. You mentioned that your PhD program involves AI. What is your history with computer studies, and what about it brings you joy? How do you hope to see your career blossom over the coming years? Finally, what is the most satisfying and least satisfying aspects of being a PhD student?

My history with computer studies began in my 11th grade. I had a good grasp of all subjects except computer science. So I requested my computer science teacher to teach me during the weekends. She is responsible for my strong foundation in computer science and sparked my interest in programming.

The foundation she helped me with is still helping me today. After my 12th grade, when I had to choose different fields for computer science for my under graduation, I chose computer science since I believed I can understand the human mind and program the computers to the same.

The rest is history. With respect to my career, I’m just going with the flow. The field of computer science changes very quickly. An AI algorithm published in 2020 performs significantly better than an algorithm published in 2018. This is the golden era for AI and i’m riding the wave. I believe that the demand for AI researchers will only increase in the next few years.

The most satisfying aspects of being a PhD student is the freedom and capacity to do research in something you are passionate about. When I tell people “My PhD is about understanding what happens in your brain during meditation with the help of AI,” they are often curious and surprised. I enjoy having productive discussions around my research.

The least satisfying aspects is what I call “PhD politics”. It is very challenging for me or any PhD student to convince the research community that what I’m working on is interesting. PhD research often refers to a project that no one has done before. So it is common to find experts from AI who support the idea vs criticize the idea. Making convincing arguments is hard but an essential aspect of the PhD adventure.

4. So you come across as someone who’s very intent on being a balanced person, relaxed and ambitious at the same time. Would you agree with that assessment? How do you see your own personality, and what would you say are 3 key principles you try to live by?

It depends on the situation at hand. I try to be dynamic, because different situations demand different personalities. There are situations when I need to be angry, I need to be focused, I can be lazy etc. For example: If I’m taking a vacation, It is important that I’m relaxed and lazy to fully enjoy it.

That being said, I bind the extent of my personalities to the principles I live by.

The first and foremost principle is to adhere to the eight precepts of Buddhism. It is hard to follow the eight precepts at all times but I have experienced first-hand that following the precepts contributes significantly to the way of my life. The reason why I chose these precepts is because I practice Vipassana. We uphold them during our 10-day silent meditation retreats.

The second principle is to be loving and compassionate to everyone. I believe that each and everyone are in their own path and at some point in my life, I was the same. There is no you and me, we are both the same.

The third principle is consistency with mediation practice. Doing meditation is like going to the gym. You can reap all the benefits if you have faith, discipline and consistency.

“To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one’s family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one’s own mind. If a man can control his mind he can find the way to Enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him.” ― Suman Jyoty Thera, Mizoram, India

5. Now that the audience has read your wonderful interview where would you like to send them?

First of all, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to do this interview.

For you, the audience: take a pencil and a piece of paper and write down all the things that you value the most right now. It could be eating your favorite food or going for a hike or spending time with parents or buying a car. Score them based on your values. This is your journal.

If you keep journaling everyday, you will reach your goals easier and without stress. Little drops of water make a mighty ocean. But this will only work if you are disciplined and consistent with writing your journal.

For me, at the present moment, finding a good job is the most important goal. So I keep a journal where I write everyday what I did that day to contribute to my job search. It could be as simple as “I reached out to person X on LinkedIn” or “I did a mock interview” or “I was polishing my basics.”

In my personal experience, I have achieved great results from consistent journaling. In 2016, I weighed almost 230 lbs (105 kg). I started by journaling my calorie intake everyday. I used my kitchen scale, measuring cups and spoons to measure each and every food item I ate.

In two years time, I reduced 60 lbs (27 kg) to reach my ideal weight of 172 lbs (78 kg). If I can do it, you can do it too. Have a wonderful day!