Zen and the Brain: Toward an Understanding of Meditation and Consciousness

James H. Austin M. D.is an experimental neurologist who spent several sabbaticals in Japan doing things to cat brains and practicing Zen rather earnestly at the same time, and altogether probably spent 30 or so years sitting Zazen (not only in Japan but wherever he went), experiencing at least one odd physical event, one interesting internal absorption (trance-hallucination, maybe) and one lightning-strike of kensho or wisdom-insight. He does not seem to consider himself to have gotten as far as a state of on-going enlightenment, but he believes that such a state is the result of an accumulation of a series of such kensho experiences.He says that he is not a dualist. But the interesting point is that his monism is purely materialistic. Perhaps not precisely "Matter alone is, nothing that is not matter is," but something more like "Physical states governed by physical laws alone are, nothing that is not subject to physical laws is." He is the classic man of science. And although he experienced and is describing what most would consider a spiritual insight, he seeks to explain it and value it in biological, physiological, neurological terms, as a rsult of predictable and understandable processes in the brain and nothing else. But his moment of kensho left him so awed that he was tempted to refer it to God. This temptation he overcomes.The odd physical experience he had is recounted in chapter 94 (after a very long prelude!) He heads the chapter with famous lines by p'ang Chi-Shih:How wonderous this, how mysterious!I carry wood, I draw water.And he has spent a lot of time explaining the Zen emphasis on the here and now. Then: One day after 25 minutes of Zazen, he goes in to shave. "Suddenly, for the first time ever, I really feel both hands. My tactile sensations are enormously enhanced. Perception increases dramatically on the right hand to the elbow; on the left hand not as strongly and only to the wrist. ONly the sense of touch is enhanced, as it is elicited by the towel in my hands....I still retain all the usual distinctions between myself as subject and towel as object...Astonishing, delicious perception! How much richer than ordinary feeling." After a few seconds, the change fades away. There follows pages of theorizing about what could have happened in the brain to cause such a sensation.Later, an experience during a prolonged sitting in which "conscious drops out" although he remains erect and awake, and then conscious returns with a hallucinated red maple leaf as the only object in a place entirely black and silent, glistening black and infinitely silent. Then the leaf evaporates, and bliss overwhelms what he calls "the experient,' and all sense of space and bodily consciousness is erased temporarily.Finally, 10 years later, a chapter called "A Taste of Kensho" :"It strikes unexpectedly at 9 am on the surface platform of the London subway system. (Due to a mistake)...I wind up at a station where I have never been before....The view is the dingy interior of the station, some grimy buildings, a bit of open sky. Instantly the entire view aquires three qualities: Absolute Reality, Intrinsic Rightness, Ultimate Reflection. With no transition, it is all complete....Yes, there is the paradox of this extraordinary viewing. But there is no viewer. The scene is utterly empty, stripped of every last extension of an I-Me-Mine (his name for ego-self). Vanished in one split second is the familiar sensation that this person is viewing a city scene. The new viewing proceeds impersonally, not pausing to register the paradox that there is no human subject "doing" it. Three insights penetrate the experient, each conveying Total Understanding at depths far beyond simple knowledge: This is the eternal state of affiars. There is nothing more to do. There is nothing whatever to fear.The result of this kensho is a rather deep re-ordering of the personality, and even some changes in the physical body (the absorption also made physiological changes, but did not re-order the personality much.)His analysis of these events is that they are physiological, measurable states in the brain, and that they "etch" (his metaphor) the brain, destroying some brain cells and activating other ones, so that an enlightened person is actually a person whose brain has been changed by the physiological process of meditation (and sometimes by other processes, such as drug-induced or naturally occuring lesions of some sort), but meditative processes, though slower, are also more controlled and more likely to be beneficial.His explanation is at odds both with Advaistic mysticism and with theistic dualistic mysticism. But it is also clear that he is describing the same experience that all mystics describe. Although his neurological explanations are novel, his process and product fit quite well in the Zen setting, which is non-theistic and also not particularly "spiritual."HIs description of the ongoing state of enlightenment is that after emptying the brain of lots of clutter and junk, including the personal ego, one is able to "return to the marketplace with bliss-bestowing hands." This fits with my understanding of Jesus and mystics as well--that having been set free, they now can act compassionately and freely.And the place where enlightenment shows up is in ordinary daily life, which is now lived directly, "mindlessly" (meaning non-analytically).Although Dr. Austin seem to be saying exact opposite things from most other mystics, they are somehow looking at the same exact elephant from two different sides and describing it differently while still talking about the same thing. My other thought is that what we think about "enlightenment" doesn't matter at all. It is a thing in itself, and it really doesn't matter what we say about it or what we think it means.I enjoyed this book, though my brain kind of blurred over the technical neurology stuff.

Dr. Austin’s 900-page book looks at what the brain does during (and as a result of) the practice of Zen, and is a great resource for those interested in the science of meditative practices. It’s easy to sum up the strength and weakness of this book. With respect to the book’s greatest strength, it’s that the author—like the book—straddles two widely divergent worlds. He is at once a scientist and a practitioner of Zen. This gives him rare insight into both halves of the equation. This isn’t one of those books written by a spiritual seeker who uses the word “science” and “scientific” very loosely (and in a manner that shows a lack of understanding of the central premise of science.) On the other hand, it’s not one of those books by a scientist who got all of his understanding of meditation from other books.As for the weakness, it’s that the book was written in the late 1990’s. Ordinarily, I would say that wouldn’t matter much, but concerning our understanding of the brain, it might as well have been the Stone Age—hyperbole duly noted. One doesn’t put together a book of almost 1000 pages overnight, and so much of the references for “Zen and the Brain” are actually from papers from the 1980’s and earlier. The fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) machine didn’t even come out until the early 1990’s, but—of course—it took a while for the studies featuring this powerful technology to reach publication.The book is arranged into a whopping 158 chapters divided amongst 8 parts. Some of the chapters are pure neuroscience, and there are detailed descriptions of the brain and the functions of its various parts. Other chapters are designed to give one an insight into the practice of Zen and aren’t technical at all. The author has a reasonably engaging writing style when he’s not conveying the minutiae of brain science. He tells stories of his experience as a practitioner of Zen, and passes on the wisdom of past Zen masters.I have an unconventional recommendation for this book, which I got so much out of. I recommend you first check out the book “Zen-Brain Horizons” put out by the same author and press (MIT Press) in 2014. While I haven’t yet read that book, it seems to hold three advantages. First, it’s only one-third as long and seems to cover similar material. Obviously, it goes into far less detail. (But you may find that a plus.) Second, the 2014 book is reasonably priced. “Zen and the Brain” is one of the most expensive books I’ve bought in recent years. I’m not saying I regret paying as much as I did, because it was a useful book, but cheaper would be better. Finally, the 2014 has the benefit of access to a lot of great research from the past couple decades. If you read the 2014 book and think you need more detail about the brain, then—by all means—get this book.

I have been practicing Zen for about 3.5 years now and am also an engineer with an interest in science. So this book looked intriguing. The book has 5 or 6 main sections, and I am currently nearing completion of the second section. The first section was interesting, and overviewed the author's Zen experiences and foreshadowed some of the rest of the book. The second section is background on brain physiology that is (apparently) necessary to understand for the later parts of the book where he speculates on what is happening in the brain during Zen practice.So far I would say the best part of the book are his detailed explanations of the different types of Zen experiences. Most Zen books either brush over these experiences as "not important" or attempt to describe them in very mystical terms. Austin (so far) just described exactly what is happening. That alone is worth the price of the book (to me).The down side is that in both the first section where he is describing his zen experiences - and even more so in the second section where he is providing brain physiology background - he seems to skip around providing seemingly random information that doesn't fit together as a whole text. I have a very hard time assimilating any of the physiology info, as there is no overview, no context - just pages and pages of data. In the end, that may not be critical, and he hints that he will be referring to this information in later sections, so maybe it will all come together at that time.

This is a most remarkable work, of interest both to the practicing Buddhist and to those with an interest in the workings of the brain, by an author who is highly experienced in both areas.The publishers briefly describe the work as a "Comprehensive text on the evidence from neuroscience that helps to clarify which brain mechanisms underlie the subjective states of Zen, and employs Zen to 'illuminate' how the brain works in various states of consciousness".Zen Unbound have said of this book "This new book is surely THE most important zen book of the decade..".The Journal of the American Medical Association (the most widely circulated medical journal in the world) said of this work "Zen and the Brain is well worth reading by those interested in cognitive brain function, especially the mechanics of consciousness. However, it is far from a dry scientific text and would be enjoyable to someone more interested in the philosophical implications"Zen and the brain also won the 1998 Scientific and Medical Network Book Prize.The work is written in a most engaging style and is divided into 158 chapters, which makes it very easy to read for such a large work. The work also includes a number of interesting appendices, a very useful glossary and a section containing copious references and notes.There are also a number of subsequent/follow-up works  Zen-Brain Reflections  and  Selfless Insight , both of which are also excellent and  Meditating Selflessly  which is due to be published in November 2011. Zen-Brain ReflectionsSelfless InsightMeditating Selflessly

Comes recommended by Robert Greene. Looking forward to the read. Fast shipping.

I am sure this is very interesting, but for my purposes it was a bit too dense. I was hoping for a guide to meditation, but this was more an I depth study of the brain. Good book, but I am not their intended audience.

Straordinario contributo scientifico per spiegare i benefici della meditazione Zen. Il punto di vista del ricercatore razionalista, per indicare la stessa via tracciata dai maestri Zen più di duemila anni fa!

Probablement une tête pointue qui a écrit ce livre mais pour moi ,difficile `trouver "un fil conducteur "Me semble un livre compliqué et tordu.