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Zen-Brain Reflections: Reviewing Recent Developments in Meditation and States of Consciousness 1st Edition

by James H. Austin (Author)

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A sequel to the popular Zen and the Brain further explores pivotal points of intersection in Zen Buddhism, neuroscience, and consciousness, arriving at a new synthesis of information from both neuroscience research and Zen studies.

This sequel to the widely read Zen and the Brain continues James Austin's explorations into the key interrelationships between Zen Buddhism and brain research. In Zen-Brain Reflections, Austin, a clinical neurologist, researcher, and Zen practitioner, examines the evolving psychological processes and brain changes associated with the path of long-range meditative training. Austin draws not only on the latest neuroscience research and new neuroimaging studies but also on Zen literature and his personal experience with alternate states of consciousness.

Zen-Brain Reflections takes up where the earlier book left off. It addresses such questions as: how do placebos and acupuncture change the brain? Can neuroimaging studies localize the sites where our notions of self arise? How can the latest brain imaging methods monitor meditators more effectively? How do long years of meditative training plus brief enlightened states produce pivotal transformations in the physiology of the brain? In many chapters testable hypotheses suggest ways to correlate normal brain functions and meditative training with the phenomena of extraordinary states of consciousness.

After briefly introducing the topic of Zen and describing recent research into meditation, Austin reviews the latest studies on the amygdala, frontotemporal interactions, and paralimbic extensions of the limbic system. He then explores different states of consciousness, both the early superficial absorptions and the later, major "peak experiences." This discussion begins with the states called kensho and satori and includes a fresh analysis of their several different expressions of "oneness." He points beyond the still more advanced states toward that rare ongoing stage of enlightenment that is manifest as "sage wisdom."

Finally, with reference to a delayed "moonlight" phase of kensho, Austin envisions novel links between migraines and metaphors, moonlight and mysticism. The Zen perspective on the self and consciousness is an ancient one. Readers will discover how relevant Zen is to the neurosciences, and how each field can illuminate the other.

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About the Author

Eric de Bruyn is an art historian who has taught at Bard College,SUNY Purchase, Indiana University, and the Hochschule für Künstein Braunschweig. His most recent publications appeared in DanGraham: Works 1965--2000 (Richter Verlag, 2001) and Kunst Kino,Jahresring 48.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Mit Pr; 1st edition (January 1, 2010)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 586 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0262514850
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0262514859
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.05 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.75 x 1.5 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,133,163 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #447 in Neuroscience (Books)
- #5,252 in Philosophy (Books)

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James H. Austin

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James Henry Austin was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1925.

He attended Brown University, graduated from Harvard Medical School (1948), and did his medical internship at Boston City Hospital, where his first year of residency was in neurology. Austin's neurology teachers were Derek Denny Brown, Raymond Adams and Joseph Foley.

Austin's two years of naval reserve service in neurology were spent in Yokohama, Japan and in Oakland, California. In 1953, he began a neuropathology fellowship at Columbia University in New York, and then completed his neurological residency at the Neurological Institute of New York.

From 1955 to 1967, he held successive academic appointments in Neurology at the University of Oregon Medical School. In 1967, he was appointed Head of the Division of Neurology at the University of Colorado Medical School, then Chair of the Department from 1974 to 1983, and Emeritus Professor in 1992. During retirement, his appointments have included Affiliate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Idaho and Courtesy Professor of Neurology at the University of Florida College of Medicine.

His earlier research was in clinical neurology, neuropathology, neurochemistry, and neuropharmacology. His first sabbatical was spent at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi. During the second sabbatical at Kyoto University Medical School in 1974, he began Zen meditative training with Kobori-Roshi, an English-speaking Rinzai Zen master. As a Zen practitioner, he has since become keenly interested in the ways that neuroscience research can help clarify the meditative transformations of consciousness.

Austin's interest in the psychology of the creative process led him to write Chase, Chance, and Creativity, published first by Columbia University Press in 1978, and then revised in 2003 as an MIT Press edition.

His interest in Zen Buddhism has led to six MIT Press books. Zen and the Brain (1998) was followed by Zen Brain Reflections (2006), Selfless Insight (2009), Meditating Selflessly (2011), Selfless Insight (2014) and Living Zen Remindfully (2016).

His marriage to Judith St. Clair has been blessed with three children ( Scott W. Austin, Lynn S. Manning and James W. Austin) and three grandchildren (Nicholas Manning, Katharine Manning and Elizabeth Manning).

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Mr Milton Moon

Helping one to understand the mystery of the brain/mind

Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2013

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I must declare an interest: James Austin and I first met in the cold of a Kyoto winter close to forty years ago. Together we took instruction from Kobori Nanrei, osho and abbot of the Ryokoin at the Daitokuji; he was our 'roshi.'
I have in my collection of Zen books several by James Austin. I don't pretend to understand the subtleties of the contents but they do add some perspectives on the experiences of that time together. James Austin's books can be read, cover to cover, or, as I often do, open pages guided by the index. These books are of great value.

One person found this helpful

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Eduardo Bellani

A small lesson from Zen Brain reflections

Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2010

There are plenty of lessons to be taken from this book. Lessons about zen, learning, education, brain science, and what it means to be aware of yourself.

It is, however, not very readable, in the sense that it is very abstract and terse sometimes. But it does pass the torpor test[1]. That means that it is a hard quest, but one with a great reward.

A small fragment from the book summarizes its quality:

One of these Kyoto-trained Zen teachers taught me a basic lesson about myself. A simple, dramatic demonstration showed me how strong was my own I-Me-Mine. It happened during an informal private interview before our retreat began.

We had conversed for a while. Then, he took a short, dark, wooden stick from his lap and placed it down on the low table in front of us. It caught my eye immediately. No ordinary wood was this, but a wonderfully aged, irregularly shaped stick, obviously an antique object. This work of art, about a foot long and perhaps an inch and a half in diameter, exemplified wabi-sabi. Its mellow patina conveyed associations with long use and advanced age. No word was spoken, yet the roshi's nod obviously invited me to pick it up.

I did. Turning it over and around in both hands, I then held it horizontally with my right hand at one end, slowly admiring it as I had the other antique objects during that earlier ceremony in Kyoto.

Surprise! In one swift act, the Roshi reached across and suddenly grabbed the free end, eyes twinkling as he did so. And almost as fast, without thinking, as my grasp reflex tightened, I found myself locked into a semi-mock tussle with the rightful owner of this antique treasure!

It was an impromptu tug of war, neither of us moving that stick very far in either direction. The strength of his pull just sufficed to neutralize mine. So there we were, like two boys at play, tugging on his beautiful stick!

Soon enough, it dawned on me: How could I possibly dispute his owner- ship!? Yielding, and relinquishing my grasp, I found we were both smiling when our brief mock play session ended.

A simple unexpected demonstration: Yes, I had longed to go on admiring his beautiful stick. He had (playfully) thwarted Me from doing so. I had behaved like it was Mine, and had grasped the stick reflexly. The greedy grasp of the I-Me- Mine was nakedly on display.

Words were unnecessary. I had been educated. I had done more than observe the full extent of my own instinctual tendency to grasp things. I had felt the strength of my attachment in my muscles, joints, and sinews.

[1] Basically, after exposure to the work, do people care less about the subject than they did before? Taken from Weinberg on Writing: The Fieldstone Method .

7 people found this helpful

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Stephen Miller

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2015

Awesome book!

Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2010

I had high hopes when I got this book, but as I read through it I became increasingly disappointed. It has a few merits, but many more flaws. They include:

1) It is terribly organized. A quick glance at the table of contents reveals that the text is composed of 102 chapters. Simple division reveals that the average chapter length is about four and a half pages. That alone is odd. But consider the subjects of some of the chapters that are side by side: for some reason the author thought it was appropriate to put a 3 page chapter about the physiology of breathing (chapter 20, "Breathing In; Breathing Out") right before a 3.5 page chapter about the enigmatic Zen riddles known as Koans (chapter 21, "A Quest for 'No' Answers"). The quotes leading into each chapter demonstrate how sudden and unpleasant of a jolt this is. Chapter 21 opens with the quote "Thoracic respiration gradually shifts to the abdominal and turns into a predominance of the abdominal respiration with the progress of the meditation" (58). (Why is that even significant enough to merit a special, partitioned quote?) And then, 3 pages later, we have the opening quote, "Koan study is essentially a skillful means to really make us question what this life is, until we fully resolve the question" (61). This is a nice quote, but hard to take in right after reading about opioid pathways and abdominal muscles. I understand that this book attempts to fuse two subjects that are difficult to reconcile--namely technical neuroscience with a highly abstract, religious idea system--but crunching together breathing mechanics and zen koans in the span of 7 pages, without either section referring to the other, is not the way to do it. Austin would benefit from reading "On the Origin of Stories" by Brian Boyd, which is a masterful synthesis of evolutionary theory, brain science, and fiction. It shows that disparate subjects can be combined in a user friendly fashion.

2) Zen Brain Reflections is not particularly thoughtful, philosophical, or insightful. Take chapter 65, a 2.5 chapter about mirror neurons and empathy (directly preceded by a pointless, 2 page chapter about spiritual teachers who commit sexual transgressions). In said chapter, which is emblematic of much of the book, Austin says "The few examples cited in this chapter and elsewhere barely introduce the range of topics that might arise with relation to the 'empathies' and 'theories of mind.' Worth noting in any book about Zen, however..." (269). Hold on! Such core human characteristics as empathy and theory of mind are not worth examining? ANY book about the brain and human experience should take at least a few pages to summarize these concepts, as they are FUNDAMENTAL to how we experience the world. A book about Zen and the brain, no less, should fully flesh out these concepts because they strongly relate to aspects of Zen. For example, consider that Zen is about mindfulness. Next consider the fact that we humans are ultra social creatures who constantly use our theory of mind to think about social dynamics--about what others think of us, what they think that we think, what they will think if we do x, y, or z, and so on. Anyone who has tried mindfulness will be surprised by the constant swarm of frantic thoughts regarding other people's minds that dominates consciousness. The "monkey mind" that Zen seeks to tame is fueled largely by our theory of mind imperative, and thus we would do well to understand theory of mind, such that we can appropriately deal with it in pursuit of Zen ideals. Is this too philosophical of me? I don't think so. Austin, in contrast, focuses almost exlusively on the interface between neural structures and Zen. Theory of mind is too complex to be neurally pinpointed, and so Austin essentially ignores it. There are other concepts as well that Austin disappointingly shuns in favor of neurotransmitters and other technical details, which gives the book a lackluster feel indeed.

If you are able to read page upon page of extremely dense, technical jargon about neuroscience, then this book is for you. If not, you will probably be better off reading about Zen and the brain separately, so you can connect the dots for yourself.

9 people found this helpful

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Tim Watkins

Great content

Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2007

Very interesting content but not well written - difficult to read. Often wondered exactly what point he was trying to make. Worth getting if you're interested in the subject matter though as it's a unique review in this area (to my knowledge).

10 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Matt Jenkins

Buddhism and the Brain

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 1, 2010

Verified Purchase

This is a fine follow-up work to the equally excellent Zen and the Brain (winner of the 1998 Scientific and Medical Network Book Prize), which further explores the ideas and themes raised in that work.

Amazon have provided a perfectly adequate product description to which I will not add, suffice to say that Austin, both an experienced Professor of neurology and long term Zen practitioner, has produced another highly illuminating read, of interest to anyone interested in meditation and/or the brain.

Speaking of this work Eberhard E. Fetz, Professor of Physiology & Biophysics at the University of Washington, said "Following his monumental masterpiece Zen and the Brain, James Austin here presents further reflections on the koan 'How do neural mechanisms create enlightened consciousness?' This superb sequel not only reviews the most recent relevant neuroscience research but also stands alone as a readable survey of mind-brain relationships underlying the spectrum of mental states. Austin's unique expertise as a neurologist and Zen practitioner, as well as an articulate writer, makes him the perfect guide to elucidate the profound interrelationships between consciousness, the brain, and the world."

As with Zen and the Brain, Austin has produced a most engaging and informative work. Also included are a number of interesting appendices, a useful glossary and a section containing copious references and notes.

Austin has also produced two works subsequent to this, Selfless Insight and the forthcoming Meditating Selflessly (due out in November 2011).

Highly recommended.

2 people found this helpful