Winner of the Scientific and Medical Network Book Prize for 1998 Aldous Huxley called humankind's basic trend toward spiritual growth the "perennial philosophy." In the view of James Austin, the trend implies a "perennial psychophysiology"--because awakening, or enlightenment, occurs only when the human brain undergoes substantial changes. What are the peak experiences of enlightenment? How could these states profoundly enhance, and yet simplify, the workings of the brain? Zen and the Brain presents the latest evidence.In this book Zen Buddhism becomes the opening wedge for an extraordinarily wide-ranging exploration of consciousness. In order to understand which brain mechanisms produce Zen states, one needs some understanding of the anatomy, physiology, and chemistry of the brain. Austin, both a neurologist and a Zen practitioner, interweaves the most recent brain research with the personal narrative of his Zen experiences. The science is both inclusive and rigorous; the Zen sections are clear and evocative. Along the way, Austin examines such topics as similar states in other disciplines and religions, sleep and dreams, mental illness, consciousness-altering drugs, and the social consequences of the advanced stage of ongoing enlightenment.
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"This is a book written with passion and seriousness." Psychoanalytic Books
"In this monumental work, the author marshals the evidence fromneuroscience to help clarify which brain mechanisms underlie the subjectivestates of Zen, and employs Zen to 'illuminate' how the brain 'works' invarious states of consciousness. By 'monumental' I refer not merely to thesize but to the breadth and depth of coverage of the book." George Adelman , Editor of The Encyclopedia of Neuroscience
"... remarkable in its synthesis of the mystical point of view withthe scientific." Bodhi Tree Book Review
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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.
This is a valuable book written by a competent scientist/MD on a topic of great importance. Is it possible to change our experience of ourselves and the world through dedicated practice - in other words, is it possible to become a happy person? Buddhism and other religions have always claimed this is possible if one dedicated oneself to a thorough investigation of one's own perception and cognition. Modern science approaches these questions from another end - it has succeeded in elucidating many of the key biological mechanisms which underlie brain function (such as attention, perception, cognition and dreaming). This book combines insights obtained from both endeavours and thus provides a welcome bridge between the meditation methods sharpened through thousands of years of practice and modern neuroscience.
The book is composed of four parts: (1) an intro on physiological effects of meditation is a thoughtful compilation of evidence gathered from (mostly) TM and zen meditators. Austin describes the changes in brain physiology (coherence in EEG activity, changes in oxygen consumption, breathing patterns), cognition (changes in perception, attention) and the long-range positive changes in attitude that occur in serious meditators; this part also includes a very competent overview of the effects of psychedelics on both brain activity and behaviour (2) a compendium of brain anatomy/physiology/chemistry which is a bit confusing and way too detailed. probably too simplistic for an expert and way too complicated for a layman; many findings described here are likely to be already out of date or to become so within the next couple of years. (3) a description of Buddhist and zen philosophy and practice which i find to be excellent (4) There are interesting accounts of Austin's own experiences during zen meditation - which include kensho (experience of "enlightenement"). i especially liked his speculations on the relationship between zen practice and personal growth. i found them useful because, as opposed to the recapitulation of other people's work, Austing here finally integrates the material via his own insights and experiences.
In summary, I found this book to be worthwhile and interesting (if at times tedious). A wonderful thing about it is that it was written by an eminent neurologist and scientist (a Professor Emeritus, no less) who has immersed himself in an arduous and unflinching investigation of his personal experience of the world. This book thus represents an impressive bridge between quality science and quality zen practice and a welcome step towards integration of true phenomenology (meditation) and of open-minded empiricism. The week point of this book is its lack of organization: Austin tends to add new stuff when he runs into it and he tends to do this rather haphazardly. As a result, the book lacks focus, things get repeated in different sections and there are large differences in the quality between the (158!) chapters. Still, these objections pale before the dedication required to complete this project and the gifts we receive while partaking of it.
In the end I am very impressed with the level of scholarly attention that Austin has managed to mix in with personal observations and what many would term "new age" ideas. He links many aspects of meditation and its effects to observed physiological phenomenon in a style that is on par with what one would find in Scientific American. That is, someone with some biology background from upper high school should be able to grasp Austin's salient points.
Austin also compiles a number of other researchers' information in the book and, in conjunction with his work, finally links many aspects of Zen to other work such as Grof's holotropic studies.
Austin is primarily concerned with the brain in terms of the roles and interactions of the various large-scale structures such as the frontal lobe and brain stem. Most of this work is based on animal studies with some observations from humans who have suffered either selective damage or had special operations. As he states near the beginning, humankind owes the animal kingdom much for all the damage and pain we have caused to learn how complicated we are.
The basic lesson to be learned from the book is simply how incredibly complicated the brain is; for all our studies we only just seem to know enough now to say "wow, this is really complicated".
The book's real weakness lies in the fact that it doesn't comment on the fact that the brain's basic building blocks, neurons, are non-linear "devices" for lack of a better term. I recommend Wilson's "Spikes, Decisions, and Actions : The Dynamical Foundations of Neurosciences" for more information in this regard. This would imply that Prigogine's work on non-equilibrium systems is very applicable to attempting to describe the interactions between the various components of the brain - more evidence for Maturana and Varela to uphold autopoiesis.
Going on a long trip or have several months on your hands? Want to see how complicated that stuff between your ears really is? Read this!
- Seeing through Zen: Encounter, Transformation, and Genealogy in Chinese Chan Buddhism by John R. McRæ in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Chase, Chance, and Creativity: The Lucky Art of Novelty by James H. Austin in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Zen Master Who?: A Guide to the People and Stories of Zen by James Ishmael Ford in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- The Mindful Coach: Seven Roles for Helping People Grow by Douglas K. Silsbee in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Visions of Compassion: Western Scientists and Tibetan Buddhists Examine Human Nature by Richard J. Davidson on page 16
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