Customer Reviews

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

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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.

A monk asked master Chi-Chen: "What is the way upward?" The master replied, "You will hit it by descending lower."

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.

One hardly knows where to start with Austin's book - with more than 900 pages and hundreds of chapters it is easy to spend months reading this book let alone trying to review it. And months are really required simply to get a grasp of the interrelated themes and ideas that Austin deftly weaves.

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!

James Austin has devoted the majority of his life to the science of the brain, steeped as it is in the empirical disciplines of the Western laboratory, and nearly an equal amount in the strict discipline of Zen meditation, with its mysterious koans and indefatigable pursuit of Eastern-style enlightenment. Now this is a gorge fit for the best Andean rope-bridge makers! I read Zen and the Brain as part of my extensive studies of the neurophysiology of movement, especially related to golf. I believe that recent advances over the last 25 years in brain science offer opportunities to understand the mind-body relationship in much greater depth. So I was reasonably familiar with the neurophysiological and neuropharmcological studies Dr. Austin has lived with and reports on in the book's survey of the relationship between the brain and the experience of Zen meditation. The conclusion one draws from this is that the so-called mysterious stages and cognitive / physiological phenomenon of Zen are truly understandable (to an extent) in terms of Western-style science. That is, explainable, measurable, predictable, reproducible, testable. To an extent. And that goes a long, long way toward bridging the gorge, at least from the West. The really interesting aspect is that Dr. Austin breaks new ground the only way he can without an NSF / NIH research budget sufficient to reach Mars: he uses personal monitoring and introspection to report his inner cognitive and behavioral / physiological experiences and searches the literature critically for possible connections and explanations. Obviously, the conclusions are frequently superbly educated guesses, and this is to be celebrated. Who else is guessing from such an educated base? Thanks, Dr. Austin.

Einstein told us almost a century ago that "science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind." If ever there were a 900 page coffee table tome meant to be savored as a paradoxical Minute Book in highly digestible bite size sections as the mood strikes, Zen and the Brain is it. "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." Recommended.

Dr. Austin has done a great job of telling us all about how the brain works and applying it to what happens when a Zen Buddhist meditates. The book's 800 pages, many of them incredibly tough scientific reading, are well worth the effort. However, as a practicing Tibetan Buddhist, I found the routine acceptance of horrific animal experiments "for the benefit of humans" to be inconsistent with the author's professed embracing of Zen. This is a wonderful discussion of the internal mechanics of meditation, but it left me wishing the author had picked up the Buddhist ethic of not harming other beings during his Zen training.

A western, scientific style investigation of the physiological/ psychological phenomena associated with the states of consciousness which can be achieve through Zen meditation and other related spiritual practices.

As somone who struggles to reconcile Eastern, intuitive philosophy with Western rational philosophy, I was totally absorbed by this book. It successfully puts each in the context of the other and has helped to fundamentally change my views on the nature of spirituality and religion.

It maps observed experience of "altered states of consciousness" and spiritual experience onto the emerging understanding of brain physiology to give a glimpse into the underlying dynamics of what is happening to the experiant.

My hunch is that this book will come to be regarded as a watershed in our understanding of spirituality.

This is a weighty tome with a lot of scientific detail but it is extremely well written and enjoyable to read.

Several years ago I picked up a copy of "The Three Pillars of Zen" by Phillip Kapleau(sp?) and soon became convinced that zen practice had something to offer the rational person. Being such an individual, I had struggled with the Christianity of my parents. It seemed that I could not be both intellectually honest AND a christian at the same time (sorry Mom and Dad, but I KNOW that the world was not created in seven days, I KNOW that life evolves continuously, and I KNOW that there was no tower of Babel).

Zen, though, does not ask one to throw aside one's scientific knowledge in order to practice it. In fact, while the advance of science has caused other religions to continually change thier dogma--the Earth is flat, okay, no it's round; the Sun goes around the Earth, okay, okay, the Earth goes around the Sun-- Zen doctrine has not been refuted in any way by science.

Despite my rationality, however, I still believed that there may in fact be more to life and death than our feeble primate brains can comprehend. There must be some absolute TRUTH to everything. But how can one find it? How does one have the "mystical experience"?

Well, I had just such an experience at the age of 15. I've told only a few people about it as I am quite sure that most would believe that it was just my imagination--believe me, I wish that I could "imagine" it again. At the time, I thought that it was God speaking to me or...something. Now, though, I am quite sure that it was a mild "Kensho." Why? Because, although I had no idea what zazen was, the experience itself was precipitated by a deep and profound questioning during prayer (I was still trying to be a christian then).

The purpose of zen training is to reach "kensho", to become "enlightened", to come to true self-realization. Moreover, zen training provides one with a method to accomplish these objectives. One can be buddhist, jewish, christian, or an atheist and still practice zen.

Years later I read Steven Pinker's "How the Mind Works", an excellent book. Soon, the idea ocurred to me that a cognitive scientist/psychologist like Pinker should do research on Zen. Such research, I believed, would certainly shed a great deal of light on the "mystical experience." Hey! Maybe I could write such a book, I thought. Well, wouldn't you know, one day, while browsing through the shelves at my local bookstore, I see a book titled "Zen and the Brain." Darn! Another one of my great ideas shot down.

"Zen and the Brain" is that book. It was written by an M.D./ Neuroscientist.

James H. Austin practiced zazen under a zen master and, considering his backround, is in the best position possible to explain what is really going on in the brain when one has a "mystical experience" such as kensho.

This book can be both fascinating and tedious. Some of the sections on brain physiology can get a little dry. Overall, "Zen and the Brain" seems to have been written more for academia than the lay person--it was published by M.I.T. press, what do you expect?

If you have an interest in both zen and cognitive science, then you will enjoy this book. Feel free to skip around a little as there are over 100 chapters and each is somewhat self-contained--somewhat. Also, check out "The Three Pillars of Zen", and "How the Mind Works."

Doing Zen is hard. Doing neuroscience is hard. Doing both and writing an objective work on them together is a near impossibility. Dr. James Austin has succeeded. This work is a marvelous combination of western scientific objectivity and Buddhist detachment. I recommend it to anyone who meditates and asks themselves, what's going on in my brain as I do this?

I must admit, this book was not an easy read for me. I am not trained in human anatomy or brain structure. I used several medical books and a brain coloring book to keep the parts straight in my mind. (hmm, I used my mind to keep the parts of my brain in order.) I am a more enlightened person for my struggles with medical terminology. I thank Dr. Austin for his efforts in putting this work together.

This is a fascinating and powerful book that should be required reading for scientist and theologians alike. However, as phenomenal as this book is, I would caution readers about the sheer density of this work. Tackling Zen AND neuroscience Austin does with grace and keen skill, but this book is 850 pages for a reason. Persons with only passing interest in Zen as it is written in coffee table books may be frustrated to the amazing depth of the text. Also, to some without any scientific leanings nor a strong interest in REAL Zen, this book may be overwhelming. Despite this warning, I found this book to be one of the most necessary to my library, aiding me constantly in both studies and personal growth. At times inducing insight, at times inducing frustration, at times inducing sublimity, this book is the best I have read on the phenomenons of both Zen and the Brain.