Zen-Brain Horizons: Toward a Living Zen

by James H. Austin

A neurologist and Zen practitioner clarifies the benefits of meditative training, drawing on classical Buddhist literature and modern brain research. In Zen-Brain Horizons , James Austin draws on his decades of experience as a neurologist and Zen practitioner to clarify the benefits of meditative training. Austin integrates classical Buddhist literature with modern brain research, exploring the horizons of a living, neural Zen. When viewed in the light of today, the timeless wisdom of some Zen masters seems almost to have anticipated recent research in the neurosciences. The keen attentiveness and awareness that we cultivate during meditative practices becomes the leading edge of our subsequent mental processing. Austin explains how our covert, involuntary functions can make crucial contributions to the subtle ways we learn, intuit, and engage in creative activities. He demonstrates why living Zen means much more than sitting quietly indoors on a cushion, and provides simplified advice that helps guide readers to the most important points.

Genres: Self Help, Buddhism

273 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like other books from James Austin on the subject of Zen and the brain, this book rambles quite a bit. It alternates between historical stories of Zen, neuroscience studies, and personal experience. Austin's books are ambitious, to document the neurological basis of enlightenment. However, Austin's writing is verbose, and has a train-of-thought discordance that makes it very difficult to get into the substance of the book. If you don't already know the concepts of Zen, you won't learn them from this book. As a neuroscientist, I thought the sections on the neuroscience literature to be poorly written, and often skipping over important details. If you are looking for a review of the current state of meditation-neuroscience literature, check the references at the end of the book, but don't bother reading the main text.

[Eric]

Not entirety sure what to make of this book. The appendices were quite interesting. The neuroscience bits quite over my head and sometimes eye glaze inducing. Kind of an odd cycling between Buddhist stuff and the Science stuff with change in tone and register at each juncture (also switches between the first person and “the author”). Neat to hear about all the random fun-with-fMRIs experiments though.

I kind of suspect I'll be wanting to read his earlier books for a more coherent experience. This one was worthwhile, just left me with an uncertainty about what I'd just read and the urge to take a walk on a nature trail.

[Andrew]

Test

[Akanay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty cool, I have been looking up, above the horizon all of the time since I've read this book

[Cloay · Rating 2 out of 5]

- available in SG NLB 294.3927019 (Sengkang)