Zen-Brain Reflections
James H. Austin
The MIT Press
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.