Zen and the Brain

The links between meditation and the workings of the brain are the subject of neurologist and Zen practitioner James H. Austin's study. Taking up Aldous Huxley's idea of a perennial philosophy, he proposes a matching perennial psychophysiology, on the view that awakening happens only when the brain itself changes substantially. Austin first explains Zen Buddhism, its goals and practices, then turns to the anatomy, physiology and chemistry needed to see which brain mechanisms might produce Zen states, with his own Zen experiences woven through. He also takes up sleep and dreams, comparable states in other faiths, drugs that alter consciousness, mental illness, and EEG evidence that deep relaxed breathing reduces brain activity. Austin later wrote a follow-up, Zen-Brain Reflections.

Ari Iaccarino, co-founder of Ridj-It, named it in an interview among the books on metacognition, a genre that keeps drawing his interest.