When neurology researcher James Austin began Zen training, he found that his
medical education was inadequate. During the past three decades, he has been at
the cutting edge of both Zen and neuroscience, constantly discovering new
examples of how these two large fields each illuminate the other. Now, in
Selfless Insight, Austin arrives at a fresh synthesis, one that invokes the
latest brain research to explain the basis for meditative states and clarifies
what Zen awakening implies for our understanding of consciousness. Austin,
author of the widely read Zen and the Brain, reminds us why Zen meditation is
not only mindfully attentive but evolves to become increasingly selfless and
intuitive. Meditators are gradually learning how to replace over-emotionality
with calm, clear objective comprehension. In this new book, Austin discusses
how meditation trains our attention, reprogramming it toward subtle forms of
awareness that are more openly mindful. He explains how our maladaptive notions
of self are rooted in interactive brain functions. And he describes how, after
the extraordinary, deep states of kensho-satori strike off the roots of the
self, a flash of transforming insight-wisdom leads toward ways of living more
harmoniously and selflessly. Selfless Insight is the capstone to Austin´s
journey both as a creative neuroscientist and as a Zen practitioner. His quest
has spanned an era of unprecedented progress in brain research and has helped
define the exciting new field of contemplative neuroscience.
