Meditating Selflessly by James H Austin Md

Meditating Selflessly by James H Austin Md

This is not the usual kind of self-help book. Indeed, its major premise heeds a Zen master's advice to be less self-centered. Yes, it is one more book of words about Zen, as the author concedes, yet this book explains meditative practices from the perspective of a neural Zen. The latest findings in brain research inform its suggestions. In Meditating Selflessly, James Austin--Zen practitioner, neurologist, and author of three acclaimed books on Zen and neuroscience--guides readers toward that open awareness already awaiting them on the cushion and in the natural world.

Austin offers concrete advice--often in a simplified question-and-answer format--about different ways to meditate. He clarifies both the concentrative and receptive styles of meditation. Drawing widely from the exciting new field of contemplative neuroscience, Austin helps resolve an ancient paradox: why both insight wisdom and selflessness arise simultaneously during enlightened states of consciousness.

Professor Emeritus of Neurology at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and Courtesy Professor of Neurology at the University of Florida Faculty of Medicine, James H. Austin has been a clinical neurologist, researcher, and Zen practitioner for more than three decades. Zen and the Brain, Chasing, Chance, and Creativity, Zen-Brain Reflections, Selfless Insight, Meditating Selflessly, and Zen-Brain Horizons are among his works, all of which were published by the MIT Press.