Meditating Selflessly: Practical Neural Zen

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

Austin offersconcrete advice -- often in a simplified question-and-answer format -- about different ways tomeditate. He clarifies both the concentrative and receptive styles of meditation. Drawing widelyfrom the exciting new field of contemplative neuroscience, Austin helps resolve an ancient paradox:why both insight wisdom and selflessness arise simultaneously during enlightenedstates of consciousness.

James H. Austin, a clinical neurologist, researcher, and Zen practitioner for more than three decades, is Professor Emeritus of Neurology at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and Visiting Professor of Neurology at the University of Florida College of Medicine. He is the author of Zen and the Brain, Chase, Chance, and Creativity: The Lucky Art of Novelty, Zen-Brain Reflections, and Selfless Insight, all published by the MIT Press.