Zen and the Brain: Toward an Understanding of Meditation and Consciousness

Part 4, "Exploring States of Consciousness," delves into problems associated with the word "mind," and describes in detail the ordinary and extraordinary states of consciousness, sleep, dreams, conditioning, emotions, pain, pleasure, and the relationship of the two hemispheres of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Philosophy East and West 2000, Vol.50 (3), p.464-465
Main Author: Malhotra, Ashok
Format: Review
Language:English
Subjects:
Brain
Brain research
Consciousness
Meditation
Neurology
Philosophy
Physiology
Religion
Researchers
Zen
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Part 4, "Exploring States of Consciousness," delves into problems associated with the word "mind," and describes in detail the ordinary and extraordinary states of consciousness, sleep, dreams, conditioning, emotions, pain, pleasure, and the relationship of the two hemispheres of the brain. Discussion centers on the side effects of meditation, phantom limbs, the roots of laughter, the effects of psychedelic drugs, near-death experiences, the semantics of samadhi, the construction and dissolution of time, the death of fear, emptiness, absorption, and insight-wisdom. Austin understands this challenge and states: "in the future, whoever writes such a book should be a fully enlightened Japanese master, fluent in English; a person who has both a doctorate degree in neurophysiology, hands-on experience in psychophysiological research, years of intercultural teaching experience; and a physician whose training in both neurology and psychiatry has been doubly certified."
ISSN:0031-8221
1529-1898