ZEN AND THE MIND: Scientific Approach To Zen Practice.

black, gilt lettered cloth hardbound 8vo. 8º (octavo). dustwrapper in protective plastic book jacket cover. fine cond. looks new. like new. binding square & tight. covers clean. edges clean. contents free of all markings. price clipped dustwrapper in fine cond. not worn or torn. nice clean copy. no library markings or store stamps, no stickers or bookplates, no names, no inking , no underlining, no remainder markings etc ~. first edition so stated. first printing ( nap). 144p. b&w photos, diagrams & illustrations. index. publisher’s promo postcard laid in. psychology. physiology. psychophysiology. philosophy. religion. buddhism. yoga. meditation. brain waves. breath regulation. mental regulation. posture regulation. scientific basis of zen meditation. hypnosis. morita therapy. autogenic training. ~ IN RECENT YEARS, psychological and neurophysiological studies on altered states of consciousness have been focused on understanding the relations between brain mechanisms and consciousness in general. Such studies have given rise to attempts to relate various neurophysiological findings with psychological states and behavioral correlates. Among research in this field, two trends are recognizable. The first trend is research aimed at explaining changes in consciousness brought about by hypnosis, autogenic training, Yoga meditation, and transcendental meditation. Studies of this kind have concentrated on both mental and physical relaxation of the human mind. The second trend involves voluntary control using the method of operant conditioning. This well~designed scientific method has produced good results in terms of behavioral and autonomic reactions in both animals and human beings. In the past few years, scholars and doctors of both psychology and medicine have been showing keen interest in Zen meditation. Practice of Zen meditation is said to emancipate man from the dualistic bondage of subjectivity and objectivity of mind and body. By being awakened to the pure, serene self, the person is freed of lust and self~consciousness. For about twenty years, Dr. Tomio Hirai and his colleagues have been studying the psychological and physiological aspects of the mental and physical states that occur during Zen meditation, one of the methods employed for the sake of attaining enlightenment. The result of their work is the assertion that Zen meditation is more than religious training since it influences the body as well as the mind. Scientifically it can be shown that Zen meditation regulates the whole organism of the body internally and externally. How this is done is the material of this book. Tomio Hirai, who was born in Tokyo in 1927, graduated from the Medical School of the University of Tokyo in 1950. He is an outstanding authority in psychiatry and the leading Japanese research specialist in psychophysiology. His reports on the subject of seated Zen meditation in connection with brain waves have attracted the attention of specialists in many countries. Several of these men have come to Japan to study with him, and a large number of them have applied Zen methods to the treatment of neuroses. At present, Dr. Hirai is an assistant professor on the Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, of the Tokyo University Hospital; president of the Japanese Society of Psychiatry and Neurology; and a director of the Japan Mental Health Association. His written works include Jiko Saiminjutsu (Self~hypnotism) and Seishin~ka Chirys Gaku (Psychiatric Treatment) in Japanese and Psychophysiology of Zen in English.…