Background

James Henry Austin was born on January 4, 1925, in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. He is a son of Paul Weber Austin, an advertising artist, and Bertha Emily (Holtkamp) Austin.

Education

In 1944, James graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree, magna cum laude, from Brown University. Later, he continued his education at Harvard University, graduating with a Doctor of Medicine degree, cum laude, in 1948. Austin's neurology teachers were Derek Denny Brown, Raymond Adams and Joseph Foley.

Career

Early in career, between 1943 and 1945, as well as 1950 and 1952, James served in the Medical Corps of the United States Navy Reserve. During the period from 1948 till 1949, he worked as a medical intern at Boston City Hospital (present-day Boston Medical Center). In 1949, Austin was made an assistant resident in neurology at the same hospital, where he remained until 1950.

In 1953, Austin moved to Columbia University in New York City as a fellow in neuropathology, a position he held till 1955, when he started to work at the University of Oregon Medical School (present-day Oregon Health & Science University) in Portland, first as an associate in neurology and then as a Professor of Health Sciences. In 1967, Austin left the school.

From 1967 till 1983, James held a post of a Professor of Neurology at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver, where from 1974 till 1983, he acted as a Chairperson of the Department of Neurology. In 1992, James was made a Professor Emeritus at the same institution.

During retirement, his appointments have included an Affiliate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Idaho and Courtesy Professor of Neurology at the University of Florida College of Medicine.

Currently, Austin lives in Columbia, Missouri.

Achievements

• James Henry Austin is a renowned neurologist and Zen practitioner. Also, he gained prominence for his books, the most notable of which is "Zen and the Brain: Toward an Understanding of Meditation and Consciousness" (1998).
  
  During his career, he won several awards, including the American Neuropathology Prize in 1959 and Book Prize from the Scientific and Medical Network in 1998 for "Zen and the Brain: Toward an Understanding of Meditation and Consciousness".

Works

More photos

• book

  • Selfless Insight: Zen and the Meditative Transformations of Consciousness

    (In "Selfless Insight", Austin arrives at a fresh synthesi...)

    2009
  • Zen-Brain Horizons: Toward a Living Zen

    (In this work, a neurologist and Zen practitioner clarifie...)

    2014
  • Zen and the Brain: Toward an Understanding of Meditation and Consciousness

    (In this work, a neuroscientist and Zen practitioner inter...)

    1998
  • Meditating Selflessly: Practical Neural Zen

    (This work represents a guide to Zen meditative practice, ...)

    2011
  • Chase, Chance and Creativity

    (This work (second edition) examines the role of chance in...)

    2003
  • Living Zen Remindfully: Retraining Subconscious Awareness

    (This is a book for readers, who want to probe more deeply...)

    2016
  • Zen-Brain Reflections: Reviewing Recent Developments in Meditation and States of Consciousness 2006

Religion

Austin has been a practicing Zen Buddhist since 1974.

Views

As a Zen practitioner, James is keenly interested in the ways, that neuroscience research can help clarify the meditative transformations of consciousness.

Quotations: "I’ve been mostly inspired by my ignorance - about creativity and about Zen. This motivated me to learn more about each topic, both through observing my inner psycho-physiological processes and through library research, using journal articles and books. I enjoy making the path clearer for the next generation of seekers."

"My writing goes through a series of drafts. Only in the course of these does literary clarity emerge. At the same time, I repair my ignorance, discovering new connections."

Membership

James is a member of the Sigma Xi, Delta Upsilon, American Academy of Neurology, Scientific and Medical Network and other institutions.

• member of council

  American Neurological Association , United States

  1979 - 1982

Interests

• the outdoors, fishing, tree stewardship, pottery, calligraphy

Connections

James married Judith St. Clair on February 7, 1948. Their marriage produced three children — Scott Whiting, Lynn St. Clair Austin Manning and James Winslow. James' wife died of Alzheimer's disease in 2004.

Father:

Paul Weber Austin

Mother:

Bertha Emily (Holtkamp) Austin

child:

Scott Whiting Austin

child:

St. Clair Austin Manning

child:

James Winslow Austin

late wife:

Judith St. Clair Austin

mentor:

Derek Denny Brown

mentor:

Raymond Adams

mentor:

Joseph Foley