How long does it take to read Zen and the Brain?
James H. Austin
Zen and the Brain by James H. Austin takes about 15 hours 44 minutes to read at 250 words a minute.
About 15 hours 44 minutes
A long haul
First published 1998. 858 pages, about 235,950 words.
32 days (about 5 weeks) at 30 minutes a day
Estimate based on 275 words per page.
At other speeds
| Slow, 150 words a minute | 26 hours 13 minutes |
| Average, 250 words a minute | 15 hours 44 minutes |
| Fast, 400 words a minute | 9 hours 50 minutes |
The page count is the median across 2 editions, so your copy may differ. How we calculate.
About the book
In this book Zen Buddhism becomes the opening wedge for an extraordinarily wide-ranging exploration of consciousness. In order to understand which brain mechanisms produce Zen states, one needs some understanding of the anatomy, physiology, and chemistry of the brain. Austin, both a neurologist and a Zen practitioner, interweaves the most recent brain research with the personal narrative of his Zen experiences. The science is both inclusive and rigorous; the Zen sections are clear and evocative. Along the way, Austin examines such topics as similar states in other disciplines and religions, sleep and dreams, mental illness, consciousness-altering drugs, and the social consequences of the advanced stage of ongoing enlightenment.
Subjects: Consciousness, Meditation, Physiological aspects, Psychology, Religious aspects, Religious aspects of Consciousness
