Buddhism in Japan movement to eradicate Buddhism and bring Shinto to ascendancy arose throughout the country due to the strong connections of Buddhism to the Shōguns. During the Meiji period (1868–1912), after a coup in 1868, Japan abandoned its feudal system and opened up to Western modernism. Shinto became the state religion. Within the Buddhist establishment the Western world was seen as a threat as well as a challenge to stand up to. Buddhist institutions had a simple choice: adapt or perish. Rinzai and Soto Zen chose to adapt, trying to modernize Zen in accord with Western insights, while simultaneously maintaining a Japanese
Zen and the Brain from neuroscience that helps to clarify which brain mechanisms underlie the subjective states of Zen, and employs Zen to 'illuminate' how the brain works in various states of consciousness". Austin starts with a discussion of Zen Buddhism, its goals, and practices. Having laid this groundwork, he then turns to explore the neurological basis of consciousness. Austin wrote a follow-up, "Zen-Brain Reflections". Zen and the Brain Zen and the Brain: Toward an Understanding of Meditation and Consciousness is a 1998 book by neurologist and Zen practitioner James H. Austin, in which the author attempts to establish links between the neurological workings