Zen (2009 film) of Buddhism, which has had a huge cultural influence but is little understood — let alone practiced — by ordinary Japanese." The film premiered in Japan in 2009. The following year, it had its US debut at the International Buddhist Film Festival. The film was released on DVD and includes a short documentary entitled "The Zen of Dogen" with Kazuaki Tanahashi. Zen (2009 film) The film is a biography of Dōgen Zenji, a Japanese Zen Buddhist teacher. After travelling to China to study, Dogen founded the Sōtō school of Zen in Japan. The Buddhist Film Foundation described it as "a
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