Shinzen Young

Shinzen is a world-renowned meditation teacher and researcher in awakening. He is the author of The Science of Enlightenment and Natural Pain Relief. His systematic approach to categorizing, adapting, and teaching meditation, known as Unified Mindfulness, has resulted in collaborations with Harvard Medical School, Carnegie Mellon University, and the University of Vermont in the field of contemplative neuroscience. He currently serves as co-director of the Science Enhanced Mindful Awareness (SEMA) Lab at the University of Arizona.

As part of his PhD thesis research, he lived as a Shingon (Japanese Vajrayana) monk for three years at Mount Koya, Japan. It was then that he received the name Shinzen (真善). Also during that time, he became friends with Father William Johnston (author of Christian Zen). Father Johnston helped broaden Shinzen’s interests to include comparative world mysticism and the scientific study of meditative states. Upon returning to the United States, his academic interests shifted to the dialogue between Eastern meditation and Western science.

His current work centers on the intersection of artificial intelligence with biomodulation, reasoning, and maturity training, as well as exploring how applied category theory can serve as a mathematical framework connecting these domains.