Mind in the Balance: Meditation in Science, Buddhism, and ChristianityBy establishing a dialogue in which the meditative practices of Buddhism and Christianity speak to the theories of modern philosophy and science, B. Alan Wallace reveals the theoretical similarities underlying these disparate disciplines and their unified approach to making sense of the objective world. Wallace begins by exploring the relationship between Christian and Buddhist meditative practices. He outlines a sequence of meditations the reader can undertake, showing that, though Buddhism and Christianity differ in their belief systems, their methods of cognitive inquiry provide similar insight into the nature and origins of consciousness. From this convergence Wallace then connects the approaches of contemporary cognitive science, quantum mechanics, and the philosophy of the mind. He links Buddhist and Christian views to the provocative philosophical theories of Hilary Putnam, Charles Taylor, and Bas van Fraassen, and he seamlessly incorporates the work of such physicists as Anton Zeilinger, John Wheeler, and Stephen Hawking. Combining a concrete analysis of conceptions of consciousness with a guide to cultivating mindfulness and profound contemplative practice, Wallace takes the scientific and intellectual mapping of the mind in exciting new directions. |
Contents
MEDITATION WHERE IT STARTED | 1 |
The Origins of Contemplation | 7 |
The Scientific Externalization of Meditation | 15 |
Scientific Studies of Meditation | 27 |
Attending to the Breath of Life | 39 |
The Union of Stillness and Motion | 47 |
Behold the Light of Consciousness | 71 |
The Ground State of Consciousness | 89 |
The Participatory Worlds of Buddhism | 139 |
The Emptiness of Matter | 151 |
The Participatory Worlds of Philosophy and Science | 153 |
Resting in Timeless Consciousness | 167 |
The Luminous Space of Pristine Awareness | 169 |
Meditation in Action | 187 |
The Universe as a Whole | 189 |
What Shall We Become? | 197 |
Oscillating Awareness | 97 |
Consciousness Without Beginning or End | 99 |
Resting in the Stillness of Awareness | 119 |
Worlds of Skepticism | 121 |
The Emptiness of Mind | 137 |
Notes | 201 |
221 | |
233 | |
Other editions - View all
Mind in the Balance: Meditation in Science, Buddhism, and Christianity B. Alan Wallace Limited preview - 2014 |
Mind in the Balance: Meditation in Science, Buddhism, and Christianity B. Alan Wallace Limited preview - 2009 |
Mind in the Balance: Meditation in Science, Buddhism, and Christianity B. Alan Wallace No preview available - 2009 |