Embracing Mind

by WALLACE, B. ALANHODEL, BRIAN

• ISBN13: 9781590306833
• ISBN10: 159030683X
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2008-12-23
• Publisher: Shambhala

Summary

What is Mind? For this ancient question we are still seeking answers. B. Alan Wallace and Brian Hodel propose a science of the mind based on the contemplative wisdom of Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Christianity, and Islam.The authors begin by exploring the history of science, showing how science tends to ignore the mind, even while it is understood to be the very instrument through which we comprehend the world of nature. They then propose a contemplative science of mind based on the sophisticated techniques of meditation that have been practiced for thousands of years in the great spiritual traditions. The final section presents meditations that are of universal relevanceto scientists and people of all faithsfor revealing new dimensions of consciousness and human flourishing.Embracing Mind moves us beyond the dogmatic debates between theists and atheists over Intelligent Design and Neo-Darwinism, and it returns us to the vital core of science and spirituality: deepening our experience of reality as a whole.

Author Biography

B. Alan Wallace has authored, translated, edited, and contributed to more than forty books on Tibetan Buddhism, science, and culture. With fourteen years as a Buddhist monk, he earned a BA in physics and the philosophy of science and then a PhD in religious studies. After teaching in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, he founded the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies (http://sbinstitute.com) to explore the integration of scientific approaches and contemplative methods.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. vii
Acknowledgments	p. xv
Introduction	p. xvii
What's Wrong with This Picture?	p. 1
A Shotgun Wedding-The Marriage of Science and Christianity	p. 3
When You Least Expect It-Materialism Undermined	p. 27
When Believing Is Seeing-How Belief Influences Perception	p. 53
The Mind behind the Eyepiece-Limits on Scientific Objectivity	p. 71
Masquerade-Scientific Materialism Poses as Science	p. 86
Consciousness-Completing the Picture	p. 109
Coming Full Circle-And Meeting the East	p. 111
Deciding What's True-Objectivity and Empiricism in Contemplation	p. 130
Illuminating the Black Boxes of Mind and Matter	p. 148
Science and Contemplation-Probing the Mind Together	p. 164
A Science of Consciousness? One Provocative Example from the Buddhist Tradition	p. 180
Tools and Technologies of a Buddhist Science of Contemplation	p. 203
Shamatha-Meditative Quiescence	p. 205
Vipashyana-Insight Meditation	p. 213
The Great Perfection	p. 219
"Complementary" Practices	p. 222
Notes	p. 227
Glossary	p. 235
Bibliography	p. 243
Index	p. 247
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