Table of Contents
Preface ix
1 Meditation and the Brain 1
A Science of Mind 1
Awareness and Mental Constructs 5
Working with Emotions 9
Gradual and Lasting Changes 11
Outer and Inner Enrichment 13
Processes of Neuronal Changes 15
Emotional Nuances 18
Effortless Skills 18
Relating to the World 21
How Young Can One Start to Meditate? 23
Mental Distortions 25
Attention and Cognitive Control 25
Attentional Blink 32
Attention, Rumination, and Open Presence 36
Mindfulness and Distraction 39
Consolidating Learning through Sleep 42
Compassion and Action 48
Compassion, Meditation, and Brain Coherence 50
Altruism and Well-Being 55
Magic Moments 56
Could Feedback Replace Mind Training? 57
Are There Limits to Mind Training? 63
Meditation and Action 67
2 Dealing with Subconscious Processes and Emotions 73
On the Nature of the Unconscious 73
Side Effects of Meditation 77
Love versus Attachment 82
On the joy of Inner Peace 84
Watching the Mind, Training the Mind 87
3 How Do We Know What We Know? 91
What Reality Do We Perceive? 91
How Do We Acquire Knowledge? 96
Can There Be Valid Cognition of Some Aspects of Knowledge? 100
Is Cognitive Delusion Inescapable? 104
Each Person to His or Her Own Reality 110
Is There an Objective Reality "Out There"? 111
Causality as a Correlate of Interdependence 114
Constructing and Deconstructing Reality 117
Refining the Tools of Introspection 121
First-, Second-, and Third-Person Experience 123
A Physician and a Cure 126
The Ethics of Practice and Science 128
Three Aspects of Buddhist Philosophy 129
A Summary 133
4 Investigating the Self 137
Investigating the Self 140
The Self Exists in a Conventional Way 144
The Self and Freedom 146
Weak Self, Strong Mind 147
Ego and Egolessness 151
The Scourge of Rumination 153
Who's in Charge Here? 156
5 Free Will, Responsibility, and Justice 161
The Process of Decision Making 161
The Responsibility to Change 177
Free Will and the Range of Choices 182
Attenuating Circumstances 185
Looking with the Eyes of a Doctor 188
True Rehabilitation 191
Horrendous Deviations 195
Breaking the Cycle of Hate 197
Is There a Self That Bears the Responsibility? 200
Can One Prove Free Will? 203
Architects of the Future 207
6 The Nature of Consciousness 211
Something Rather Than Nothing 211
Cultivating States of Subtle Consciousness or Pure Awareness 226
On Various Levels of Consciousness 230
Puzzling Experiences 246
Remembering Past Lives? 253
What Can Be Learned From Near-Death Experiences? 256
Could Consciousness Be Made of Something Other Than Matter? 258
A Concluding Note of Gratitude 263
Notes 265
Index 275