Meditation, Buddhism, and Science

David McMahan is the Charles A. Dana Professor of Religious Studies at Franklin & Marshall College.

Erik Braun is an Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Virginia.

1. Introduction: From Colonialism to Brainscans: Modern Transformations of Buddhist Meditation
David L. McMahan and Erik Braun

2. How Meditation Works: Theorizing the Role of Cultural Context in Buddhist Contemplative Practices
David L. McMahan

3. Looping Effects and the Cognitive Science of Mindfulness Meditation
Evan Thompson

4. Buddhism, Happiness, and the Science of Meditation
William Edelglass

5. Reflections on Indian Buddhist Thought and the Scientific Study of Meditation, Or: Why Scientists Should Talk More with Their Monks
William S. Waldron

6. "Mind the Gap:" Appearance and Reality in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy
Joanna Cook

7. "Wherever You Go, There You . . . Aren't?" Non-self, Spirits, and the Concept of the Person in Thai Buddhist Mindfulness
Julia Cassaniti

8. "Mindfulness Makes You a Way Better Lover": Mindful Sex and the Adaption of Buddhism to New Cultural Desires
Jeff Wilson

9. Mindful but not Religious: Meditation and Enchantment in the Work of Jon Kabat-Zinn
Erik Braun

10. Is Mindfulness Buddhist? (And Why It Matters)
Robert H. Sharf