Mind in the Balance

By establishing a dialogue in which the meditative practices of Buddhismand Christianity speak to the theories of modern philosophy and science, B. AlanWallace reveals the theoretical similarities underlying these disparate disciplinesand their unified approach to making sense of the objective world.Wallace begins by exploring the relationship between Christianand Buddhist meditative practices. He outlines a sequence of meditations the readercan undertake, showing that, though Buddhism and Christianity differ in their beliefsystems, their methods of cognitive inquiry provide similar insight into the natureand origins of consciousness.From this convergence Wallacethen connects the approaches of contemporary cognitive science, quantum mechanics,and the philosophy of the mind. He links Buddhist and Christian views to theprovocative philosophical theories of Hilary Putnam, Charles Taylor, and Bas vanFraassen, and he seamlessly incorporates the work of such physicists as AntonZeilinger, John Wheeler, and Stephen Hawking. Combining a concrete analysis ofconceptions of consciousness with a guide to cultivating mindfulness and profoundcontemplative practice, Wallace takes the scientific and intellectual mapping of themind in exciting new directions.