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by: B. Alan Wallace  List Price: $31.00 Amazon.com's Price: $24.80 You Save: $6.20 (20%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Binding: HardcoverDewey Decimal Number: 294.3365 EAN: 9780231138345 ISBN: 0231138342 Label: Columbia University Press Manufacturer: Columbia University Press Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 256 Publication Date: September 29, 2006 Publisher: Columbia University Press Studio: Columbia University Press Related Items:
Browse for similar items by category: Click to Display Editorial Review: Product Description: Science has long treated religion as a set of personal beliefs that have little to do with a rational understanding of the mind and the universe. However, B. Alan Wallace, a respected Buddhist scholar, proposes that the contemplative methodologies of Buddhism and of Western science are capable of being integrated into a single discipline: contemplative science. The science of consciousness introduces first-person methods of investigating the mind through Buddhist contemplative techniques, such as samatha, an organized, detailed system of training the attention. Just as scientists make observations and conduct experiments with the aid of technology, contemplatives have long tested their own theories with the help of highly developed meditative skills of observation and experimentation. Contemplative science allows for a deeper knowledge of mental phenomena, including a wide range of states of consciousness, and its emphasis on strict mental discipline counteracts the effects of conative (intention and desire), attentional, cognitive, and affective imbalances. Just as behaviorism, psychology, and neuroscience have all shed light on the cognitive processes that enable us to survive and flourish, contemplative science offers a groundbreaking perspective for expanding our capacity to realize genuine well-being. It also forges a link between the material world and the realm of the subconscious that transcends the traditional science-based understanding of the self. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - good place to startdr wallace is a sophisticated scientist who is very experienced in talking about the details of buddhism. he understands the thousands of years of studying the mind from a buddhist perspectice and how to integrate it with modern science. he has the input of the dalai lama too, having been a translator for him for years. i encourage the serious reader to take a look. Rating:  - Contemplative Sciencegood shape copy of a good readable book. arrived quickly would have preferred paperback but was ok. Rating:  - Not quite what it suggestsReaders be warned: the subtitle to this book,"Where Buddhism and Neuroscience Converge" is quite misleading--there are only a few very cursory references to anything about neuroscience. Based on the title and introduction, I purchased this assuming it might explain how scientific research on the brain illuminates the practice of meditation and the contemplative tradition (and vice-versa). It does not. For those interested in the connection between meditation and Western neuroscience, you'll find ... Read More Rating: - scientifically clearthe perfect book to understand the link between science and the arts of the mind. well written and clearly presented Rating: - An Exceptional Contribution to Consciousness StudiesUnless you are involved in neuroscience, it is difficult to appreciate the magnitude of the seismic shifts that are occurring in our knowledge about the brain, and the extraordinary consequences for our understanding of what it means to be human. Or the important implications of the new brain sciences for such issues as education and legal responsibility. There is a robust and growing literature on Buddhism, Western psychology and cognitive science, consciousness and the brain. And this ... Read More 
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