MIND IN THE BALANCE COLUMBIA SERIES IN SCIENCE AND RELIGION C4960.indb i 11/4/08 8:51:14 AM THE COLUMBIA SERIES IN SCIENCE AND RELIGION Th e Columbia Series in Science and Religion is sponsored by the Center for the Study of Science and Religion (CSSR) at Columbia University. It is a forum for the examination of issues that lie at the boundary of these two complementary ways of comprehending the world and our place in it. By examining the intersec- tions between one or more of the sciences and one or more religions, the CSSR hopes to stimulate dialogue and encourage understanding. ROBERT POLLACK Th e Faith of Biology and the Biology of Faith B. ALAN WALLACE, ED. Buddhism and Science: Breaking New Ground LISA SIDERIS Environmental Ethics, Ecological Th eory, and Natural Selection: Suff ering and Responsibility WAYNE PROUDFOOT, ED. William James and a Science of Religions: Reexperiencing Th e Varieties of Religious Experience MORTIMER OSTOW Spirit, Mind, and Brain: A Psychoanalytic Examination of Spirituality and Religion B. ALAN WALLACE Contemplative Science: Where Buddhism and Neuroscience Converge PHILIP CLAYTON AND JIM SCHAAL, EDITORS Practicing Science, Living Faith: Interviews with Twelve Scientists B. ALAN WALLACE Hidden Dimensions: Th e Unifi cation of Physics and Consciousness PIER LUIGI LUISI WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF ZARA HOUSHMAND Mind and Life: Discussions with the Dalai Lama on the Nature of Reality C4960.indb ii 11/4/08 8:51:15 AM MIND IN THE BALANCE MEDITATION IN SCIENCE, BUDDHISM, & CHRISTIANITY [ ] B. Alan Wallace COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS / NEW YORK C4960.indb iii 11/4/08 8:51:15 AM Columbia University Press Publishers Since 1893 New York Chichester, West Sussex Copyright © 2009 Columbia University Press Paperback edition, 2014 All rights reserved Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Wallace, B. Alan. Mind in the balance : meditation in science, Buddhism, and Christianity / B. Alan Wallace. p. cm. — (The Columbia series in science and religion) Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 978-0-231-14730-9 (cloth : alk. paper)—ISBN 978-0-231-14731-6 (pbk. : alk. paper)— ISBN 978-0-231-51970-0 (e-book) 1. Meditation. 2. Meditation—Buddhism. 3. Meditation—Christianity. I. Title. II. Series. BL627.W33 2009 158.1ʹ2—dc22 2008022867 Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent and durable acid-free paper. This book is printed on paper with recycled content. Printed in the United States of America c 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 p 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Cover image (top): iStockphoto; (bottom): Image Club Graphics Cover design: The DesignWorks Group, Charles Brock References to Internet Web sites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing. Neither the author nor Columbia University Press is responsible for URLs that may have expired or changed since the manuscript was prepared. For Sarah and Troy, and all who are seeking greater understanding and meaning in life C4960.indb v 11/4/08 8:51:17 AM C4960.indb vi 11/4/08 8:51:17 AM CONTENTS Preface ix PART I: MEDITATION: WHERE IT STARTED AND HOW IT GOT HERE 1 1. Who Am I? 3 2. Th e Origins of Contemplation 7 3. Th e Scientifi c Externalization of Meditation 15 4. Scientifi c Studies of Meditation 27 PART II: MEDITATION IN THEORY AND PRACTICE 37 5. Practice: Attending to the Breath of Life 39 6. Th eory: Coming to Our Senses 41 7. Practice: Th e Union of Stillness and Motion 47 8. Th eory: Knowing and Healing the Mind 53 9. Practice: Behold the Light of Consciousness 71 10. Th eory: Exploring the Nature of Consciousness 75 11. Practice: Probing the Nature of the Observer 87 C4960.indb vii 11/4/08 8:51:17 AM 12. Th eory: Th e Ground State of Consciousness 89 13. Practice: Oscillating Awareness 97 14. Th eory: Consciousness Without Beginning or End 99 15. Practice: Resting in the Stillness of Awareness 119 16. Th eory: Worlds of Skepticism 121 17. Practice: Th e Emptiness of Mind 137 18. Th eory: Th e Participatory Worlds of Buddhism 139 19. Practice: Th e Emptiness of Matter 151 20. Th eory: Th e Participatory Worlds of Philosophy and Science 153 21. Practice: Resting in Timeless Consciousness 167 22. Th eory: Th e Luminous Space of Pristine Awareness 169 23. Practice: Meditation in Action 187 24. Th eory: Th e Universe as a Whole 189 25. What Shall We Become? 197 Notes 201 Bibliography 221 Index 233 [VIII] CONTENTS 00-C4960-FM-LH1.indd viii 1/5/09 11:30:03 AM PREFACE In the fall of 2006, my stepdaughter, Sarah Volland, wrote to me with a request. She began by commenting that she was utterly con- tent with her life as a whole, including her level of material prosper- ity. What she really wanted now was to improve the quality of her interior life and her mind, and she asked me to write a book that would off er guidance in this regard, and that she could eventually share with her son. She wanted a book that would benefi t her family and anyone else seeking knowledge in order to bring their life to a whole new level. She put this request to me not only because of our close rela- tionship but also because of my unusual background in Eastern and Western approaches to understanding. Over the past thirty-eight years, I have been blessed with many profound personal teachers, including the Dalai Lama and other extraordinary contemplatives and masters of meditation. Ordained as a monk by the Dalai Lama, I trained for fourteen years in Buddhist monasteries in India, Tibet, Sri Lanka, and Switzerland. During my time as a monk and since, I have devoted years to solitary meditation in the Himalayan moun- tains, Buddhist monasteries, deserts, and in my home in Califor- nia. In addition, I received my undergraduate education at Amherst College in physics and the philosophy of science, earned my doctor- C4960.indb ix 11/4/08 8:51:17 AM