Chapter 1 Spirituality 1
The Search for Happiness 11
Religion, East and West 18
Mindfulness 34
The Truth of Suffering 40
Enlightenment 42
Chapter 2 The Mystery of Consciousness 51
The Mind Divided 62
Structure and Function 68
Are Our Minds Already Split? 72
Consious and Unconscious Processing in the Brain 75
Consciousness Is What Matters 77
CHapter 3 The Riddle of the Self 81
What Are We Calling "I"? 89
Consciousness Without Self 92
Lost in Thought 93
The Challenge of Studying the Self 104
Penetrating the Illusion 115
Chapter 4 Meditation 119
Gradual versus Sudden Realization 123
Dzogchen: Taking the Goal as the Path 134
Having No Head 141
The Paradox of Acceptance 148
Chapter 5 Gurus, Death, Drugs, and Other Puzzles 151
Mind on the Brink of Death 172
The Spiritual Uses of Pharmacology 186
Conclusion 201
Acknowledgments 207
Notes 209
Index 238