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Contents

Preface to the Second Edition 16

Preface 17

Introduction 20

Science Without Bounds 22

Ways of Knowing 25

Science’s and Religion’s Ways of Knowing 27

A Scientific/Religious Comprehensive World View 29

Odds and Ends 30

Part I: Fundamentals 35

1 Religion’s Way of Knowing 36

The Revelational Way of Knowing 37

Claim 1: External Consistency 39

Claim 1: Truthfulness 41

Claim 1: Internal Consistency 43

Mistakes Perpetuated 44

Consistency versus Truthfulness 45

The Erosion of Truthfulness 47

Claim 2: Attaining Completeness and Finality 48

Claim 2: Completeness 50

Claim 2: Finality 52

Claim 3: Necessity for Salvation, Enlightenment 55

Claim 4: Reasons for Believing in Divine Authorship 56

Society’s Ways of Knowing 58

Shortcomings of Divine Authorship 59

“Dionysius” 60

Separating Truth and Lies, Wisdom and Nonsense 62

Reason Inadequate? 64

2 Science’s Way of Knowing 66

The Origin of the Scientific Way of Knowing 66

The First Element: Observation and Experiment 70

The Second Element: Hypothesis 72

Inductive Logic and Deductive Logic 74

The Third Element: Law 75

The Fourth Element: Theory 77

Theoretical Constructs 79

Kinds of Sciences 81

Shortcomings of the Scientific Way of Knowing 83

Science and Divine Authorship 86

Science and Consistency and Truthfulness 88

Science and Completeness and Finality 89

Science and Salvation, Enlightenment, Liberation 90

Summary 91

3 Science’s Domain Of Knowing 94

What Science Studies 95

Basis of the Physical Universe 96

The Table Illustration 98

Creation? 101

Turning to Philosophy 103

The Eternal Substance 105

The Eternal Substance 106

Historical Bounds 109

Independent, Uncontingent, Unconditional, Uncaused 111

The Cyclic Method 113

The Eternal Substance 114

Summary 117

4 Religion’s Domain Of Knowing 118

Personhood and God 119

Monotheism and Religious Monism 120

Hinduism 122

Buddhism 124

Taoism 125

Sikhism 126

Christianity 126

Judaism 128

Islam 130

Zoroastrianism 132

Being, the Great Chain of Being, Absolute Being 133

Two Ideas of Gods 135

Pantheism 136

Summary 137

5 Knowers 140

Types of Knowledge 140

What They Don’t Know 142

Experience of Uncreated Light 143

A Modern, Secular Seer 144

Western Christian Seers 145

Eastern Christian Seers 147

Uncreated Light 149

Essence and Energies 150

Jewish Seers 152

Islamic Seers 153

Hindu Seers 154

A Sikh Seer 154

Buddhist Seers 155

Degrees of Intimacy 156

Symbols of Intimacy 157

The Many Meanings of Union 158

Participatory Union and Illusory Union 161

Literal Union 163

Understanding Union 164

Transcending the Triad of Knower, Knowing, Known 166

The Unreal Self 167

The Tragedy of Hallaj 169

Summary 170

6 Science Plus Religion 174

Mysticism: Proper, Improper and Counterfeit 174

Traditional Measures of Mystical Truth 179

The Scientific Way of Knowing as the Standard 181

Religion Without Dogma or a God Who Is a Person 183

The Domain of Knowing 185

The Data 186

The Data: Agreement and Objectivity 187

The Data: Observability 189

The Data: Replication 190

Hypothesis, Law, and Theory 191

Uniqueness? 192

Fundamental Premises 196

Looking Back, Looking Ahead 197

The Tale of the Scientific Alchemists and Religious Newtonians 198

Part II: World View 205

7 The Universe 206

Modes of Light 207

The Kingdom of Heaven 209

Dualism: The Fall from Eden 210

Illusory Dualism 212

Apparent Dualism 213

Dependent Dualism and the Problem of Evil 214

The Problem of the Origin of Evil 216

Independent Dualism 217

Recognizing Evil 219

The System of “Good” and “Bad” 220

Yang and Yin 221

Inseparable Interactive Invocation, an Inseparable Dualism 223

A Symbol of Yang and Yin 226

Inseparable Dualism and the Problem of Suffering and Pain 228

A Solution? 230

Ignorance of the Real 231

8 Personal Identity 234

Landmarks: Ancient and Contemporary 234

Relative Personal Identity 237

Absolute Personal Identity 238

Identity as Body, Heart or Mind 240

Hierarchy of Body, Heart, Mind and Awareness 243

A Unitary Psychophysical Language? 244

Awareness as Absolute Personal Identity 247

Consequences of Awareness as Absolute Personal Identity 249

No Absolute Personal Identity 251

Two Views of Absolute Personal Identity 253

The Ego as Possession 255

A Living, Conscious Absolute 257

9 The God Who is a Person 258

Monism and Gods who are Persons 258

The Religious Monist 261

The Optional Principle 262

The Power of the Personal Aspect 263

Actual and Operational Monotheism 265

The Dual Aspects 266

Confusion of Actual and Operational Monotheism 268

Unrecognized Experience of the Personal Aspect? 270

Advantages of Monism and Operational Monotheism 273

10 Kinds of Existence 278

Component Entities and Relative Existence 279

Actions 282

The Universe as an Action 283

Voidness and Emptiness 285

Absolute Existence 287

Discrimination 289

Identity or Self 290

Looking Back, Looking Ahead—II 294

Part III: Consequences 299

11 Goals 300

Common Goals and the Afterlife 300

Afterlife Goals 302

Afterlife and Personal Identity 304

Reincarnation 305

Between Death and Birth 308

A Third Kind of Goal 310

Entirely and Partially Transcendent Goals 311

Desire for Unchanging Reality 312

Escape from Suffering 313

Escape from Desire 313

Realization of Self 315

The Art of Dying 316

Immortality 318

The New Birth 320

Universal Love 321

Following a Spiritual Teacher 322

Summary 323

12 Values 324

Common Value Systems 324

Afterlife Value Systems 326

The Bottom-up Approach to Morals 327

The Value of Religious Practices 329

Mystical Value Systems 330

Helps and Hindrances 330

Reward and Punishment 332

Concerning Theoretical Explanations 332

The End of Drama 334

Renunciation and Monastic Withdrawal 336

Poverty and Detachment 338

Passionlessness And Thoughtlessness 339

Detachment from the Ego, Detachment from World 340

The Negative and Affirmative Ways 341

Attitudes towards Others 343

The Rightful Use of Things 344

The Two Ways Compared; Transcendence and Immanence 346

Summary 348

13 Paths And Pitfalls 350

The Path 350

Right Views, Right Goals 351

Right Actions, Right Effort 352

Attitudes Toward Things and Events 353

Physical Actions and Efforts 356

Drugs 359

Emotion Actions and Efforts 363

Intellectual Actions and Efforts 366

The Best Motivation 368

The “Path” 370

14 Union 372

Right Mindfulness 372

Centering 373

Mantra 375

Merging 376

Benefits of Centering and Merging 378

Right Concentration: Self-Referential Awareness 379

Rene Descartes 382

The Location of Awareness 383

Right Concentration 384

Union 385

The Result of Union: Annihilation or Return 387

15 Towards An Exact Science 390

Teachers and Guides 390

Physical Effects of Gnosis 391

The Significance of Signs 394

Holism and Measuring Inner States 397

Measures of Meditative Mental States 399

An Exact Science? 401

Conclusion 405

Conclusion 406

Looking Back 406

Looking Further Back 408

Science and Religion 410

Science and Mysticism 411

Bibliography 414