The Problem of Pure Consciousness

Abstract

Abstract This collection of essays challenges the widely accepted interpretation of mystical experience. It attempts to show that there is a single type of mystical experience that cuts across cultural and linguistic lines. This is the experience of `pure consciousness', a state in which the subject remains conscious but experiences neither thought, sensation, feeling, nor object of consciousness. The book demonstrates that there are well-attested reports of pure consciousness events occurring in a wide variety of ages and traditions, including Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, and Hinduism.