If, as Buddhism claims, the potential for awakening exists in all human beings, we should be able to map the phenomenon with the same science we apply to other forms of consciousness. A student of cognitive social science and a Zen practitioner for more than forty years, Richard P. Boyle brings his sophisticated perspective to bear on the development of a theoretical model for both ordinary and awakened consciousness.

Boyle conducts probing interviews with eleven prominent Western Buddhist teachers (Shinzen Young, John Tarrant, Ken McLeod, Ajahn Amaro, Martine Batchelor, Shaila Catherine, Gil Fronsdal, Stephen Batchelor, Pat Enkyo O'Hara, Bernie Glassman, and Joseph Goldstein) and one scientist (James Austin) who have experienced awakening. From the paths they traveled to enlightenment and their descriptions of the experience, he derives three fundamental properties of awakened consciousness. He then constructs an overarching model that explains how Buddhist practices help free the mind from attachments to reality and the self and make possible the three properties of awakening. Specifically, these teachers describe how they worked to control attention and quiet the mind, detach from ideas and habits, and open themselves to compassion. Boyle's account incorporates current theories of consciousness, sociological insights, and research in neuroscience to advance the study of awakened consciousness and help an even greater number of people to realize it.

Realizing Awakened Consciousness: Interview with Buddhist Teachers and a New Perspective on the Mind, Richard P. Boyle, Columbia University Press, Paperback, 368 pages, $34.00

Richard P. Boyle was an associate professor of sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles, until 1972, when he left to pursue his studies in Buddhism in the mountains of northern New Mexico. Some years later, he moved to Albuquerque and worked as a senior research scientist at the University of New Mexico's Institute for Social Research. He is currently continuing the research reported in this book and extending the theoretical model.

CONTENTS: Realizing Awakened Consciousness
	Preface	vii
	Acknowledgments	xi
	Introduction	1
1.	Interview with Shinzen Young	21
2.	Interview with John Tarrant	33
3.	Interview with Ken McCleod	49
4.	Interview with Ajahn Amaro	69
5.	Interview with Martine Batchelor	91
6.	Interview with Shaila Catherine	105
7.	Interview with Gil Fronsdal	121
8.	Interview with Stephen Batchelor	137
9.	Interview with Pat Enkyo O'Hara	149
10.	Interview with Bernie Glassman	163
11.	Interview with Joseph Goldstein	177
12.	Developing Capacities Necessary for Awakening	191
13.	Properties of Awakening Experiences	205
14.	Evolution of Ordinary and Awakened Consciousness	227
15.	The Awakened Baby?	244
16.	The Human Condition and How We Got into It	249
17.	Modeling Consciousness, Awakened and Ordinary	273
	Appendix: Interview with James Austin, Neuroscientist	293
	Notes	303
	Glossary of Buddhist Terms	317
	References	323
	Index	337