Sleeping, Dreaming, and Dying An Exploration of Consciousness

Western scientists and the Dalai Lama sit down together to compare what each tradition knows about consciousness. The book records that historic dialogue. It centres on three moments: sleep, dreams and death.

For modern researchers, states in which awareness shifts are a frontier in many fields. For a Buddhist practitioner, the same states offer openings to investigate consciousness and change it. The two outlooks meet on common ground, though not always on conclusions.

Francisco Varela, a neuroscientist, narrates. The philosopher Charles Taylor opens with remarks on personal identity, which frames what follows. Dr. Jerome Engel, Dr. Joyce MacDougal and other participants then take up subjects from the neurology of sleep to the yoga of dreams.

Some exchanges reveal close parallels between Western science and Buddhist contemplative practice. Dr. Jayne Gackenbach's account of lucid dreaming draws a detailed reply from the Dalai Lama about how Buddhist meditators work with their dreams.

Other exchanges show real disagreement. When Joan Halifax presents near-death experiences, the Dalai Lama voices skepticism. The book reads as a conversation between researchers and a contemplative tradition, useful to anyone drawn to psychology, neuroscience, Buddhism or dreaming.