Again, one must deploy the necessary caveats: I am not saying that most Buddhists or Hindus
have been sophisticated contemplatives. Their traditions have spawned many of the same
pathologies we see elsewhere among the faithful: dogmatism, anti-intellectualism, tribalism,
otherworldliness. However, the empirical difference between the central teachings of
Buddhism and Advaita and those of Western monotheism is difficult to overstate. One can
traverse the Eastern paths simply by becoming interested in the nature of one’s own mind—
especially in the immediate causes of psychological suffering—and by paying closer attention
to one’s experience in every present moment. There is, in truth, nothing one need believe. The
teachings of Buddhism and Advaita are best viewed as lab manuals and explorers’ logs
detailing the results of empirical research on the nature of human consciousness.