This collection of contributed essays challenges the widely accepted interpretation of mystical experience as a constructed and mediated product of previously held beliefs and concepts. Forman and his colleagues argue for the existence of a single type of mystical experience that cuts across cultural and linguistic lines.

Are mystical experiences formed by the mystic's cultural background and concepts, as 'constructivists' maintain, or do mystics sometimes transcend language, belief, and culturally conditioned expectations? Do mystical experiences differ throughout the various religious traditions, as 'pluralists' contend, or are they somehow ecumenical? The contributors to this collection scrutinize a common mystical experience, the 'pure consciousness event'--the experience of being awake but devoid of intentional content--in order to answer these questions. Through the use of historical Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, and Jewish mystical writings, as well as those of modern mystics, the contributors reveal the inconsistencies and inadequacies of current models, as make significant strides towards developing new models for the understanding of the mystical phenomenon in particular and of human experience in general.

A useful contribution to the literature, and should help to foster an ongoing dialogue on the topic.