The Quiet Mind audiobook cover - The firsthand account of a CIA agent who traveled the Eastern world in search of mindfulness

The Quiet Mind

The firsthand account of a CIA agent who traveled the Eastern world in search of mindfulness

John E. Coleman

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Biography & MemoirMindfulness & HappinessReligion & Spirituality

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The Quiet Mind
The Catalyst+
Philosophical Encounters+
Rejected Methods+
The Path of Vipassana+
Ultimate Realization+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 9
What initial experience in Thailand sparked Coleman’s belief that there was a link between hypnotism and meditation?
  • A. He read an ancient Buddhist manuscript detailing the hypnotic techniques used by early monks.
  • B. He witnessed a hypnotized boy duplicate drawings telepathically and later had his own arm moved by a meditating naval officer.
  • C. He was assigned by his intelligence agency to infiltrate a cult that used hypnosis to simulate enlightenment.
  • D. He met an anesthetist who successfully used deep meditation to perform surgery on patients without drugs.
Question 2 of 9
What conclusion did Coleman draw after his distracted neighbor successfully guessed 23 out of 25 of Professor J. B. Rhine’s ESP cards?
  • A. A mind that is free from intention, striving, or desire can tap into powerful states like telepathy.
  • B. The ESP cards were subtly marked, proving that parapsychology was largely based on deception.
  • C. Westerners possess a natural, latent ability for clairvoyance that Eastern meditation suppresses.
  • D. The neighbor had secretly been practicing Zen meditation for years without telling anyone.
Question 3 of 9
Why did Coleman fail to quiet his mind during his first vipassana meditation course with U Ba Khin?
  • A. He was unable to tolerate the physical pain of the lotus position and quit on the first day.
  • B. He was too zealous, spending too much time taking notes and intellectualizing the practice.
  • C. He fundamentally disagreed with U Ba Khin's reliance on theatrical mantras and prayer wheels.
  • D. He was constantly interrupted by his intelligence work and could not focus.
Question 4 of 9
What was the core philosophy shared by Krishnamurti during his conversations with Coleman?
  • A. Enlightenment can only be achieved by strictly following the ancient texts of Hinduism.
  • B. Organized religions provide the only safe and structured path to achieving nirvana.
  • C. All philosophies and religions are rooted in fear, and true understanding only comes from direct experience.
  • D. The ultimate path to spiritual awakening requires completely abandoning all worldly relationships.
Question 5 of 9
Why did Coleman ultimately feel that Tibetan Buddhism and Tantrism did not resonate with his search for a quiet mind?
  • A. They required extreme physical fasting and self-denial that he was unwilling to endure.
  • B. They seemed too theatrical, symbolic, and goal-oriented, missing the original Buddhist goal of transcending the ego.
  • C. They strictly forbade the participation of Westerners in their most sacred rituals.
  • D. They focused entirely on intellectual debate and philosophy rather than actual meditation.
Question 6 of 9
According to the teachings of orthodox monk Buddhadasa Bikku, how should a practitioner view dualities such as 'right versus wrong'?
  • A. They are the fundamental spiritual battles that every monk must fight daily.
  • B. They are illusory human inventions, as both are simply aspects of one overarching whole.
  • C. They represent the constant struggle between the physical body and the spiritual mind.
  • D. They are the direct result of past-life karma that must be cleansed through meditation.
Question 7 of 9
What surprised Coleman about the practice of modern Zen Buddhism when he visited the Shokoku Temple in Kyoto?
  • A. The monks lived in a state of chaotic freedom, encouraged to do whatever they pleased to find themselves.
  • B. The temple relied entirely on group discussion and sharing personal problems to reach satori.
  • C. The monks were highly undisciplined and spent most of their time reading rather than meditating.
  • D. The discipline was incredibly rigid, with prospective monks beaten and sleepy students hit with sticks.
Question 8 of 9
How did the meditation practice of the Quakers differ significantly from the Eastern traditions Coleman had previously studied?
  • A. The Quakers focused on repeating a single, secret mantra to achieve personal enlightenment.
  • B. The Quakers incorporated the spontaneous sharing of personal thoughts aloud to foster collective unity.
  • C. The Quakers aimed to reach a state of absolute silence, strictly punishing anyone who spoke.
  • D. The Quakers used intense physical exercises to exhaust the body before sitting in meditation.
Question 9 of 9
What crucial realization finally triggered Coleman’s spiritual awakening at U Ba Khin’s meditation center?
  • A. He realized that his intense desire to get rid of his physical pain was actually perpetuating the pain.
  • B. He realized that he needed to chant his mantra louder to drown out his distracting thoughts.
  • C. He realized that true enlightenment required him to permanently leave his intelligence career and his wife.
  • D. He realized that the tingling sensations in his body were an illusion created by a hypnotic trance.

The Quiet Mind — Full Chapter Overview

The Quiet Mind Summary & Overview

The Quiet Mind (1971) is the firsthand account of an American intelligence agent who traveled the Eastern world in search of inner peace. Throughout his remarkable life, author John. E. Coleman explored a wide breadth of spiritual paths, from Thai Buddhism to Zen to Quakerism. Ultimately, he found the greatest success with vipassana, a type of meditation he later imparted to his own students.

Who Should Listen to The Quiet Mind?

  • The spiritually open-minded
  • Those looking to understand the differences among several Eastern philosophies
  • Admirers of D. T. Suzuki, Jiddu Krishnamurti, and U Ba Khin

About the Author: John E. Coleman

John E. Coleman was an officer with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), stationed in Thailand throughout the 1950s and ’60s. During a trip to nearby Burma (now Myanmar), he studied the vipassana meditation method of renowned Buddhist leader U Ba Khin, under whose tutelage he finally reached enlightenment. Eventually, Coleman began to conduct his own ten-day meditation courses all over the world. He died in 2012.

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