Boundless: A Path of Liberation Through Zen, Abhidharma, and the Direct Experience of Freedom

There is a moment before thought. Before the world is divided into "self" and "other." Before grasping, fear, identity, and separation arise. Boundless is an exploration of that moment. Drawing from Zen, Abhidharma, and direct contemplative practice, Rev. Christopher Shen-Wen Johnson offers a deeply human and intellectually honest investigation into the nature of consciousness, suffering, compassion, and awakening. Blending traditional Buddhist wisdom with modern reflection and experiential inquiry, this book examines: how the illusion of self is constructed, why suffering persists, how direct experience differs from conceptual thought, and what remains when the boundaries between "inner" and "outer" begin to dissolve. At once philosophical and practical, analytical and deeply contemplative, Boundless does not ask the reader for blind belief. Instead, it offers a path of investigation-one grounded in direct observation, ethical living, and the possibility that awakening was never truly separate from us in the first place. For readers of Zen, Buddhism, mindfulness, contemplative philosophy, and spiritual inquiry, Boundless is both a map and an invitation: to stop, to look, and to discover what is present before the next thought appears.