When Thinking is a Problem examines the activity of thinking and how it is a primary factor in suffering at the individual as well as at the collective level, while at the same time, a necessary function that is often taken for granted and misused.

When Thinking is a Problem is unique in helping the reader to see the activity of thinking from a variety of different perspectives provided by writers representing diverse backgrounds. It contains essays, contemplations, and dialogues by eighteen teachers, all of them leaders in their fields. In these chapters, the mechanics and dynamics of thinking are discussed by well-known teachers from the Buddhist and Advaita traditions, as well as from noted neuroscientists, psychologists, philosophers, academics, and prominent writers. In its focus on thinking as it relates to suffering, whether by its presence or absence, the writers discuss the need to honor both thinking as well as the dimension or reality beyond conscious thought.