A few months before his death, Carl Rogers surprised many with the question of whether he might have overlooked the most important aspect in conceptualizing the three therapeutic attitudes of empathy, unconditional positive regard, and congruence: namely, being truly present. Much has been written about Rogers' experience of presence. However, no theory has yet been presented on how Rogers was able to achieve this presence in the sense of a healing altered state of consciousness. In an experimental-hermeneutic dialogue with the teachings of the Buddha in the Pali Canon, Harald Erik Tichy develops for the first time an explanation of how the emergence of this outstanding experience can be reconstructed. The insights gained from this provide clues on how therapists can more easily achieve presence. They allow for initial approaches to a theory.