Did you know the heart of Buddhism is a simple claim: The reason we suffer? And the reason we make other people suffer—is that we don’t see the world clearly.
At the heart of Buddhist meditative practice is a radical promise: We can learn to see the world, including ourselves, more clearly and so gain a deep and morally valid happiness.
In this book Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment, Robert Wright shows how taking this promise seriously can change your life—how it can loosen the grip of anxiety, regret, and hatred, and how it can deepen your appreciation of beauty and of other people. He also shows why this transformation works, drawing on the latest in neuroscience and psychology, and armed with an acute understanding of human evolution.
Why Buddhism is True is the culmination of a personal journey that began with Wright’s landmark book on evolutionary psychology, The Moral Animal, and deepened as he immersed himself in meditative practice and conversed with some of the world’s most skilled meditators.
The result is a story that is “provocative, informative and...deeply rewarding”, and as entertaining as it is illuminating. Written with the wit, clarity, and grace for which Wright is famous, Why Buddhism Is True lays the foundation for a spiritual life in a secular age and shows how, in a time of technological distraction and social division, we can save ourselves from ourselves, both as individuals and as a species.
Review:
In this book Robert Wright combines his deep understanding of modern psychology, particularly evolutionary psychology and the modal theory of mind), substantial knowledge of Buddhist philosophy (Pali: Buddha Dhamma), and experiences from his meditation practice to bridge the gap between an ancient spiritual practice and modern thought.
Some books have an authorial voice that is off-putting (using certain words too much, maybe), or boring. Or discursive. Or overly dry and academic. Or impersonally dispassionate. There are a lot of ways a book can go wrong. Why Buddhism is True has none of these weaknesses. Wright is able to present complex ideas with concision, candor, and intellectual force. Wright's treatment of Buddhism seems to encompass Western psychology. It applies our Western preference for intellectualization to a subject that seems to be to prefer to exist more on a level of practice.
This book is in many ways a personal account: Wright has found a version of secular-Buddhism that is True for him in his life, and he is bringing us along through his experience and thought process. Unlike many authors on Eastern spirituality, he is in no way trying to present himself as enlightened, or a spiritual teacher or guru.
He is refreshingly unpretentious--humorously self-effacing, and transparent about his motivations for writing. And he is a clear writer--he does not try to intimidate us with obtuseness and paradox, even when addressing difficult concepts. The book is not always convincing, but it is engaging, approachable, and thought-provoking.
If you’re a committed Buddhist, you’ll probably feel uncomfortable with this book. It is a book by someone who is avowedly skeptic, even agnostic. On the other hand, that may turn out to be a strength, because it makes his arguments more credible —coming, as they do, from a non-believer.
At the heart of Buddhist meditative practice is a radical promise: We can learn to see the world, including ourselves, more clearly and so gain a deep and morally valid happiness.
In this book Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment, Robert Wright shows how taking this promise seriously can change your life—how it can loosen the grip of anxiety, regret, and hatred, and how it can deepen your appreciation of beauty and of other people. He also shows why this transformation works, drawing on the latest in neuroscience and psychology, and armed with an acute understanding of human evolution.
Why Buddhism is True is the culmination of a personal journey that began with Wright’s landmark book on evolutionary psychology, The Moral Animal, and deepened as he immersed himself in meditative practice and conversed with some of the world’s most skilled meditators.
The result is a story that is “provocative, informative and...deeply rewarding”, and as entertaining as it is illuminating. Written with the wit, clarity, and grace for which Wright is famous, Why Buddhism Is True lays the foundation for a spiritual life in a secular age and shows how, in a time of technological distraction and social division, we can save ourselves from ourselves, both as individuals and as a species.
Review:
In this book Robert Wright combines his deep understanding of modern psychology, particularly evolutionary psychology and the modal theory of mind), substantial knowledge of Buddhist philosophy (Pali: Buddha Dhamma), and experiences from his meditation practice to bridge the gap between an ancient spiritual practice and modern thought.
Some books have an authorial voice that is off-putting (using certain words too much, maybe), or boring. Or discursive. Or overly dry and academic. Or impersonally dispassionate. There are a lot of ways a book can go wrong. Why Buddhism is True has none of these weaknesses. Wright is able to present complex ideas with concision, candor, and intellectual force. Wright's treatment of Buddhism seems to encompass Western psychology. It applies our Western preference for intellectualization to a subject that seems to be to prefer to exist more on a level of practice.
This book is in many ways a personal account: Wright has found a version of secular-Buddhism that is True for him in his life, and he is bringing us along through his experience and thought process. Unlike many authors on Eastern spirituality, he is in no way trying to present himself as enlightened, or a spiritual teacher or guru.
He is refreshingly unpretentious--humorously self-effacing, and transparent about his motivations for writing. And he is a clear writer--he does not try to intimidate us with obtuseness and paradox, even when addressing difficult concepts. The book is not always convincing, but it is engaging, approachable, and thought-provoking.
If you’re a committed Buddhist, you’ll probably feel uncomfortable with this book. It is a book by someone who is avowedly skeptic, even agnostic. On the other hand, that may turn out to be a strength, because it makes his arguments more credible —coming, as they do, from a non-believer.
