Get Free Ebook Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment, by Robert Wright
In reading this publication, one to remember is that never stress as well as never be bored to read. Even a book will not offer you actual concept, it will certainly make terrific fantasy. Yeah, you can visualize getting the great future. Yet, it's not only sort of creativity. This is the moment for you to earn appropriate concepts to earn better future. The way is by getting Why Buddhism Is True: The Science And Philosophy Of Meditation And Enlightenment, By Robert Wright as one of the reading product. You can be so relieved to review it since it will give more opportunities and also advantages for future life.
Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment, by Robert Wright
Get Free Ebook Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment, by Robert Wright
Have you heard that reading can promote the brain to function well? Some people actually believe with that instance. Nonetheless, lots of people likewise include that it's not about reading. It's about just what you can take the message as well as perception of guide that you review. Well, why can you believe in this way? Yet, we make certain that analysis by practice as well as sensible could make the reader reviewed it quite possibly.
The book that benefits you has some qualities. Among them is that they have similar topics or styles with the important things that you require. Guide will be also interested in the new ideas as well as thought to be constantly up-to-date. Guide, will also always offer you new experience as well as fact. Even you are not the expert of the topic associated, you can be better downplaying from reviewing guide. Yeah, this is just what the Why Buddhism Is True: The Science And Philosophy Of Meditation And Enlightenment, By Robert Wright will give to you.
Maturing from elementary to the grown-up, reading books will allow various needs to think. Sometime, we require guide due to the work due date. Yet in other time, you can check out once more this Why Buddhism Is True: The Science And Philosophy Of Meditation And Enlightenment, By Robert Wright, for not only the task target date requirement but also for anxious. So, reads this book your great eager to read. When you have sufficient to seek for one more publication that can't make you feel delighted, you will always search for other sources, will not you? This is why we involve you to help in locating the best book.
Currently, when you have another suggestion to choose the book, just what you can do? It will be far better as well as easier to locate Why Buddhism Is True: The Science And Philosophy Of Meditation And Enlightenment, By Robert Wright in this web site since we give you the straight link to most likely to the book site. It will be a lot easier and also faster to get it. Below, soft data will really assist you to conserve and review it whenever you desire. Certainly, it will not restrict you to review it in specific area.
Review
“A sublime achievement.” —Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker“Provocative, informative and... deeply rewarding.... I found myself not just agreeing [with] but applauding the author.” —The New York Times Book Review“This is exactly the book that so many of us are looking for. Writing with his characteristic wit, brilliance, and tenderhearted skepticism, Robert Wright tells us everything we need to know about the science, practice, and power of Buddhism.” —Susan Cain, bestselling author of Quiet“I have been waiting all my life for a readable, lucid explanation of Buddhism by a tough-minded, skeptical intellect. Here it is. This is a scientific and spiritual voyage unlike any I have taken before.” —Martin Seligman, professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and bestselling author of Authentic Happiness“A fantastically rational introduction to meditation…. It constantly made me smile a little, and occasionally chuckle…. A wry, self-deprecating, and brutally empirical guide to the avoidance of suffering.” —Andrew Sullivan, New York Magazine “[A] superb, level-headed new book.” —Oliver Burkeman, The Guardian“Robert Wright brings his sharp wit and love of analysis to good purpose, making a compelling case for the nuts and bolts of how meditation actually works. This book will be useful for all of us, from experienced meditators to hardened skeptics who are wondering what all the fuss is about.” —Sharon Salzberg, cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society and bestselling author of Real Happiness “Wright’s mix of conceptual ambition and humbly witty confiding makes for a one-of-a-kind endeavor—instead of a formulaic how-to book, a fascinating why-not-give-it-a-try book.” —The Atlantic“What happens when someone steeped in evolutionary psychology takes a cool look at Buddhism? If that person is, like Robert Wright, a gifted writer, the answer is this surprising, enjoyable, challenging, and potentially life-changing book.” —Peter Singer, professor of philosophy at Princeton University and author of Ethics in the Real World“Delightfully personal, yet broadly important.” —NPR
Read more
About the Author
Robert Wright is the New York Times bestselling author of The Evolution of God (a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize), Nonzero, The Moral Animal, Three Scientists and their Gods (a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award), and Why Buddhism Is True. He is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of the widely respected Bloggingheads.tv and MeaningofLife.tv. He has written for The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The New York Times, Time, Slate, and The New Republic. He has taught at the University of Pennsylvania and at Princeton University, where he also created the popular online course “Buddhism and Modern Psychology.” He is currently Visiting Professor of Science and Religion at Union Theological Seminary in New York.
Read more
See all Editorial Reviews
Product details
Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster; Reprint edition (August 8, 2017)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9781439195451
ISBN-13: 978-1439195451
ASIN: 1439195455
Product Dimensions:
6 x 1 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review:
4.2 out of 5 stars
400 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#9,075 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
As Wright sees it, 'The Truth' of the human condition is to be found in natural selection, as described through evolutionary psychology in his early book The Moral Animal: Why We Are, the Way We Are: The New Science of Evolutionary Psychology. And he argues that this truth is uniquely addressed by 'The Way' of Buddhism, or at least naturalistic Buddhism. This 'secular Buddhism' is Buddhism without reincarnation, spirits or gods. Even the concept of complete or lasting enlightenment is held at arms length.Secular, naturalistic Buddhism rests on a few key ideas: the idea that people don't have an essential 'self' (no-self), the idea that dissatisfaction (dukkha) is caused by the 'hedonic treadmill' of pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of pain, and that meditation can help us to get off this treadmill. The philosophical approach is similar to that of Stephen Batchelor in Confession of a Buddhist Atheist and Secular Buddhism: Imagining the Dharma in an Uncertain World.There is a decidedly Gnostic bent to the writing here, right from the beginning, when the movie The Matrix is cited. Here natural selection is the process which holds us in a state of delusion, warps our perceptions of reality, prevents us from experiencing lasting contentment and satisfaction, and keeps us trapped on the hedonic treadmill. And secular-Buddhism is The Way (the 'red pill') that will liberate us from this endless drama of delusion and frustration. This view of evolution stands in marked contrast with that of Wright's previous book, The Evolution of God (Back Bay Readers' Pick), in which biological and cultural evolution are instead 'divine' processes by which the Good becomes manifest in the world. (The God-as-Evolution view is also that of the 'Integral' spirituality of Ken Wilber, Steve McIntosh, and others.)Part of this book is dedicated to showing that the key ideas of secular-Buddhism are scientifically true, through discussion of studies in psychology and neuroscience (an approach shared with Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion, by Sam Harris). This would be more convincing if the studies were cited as a way of evaluating Buddhism against competing theories of well-being, such as modern positive psychology, but the book generally avoids this type of direct comparison. This is reflective of the basic approach of secular-Buddhism: the concepts which don't find support in scientific studies, such as reincarnation, or lasting enlightenment, are abandoned or de-emphasized. Secular-Buddhism is reformulating Buddhism to be more consistent with modern psychology, a dynamic which complicates the question of whether science can be used to show that 'Buddhism is True'.Wright expands on the concept of 'no-self' by presenting a 'modular' model of the mind. The idea is that our mind is composed of modules with different goals, desires, and thought patterns. The modules jostle and compete with each other on the subconscious level. Only when one of them carries a sufficiently strong feeling, do we then become aware of its associated thought on a conscious level. While Wright finds some support for this modular model from the Insight Meditation school, and from psychological research, he formulates it through his own preferred perspective of evolutionary psychology (Darwinian competition within the subconscious mind). Interestingly, the model is extended to suggest how mindfulness can improve our 'self'-control, and to weaken the pull of indulgent or addictive behavior.One of the pleasures of The Evolution of God was its detailed historical examples of the ways in which the 'spiritual marketplace' of competing ideas, and the needs of merchants, kings, and rulers all influenced the development of ancient Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Wright could have also taken this approach with Buddhism, exploring how its history as the state religion of multiple empires has shaped its development over time and place. I was hoping for this, and am disappointed not to find it here. However, Wright instead manages to tackle some pretty subtle philosophical issues, such as the distinction between the Buddhist concept of 'emptiness' (sunyata) and Hindu non-dualism, in a manner that is unusually accessible. He enlivens the discussion with narrative accounts of past conversations and interviews.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.
Like the author, I also went on a ten-day Vipassana meditation retreat nearly twelve years ago. I had a similar experience. I did not last all ten days (I left after seven days - with permission from the teacher) because the commentary that accompanied the retreat was not satisfying the questions that were bubbling up in my mind. Since that time I have struggled to understand and articulate the central tenet of Buddhism - Emptiness. Like the author, I need explanations that are grounded in science and minimize jargon as much as possible. This book is a gift. (And I shall give this book as a gift to my friends and family.) If you are willing to learn and practice mindfulness meditation, reading this book may change your life. This is a tall claim - and I usually refrain from making big claims - but in this case I mean it. Wright uses his personal experience and his art of writing lucidly and eloquently (I also loved Wright’s The Moral Animal) to assimilate wisdom from evolutionary biology and psychology to make this book full of insights and wisdom. A gem.
Like several other reviewers, I found less in this book than is suggested by the title -- but I still found it an interesting and worthwhile book. First off, the "nots". Readers looking for a critical examination of Buddhism, one of the world's great religions, will not find it here. Instead, it examines one type of modern, non-secular Buddhism. Nor will they find a rigorous scientific examination of Buddhism even in that very narrow definition: Wright proposes interesting theories based on natural selections, but doesn't provide much in the way of evidence. So why interesting enough to bother with? Because Wright focuses on meditation as a way of trying to reduce the impact of unproductive patterns of thinking. He traces these patterns to natural selection, in a way which is plausible, if not supported by evidence. As a discussion of why meditation is helpful, I found the book useful. It is also well written and amusing, leaving me interested in reading other works by this author.
Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment, by Robert Wright PDF
Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment, by Robert Wright EPub
Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment, by Robert Wright Doc
Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment, by Robert Wright iBooks
Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment, by Robert Wright rtf
Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment, by Robert Wright Mobipocket
Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment, by Robert Wright Kindle
Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment, by Robert Wright PDF
Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment, by Robert Wright PDF
Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment, by Robert Wright PDF
Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment, by Robert Wright PDF
