Why Buddhism is true the science and philosophy of meditation and enlightenment

At 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 g...

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Main Author: Wright, Robert, 1957- (Author)
Format: Books Print Book
Language: English
Published: New York, NY : Simon & Schuster, 2017.
Edition: First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition.
Subjects:
Summary: At 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. Robert Wright not only shows how taking this promise seriously can change your life -- how it can loosen the grip of anxiety, regret, and hatred -- but also how it can deepen your appreciation of beauty and of other people. Drawing on the latest in neuroscience and psychology, Wright explains why the path toward truth and the path toward happiness are the same path. In the light of modern science, both the Buddhist diagnosis and the Buddhist prescription make a whole new kind of sense. This book is the culmination of a personal journey that began with Wright's 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. It shows how, in a time of technological distraction and social division, we can save ourselves from ourselves, both as individuals and as a species.
Physical Description: xii, 321 pages ; 24 cm
Bibliography: Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN: 9781439195451
1439195455
Author Notes: 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.