Why Buddhism is True

Posted on 25 August 2018 by Robert Wright

From one of America s greatest minds, a journey through psychology, philosophy, and lots of meditation to show how Buddhism holds the key to moral clarity and enduring happiness.Robert Wright famously explained in The Moral Animal how evolution shaped the human brain The mind is designed to often delude us, he argued, about ourselves and about the world And it is designed to make happiness hard to sustain.But if we know our minds are rigged for anxiety, depression, anger, and greed, what do we do Wright locates the answer in Buddhism, which figured out thousands of years ago what scientists are only discovering now Buddhism holds that human suffering is a result of not seeing the world clearly and proposes that seeing the world clearly, through meditation, will make us better, happier people.In Why Buddhism is True, Wright leads readers on a journey through psychology, philosophy, and a great many silent retreats to show how and why meditation can serve as the foundation for a spiritual life in a secular age At once excitingly ambitious and wittily accessible, this is the first book to combine evolutionary psychology with cutting edge neuroscience to defend the radical claims at the heart of Buddhist philosophy With bracing honesty and fierce wisdom, it will persuade you not just that Buddhism is true which is to say, a way out of our delusion but that it can ultimately save us from ourselves, as individuals and as a species. Best Read Why Buddhism is True By Robert Wright For Kindle ePUB or eBook – kino-fada.fr The problem with introspection is that it has no endPhilip K DickFor years I ve told people I was a Zen Mormon More as a way to squirm into the edges of LDS cosmology, and less because I was practicing anything really approaching a hybrid of Buddhism and Mormonism But I ve always been attracted to Buddhism, like many Westerners before me I m thinking of Herman Hesse, W Somerset Maugham, Jack Kerouac, and Peter Matthiessen I ve always been attracted to the intersection of cultures, phThe problem with introspection is that it has no endPhilip K DickFor years I ve told people I was a Zen Mormon More as a way to squirm into the edges of LDS cosmology, and less because I was practicing anything really approaching a hybrid of Buddhism and Mormonism But I ve always been attracted to Buddhism, like many Westerners before me I m thinking of Herman Hesse, W Somerset Maugham, Jack Kerouac, and Peter Matthiessen I ve always been attracted to the intersection of cultures, philosophies, etc So, I guess it is natural for me to be attracted if somewhat lazily to Western Buddhism, Zen gardens, and the potential of mediation.I m also a big, nerdy fan of Robert Wright I ve read most of his books It is probably easier to just post the one book of his I haven t read, rather than list the ones I have I enjoy Wright s evolution from Evolutionary Psychology to Buddhist writings I think the premise of Wright s book is mostly correct There is something that evolution has burdoned us with, that ...A faraccurate title for this book would be Why Mindfulness Meditation is Good For as Wright who does not consider himself a Buddhist admits, he is not really here to talk about any form of traditional Buddhism He does not even present a strictly orthodox view of any secular, Western variety of Buddhism Instead, this is a rather selective interpretation of some Buddhist doctrines in the light of evolutionary psychology.Wright s essential message is that the evolutionary process that sh A faraccurate title for this book would be Why Mindfulness Meditation is Good For as Wright who does not consider himself a Buddhist admits, he is not really here to talk about any form of traditional Buddhism He does not even present a strictly orthodox view of any secular, Western variety of Buddhism Instead, this is a rather selective interpretation of some Buddhist doctrines in the light of evolutionary psychology.Wright s essential message is that the evolutionary process that shaped the human brain did not adequately program us for life in the modern world and that mindfulness meditation can help to correct this bad programming.The first of these claims is fairly uncontroversial To give an obvious example, our love of salt, beneficial when sodium was hard to come by in natural products, has become maladaptive in the modern world where salt is cheap and plentiful Our emotions, too, can misfire nowadays Caring deeply that people have ...I ve read every book Wright s written and all have been fantastic This is my favorite It s the perfect book for the cultural moment we re in Forget the title it s misleading The book is a nice primer on meditation and evolutionary theory with some helpful insights Basically, our brains are not wired for peace and happiness only to propel our genes forward There s a yearning forprogrammed into us and the only antidote is mindfulness meditation I ve read a ton of evolutionary theory I ve read every book Wright s written and all have been fantastic This is my favorite It s the perfect book for the...This is a truly remarkable, fantastic book It is one of those rare volumes that will turn your head inside out and leave you seeing the world differently, not because he or it is extreme, but because reality is extreme he is sewing together science and philosophy and offering readers a breathtaking tapestry for their consideration Briefly, his argument is that our minds are populated by evolved psychological adaptations that were naturally selected for their adaptive utility, NOT for seeing This is a truly r...Neither scientific, nor philosophical, nor in fact, enlightened, this book is the perfect example of facile thinking You will say, I won t deal with the supernatural part of a religion, god, reincarnation and karma etc., but will riff only about what you like mindfulness practice that helped you out of your southern baptist metaphysical prejudices You will not question one iota of the theory of evolutionary psychology, or darwinism in general and claim that the buddhism you prefer is consist Neither scientific, nor philosophical, nor in fact, enlightened, this book is the perfect example of facile thinking You will say, I won t deal with the supernatural part of a religion, god, reincarnation and karma etc., but will riff only about what yo...In book titles, the sub title after the title is a popular but often unnecessary thing In this case, it s necessary Why Buddhism Is True is very much indeed about The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment Especially the science Or so it struck me, who at times grew impatient with the science aspect Frankly, I was muchengaged by the Buddhism part of the book Wright s experiences, chiefly, and his attempts in Buddhism, there can be nothing but attempts to explain the In book titles, the sub title after the title is a popular but often unnecessary thing In this case, it s necessary Why Buddhism Is True is very much indeed about The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment Especially the science Or so it struck me, who at times grew impatient with the science aspect Frankly, I was muchengaged by the Buddhism part of the book Wright s experiences, chiefly, and his attempts in Buddhism, there can be nothing but attempts to explain the religion which isn t a religion so much as a paradox.Speaking of, if you read this book, prepare for the paradoxical Not even Buddhists can agree on Buddhism and I m...Growing up I always had a problem reading philosophy books, which often seemed to be written in a way that made them deliberately obtuse and inaccessible For that reason I was really glad when I discovered the writing of Will Durant, an early 20th century writer who became popular for revisiting the arguments of the great ph...For the first time ever, as soon as I finished this book, I returned to the beginning and began it again.Even if this book has its occasional thought provoking moment, my overwhelming reaction is shock at how slipshod and fluffy the writing is It seems as if Wright submitted a rough draft to make some quick cash Why waste time on an editor just throw a goldfish on the cover and wait for the Whole Foods goers to take our their mandala adorned hemp wallets A promising book was undermined by Wright s unwillingness to do research or teach himself about Buddhism or anthropology.Instead, he often t Even if this book has its occasional thought provoking moment, my overwhelming reaction is shock at how slipshod and fluffy the writing is It seems as if Wright submitted a rough draft to make some quick cash Why waste time on an editor just throw a goldfish ...62nd book of 2017.I imagine the author at a diner party, demanding complete attention from those present, while he describes at length being at an intense macho meditation retreat in the Maine woods, having the unfortunate luck of sitting next to a fat flatulent person Telling all present very seriously that he s not the sort of person who is OK with flatulence, especially from other people, especially if they are fat, but because of his very serious but also very modest attempts at mediation 62nd book of 2017.I imagine the author at a diner party, demanding complete attention from those present, while he describes at length being at an intense macho meditation retreat in the Maine woods, having the unfortunate luck of sitting next to a fat flatulent person Telling all present very seriously that he s not the sort of person who is OK with flatulence, especially from other people, especially if they are fat, but because of his very serious but also very modest attempts at mediation he was able to step back from his intense hatred of the person sitting next to him, and was able to experience the beauty of each particular fart in turn, smelling different notes, and if not loving them, at least seeing their beauty for wha...

English
25 August 2018

Robert Wright