The Original Buddhist Psychology cover art

The Original Buddhist Psychology

What the Abhidharma Tells Us About How We Think, Feel, and Experience Life

 Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

The Original Buddhist Psychology

By: Beth Jacobs Ph.D.
Narrated by: Margo Trueblood
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £16.99

Buy Now for £16.99

LIMITED TIME OFFER | £0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Premium Plus auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Terms apply.

About this listen

 Drawing on decades of experience, a psychotherapist and Zen practitioner makes the Abhidharma—the framework of Buddhist psychology—accessible to a general audience for the first time.

The Abhidharma, one of the 3 major text collections of the original Buddhist canon, explores the critical juncture of Buddhist thought and the therapeutic aspects of the religion and meditation. It frames the psychological system of Buddhism, explaining the workings of reality and the nature of the human mind.

Composed of detailed matrixes and lists that outline the interaction of consciousness and reality, The Abhidharma explores the essence of perception and experience, and the reasons and methods behind mindfulness and meditation.

Because of its complexity, the Abhidharma has traditionally been reserved only for academic or monastic study; now, for the first time, clinical psychologist Beth Jacobs makes this dynamic, important text and its teachings available to general readers, using practical explanation, personal stories, and vivid examples to gently untangle the technical aspects of the Abhidharma.

Jacobs’ work illuminates this classic of Buddhist thought, highlighting the ways it can broaden and deepen our experience of the human psyche and offering profound insights into spiritual practice. Buddhism Eastern Philosophy Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Herbal Remedy Meditation Mindfulness Buddhist Religion

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Roots of Buddhist Psychology cover art
Practical Zen cover art
Shōbōgenzō cover art
The Power of Letting Go cover art
The Lotus Sutra cover art
A Still Forest Pool: The Insight Meditation of Achaan Chah cover art
The Vimalakirti Sutra cover art
Progressive Stages of Meditation on Emptiness cover art
Being Human cover art
Principal Texts of the Khuddaka Nikāya, Volume 1 cover art
The Garden of Paradox cover art
The Noble Eightfold Path cover art
The Jewish Book of Life After Life cover art
The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha cover art
The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way cover art
Jhāna Consciousness cover art

Critic reviews

"Beth Jacobs has the kind of mind that absorbs Abhidharma information and structure, combined with a lifetime of eloquent writing and clinical skills as a psychologist. The result is a unique treasure of a book and contribution to the study of Buddhism and mind."
—Sojun Diane Martin, founding and guiding teacher, Udumbara Zen Center

"Jacobs' work here is unprecedented: for all of the popular literature on Buddhist thought and practice and its relationship to psychotherapy, no one has yet made the foundational Buddhist psychological sources—the Abhidharma—available to a non-academic audience. Jacobs is doing just that. The Abhidharma is notoriously difficult to understand, let alone master. But in weaving her personal experiences as a therapist and Zen student into her learned discussion of the Abhidharma psychology, Jacobs makes the Abhidharma come alive. Her examples are startlingly illustrative, her language is fresh and immediate, and her use of her personal story breathes life into what is often thought of as the driest of Buddhist texts."
—Joy Brennan, PhD, assistant professor of religious studies, Kenyon College

“Beth Jacobs not only reveals the essence of the complex and nuanced text of the Abhidharma but holds it lightly and turns it slowly so that we can see through it to a whole new view of ourselves and the world.”
—Polly Young-Eisendrath, PhD, author of The Present Heart: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Discovery

“A wonderfully unique, refreshing, and much-needed alternative to the seemingly dry, tedious, and endless lists that typify the vast Abhidharma literature. Beth Jacobs has given us a penetrating, thorough, and dynamically practical study, full of beautiful lived examples that clearly demonstrate everyday usefulness.”
—Seiso Paul Cooper, author of The Zen Impulse and the Psychoanalytic Encounter
All stars
Most relevant
What sets this work apart is its refusal to sanitize Buddhism for popular consumption. This book offers readers genuine insight into how Buddhist practitioners have understood the mind for over two millennia. The psychological sophistication here far exceeds the shallow self-help approach that characterizes so much contemporary Western Buddhist writing.

The author navigates the complex terrain of Buddhist psychology with scholarly precision while maintaining accessibility. Rather than reducing profound teachings to feel-good platitudes, the book engages seriously with concepts like the nature of consciousness, mental factors, and the intricate processes of perception and cognition as understood in classical Buddhist thought.

Buddhist Psychology Without the Fluff

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Beth Jacobs is no Jack Cornfield, but she has done her homework: she knows her stuff. And I loved trying to hear the wisdom and years of academic research that clearly went into this book. However, my Buddhist inclinations went out the window with the narration. Whoever it was, was so annoying. I knew we were in trouble when she quoted "Renee Maria Rilkee" (yes, the German poet, Raine Maria Rilke), and, throughout the whole recording referred to "cheedah" (that's 'citta' to you and me). I've had to learn to let go of my annoyance regarding the American pronunciation "Boooda", for "Buddha", but this time, I'm afraid it's yet another case of Audible not vetting their narrators, and allowing in people who simply can't be bothered to learn how to read and pronounce (specialist) words correctly. This applies equally to English readings of texts containing European words.

Beth Jacobs v Jack Cornfield?

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A truly masterful account of what, at first view, may seem profoundly complex. A brilliant minded author making clear a masterpiece of world literature and philosophy

A truly masterful understanding

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This book has been a great help in explaining the Abhidamma to a beginner like myself.

A very helpful explanation

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Nonsense to the average layperson...in my opinion. More confusing than helpful. Better books out there on this subject.

Confused?...you will be

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.