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  • Why Buddhism Is True

  • The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment
  • By: Robert Wright
  • Narrated by: Fred Sanders
  • Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (1,093 ratings)
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Why Buddhism Is True

By: Robert Wright
Narrated by: Fred Sanders
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Summary

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 discovering only now. Buddhism holds that human suffering is a result of not seeing the world clearly - and proposes that seeing the world more clearly, through meditation, will make us better, happier people.

In Why Buddhism Is True, Wright leads listeners 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.

©2017 Robert Wright. All rights reserved. (P)2017 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"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 best-selling author of Authentic Happiness)
"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, best-selling author of Quiet)
"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 best-selling author of Real Happiness)

What listeners say about Why Buddhism Is True

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One of the best books on secular Buddhism and it's relationship to natural selection and neuroscience

I would recommend this book to anyone interested how we are programmed towards dissatisfaction and suffering in this world and how Buddhism's solutions to this dilemma are backed up by modern science. An amazing, well written and read masterpiece.

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14 people found this helpful

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Thoughtful, thorough and inspiring...

À scientific exploration of secular Buddhism that leaves one in no doubt as to its validity. At times intellectually challenging, especially when endeavouring to unravel some of Buddhism's more paradoxical elements. But well worth persevering.

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7 people found this helpful

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Amazing

The problem with reading this book is that there is no book, and there is no you to read it. Robert Wright who wrote this book does not exist either. There is no dichotomy between Hinduism and Buddhism because neither of them exist. This book has carried me further along the path then any of the other books I've read. Pema Chodron Bhikkhu Bodhi, Chogyam Trungpa, Thich Nhat Hahn, Jack Kornfield, Michael Allen Singer, Byron Katie. Start with understanding what essentialism is. (I realise of course that there is no me and there is no path. )

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6 people found this helpful

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Good narrator, easy to follow

I really enjoyed this book, following the authors introduction and experience of meditation and sharing some of the science behind it.

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Brilliant Overview

Buddhism, given its very nature, can appear enigmatic and paradoxical. The writer explores the nature of the belief system, as well as his own gradual enlightenment over the course of many retreats.

This is a well-read and insightful book. Wright doesn't shy away from the philosophy, nor does he try to give a one-size-fits all approach. Though he clearly advocates what he sees to be the merits of mindfulness meditation, he leaves the choices with the reader, encouraging them to discover (or not) themselves.

I've read a lot of fluff in the subject, and this one is both accessible and substantial.

Recommended.

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Fantastic book, it will enlighten you!

I got so much out of this book. It synthesised so many ideas that I had wondered about through my own secular meditation practice and brought deeper meaning to them for me. I'm not a Buddhist, but I am spiritual, and this book was able to

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Loved this

I'm a regular mediator but had little understanding of Buddhism. I thought the author did an excellent job of putting across complex ideas with clarity, humility and humour.


I can't recommend this book highly enough.

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much better than title suggested

I nearly gave this a miss, expecting dry examples of lab studies that show benefits gained from meditation. luckily a friend recommended the book to me, and I am so pleased that he did. The author does a fantastic job of positioning natural selection as the boogyman who controls our lives, bringing to light research in psychology and evolutionary science. He then shows how Buddhism was ahead of the curve, identifying the same issues way before western science caught up... but also working on the solution - meditation.

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3 people found this helpful

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the case for everyone to benefit from meditation

the case for everyone to benefit from meditation to improve the lives of all of us put in a very clear and readable account. a must read for anyone who cares about there own and others wellbeing

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An entertaining read with excellent arguments!

Robert Wright's book examines Buddhism from a psychological and Darwinian perspective and finds it true!

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