Instead of a general overview, Wright writes about some of the more compelling/provocative areas of secular Buddhism. Most books on Buddhism cover the basics such as the branches of Buddhism, an explanation of the four noble truths, and the virtues of the eight-fold path. What was one of the most memorable moments of Why Buddhism Is True? Wright's explanation of subjects typically glossed over such as emptiness and non-self stood out for their clarity.

In either instance, however, the text flows easily as if having a conversation with a knowledgeable friend about a topic of mutual interest. Therefore, would suggest others choose the medium best suited for taking in information. One caveat: it's not a beginner's guide to Buddhism. Would you consider the audio edition of Why Buddhism Is True to be better than the print version? Having purchased and read/listened to both, consider them equal. 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. 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. 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. 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. And it is designed to make happiness hard to sustain.īut 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. The mind is designed to often delude us, he argued, about ourselves and about the world. Robert Wright famously explained in The Moral Animal how evolution shaped the human brain.

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.

Wright why buddhism is true