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Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Enlightenment

Robert Wright

4.05 · Rating details · 4,560 Ratings · 578 Reviews

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 designe ...more

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Audiobook, 336 pages

Published August 8th 2017 by Simon Schuster Audio (first published 2017)

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Aug 13, 2017 Darwin8u rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2017, religion

“The problem with introspection is that it has no end.”
― Philip K. Dick

description

For 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, ph ...more

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Jan 23, 2018 Roy Lotz rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: misanthropology, orientalism, religion-mysticism-theology

A far more accurate 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 ...more

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Aug 11, 2017 Mehrsa rated it it was amazing

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 for more programmed into us and the only antidote is mindfulness meditation. I've read a ton of evolutionary theory ...more

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Aug 07, 2017 Brian Bergstrom rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

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 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 the world objectively. And especially when it comes to our feelings and emotions, our minds often saddle us with perceptual and conceptual distortions that lead to unnecessary suffering. This state of affairs, as revealed by psychological science, aligns well with Buddhist renderings of the human predicament, and (even more remarkably) psychological science is also showing that the Buddhist prescription of mindfulness meditation can indeed help alleviate much of this suffering. Mindfulness meditation works as a kind of cognitive exercise (a kind of mental resistance training), that over time affords us distance from the tumultuous workings of our mind and allows us to see things more clearly (which often drains anxiety and anger of their motivational power) and helps foster our ability to chart where our mind goes next. Not only does mindful distance get us closer to the Truth (or at least further from delusion), but Wright argues that it can also bring us closer to moral truth, enhancing our capacity for responding in idealistically ethical ways.

And that's just scratching the surface. The deeper details, duly contemplated, will leave readers enchanted (head often spinning, occasionally agitated). Robert Wright has always had a keen ability to integrate disparate ideas in science and philosophy (stepping back to view things in wider perspective than the original scientists whose work he builds upon) and this book is a gem that will not disappoint those who enjoyed his earlier books (e.g. The Moral Animal, Nonzero, The Evolution of God), especially his dry wit, everyday-guy accessibility, pragmatic reasoning, and clear writing.

As a psychology professor who teaches courses in evolutionary psychology, neuroscience, and psychology of religion, I'm in something of a unique position to review the work. Certainly I can say that Wright's command of the subject matter, ranging from evolutionary psychology to abstruse Buddhist philosophy, is excellent. (Experts in those fields will find details to quibble about, of course, but Wright does his homework and--to his credit--modestly concedes that his interpretations are his own best renderings. And they are good renderings.)

I think everyone should read this wonderful and important book. I worry that many will be put off by the title alone. I worry that those conversant with the subtleties of Buddhist thought will not invest the time and effort to grapple with the subtleties of psychological science and evolutionary biology (and vice versa). It IS a book that, I think, requires more of a cognitive commitment from readers than others. But it will reward all who do. Whether readers come away in general agreement with Wright or not, I don't think it is possible to read the book and come away WITHOUT a better understanding of yourself and a better appreciation what it means to be human. That alone makes it an engine of insight.

(Thank you to NetGalley for the advance review copy!) ...more

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Aug 26, 2017 Toto rated it did not like it

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 ...more

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Oct 09, 2017 Ken rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: finished-in-2017, contemporary, philosophy-religion

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 much more engaged 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 ...more

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Oct 31, 2017 Murtaza rated it really liked it

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 philosophers in a clear and unpretentious language. It struck me as a very American thing to do, and I think with this book Robert Wright does much the same thing with Buddhis 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 philosophers in a clear and unpretentious language. It struck me as a very American thing to do, and I think with this book Robert Wright does much the same thing with Buddhist philosophy.

The book traces through the core teachings of Buddhism and how they relate to evolutionary biology, which is Wright's area of expertise. Many of our ingrained yet seemingly irrational social behaviors (i.e. flying into a rage while driving, gorging on sweets past the point of hunger) are evolutionary remnants from the time we lived as hunter-gatherers or in small tribes. While once useful these behaviors and feelings are not actually good for us today living in a modern society, nor are they good for what evolutionary biology gears us towards: protecting and spreading our own genes. Since feelings are in some sense a means of getting us to do what's good for us, these behaviors and emotions could be said to correspond to what Buddhists call "false" feelings. This was an interesting hypothesis and is clearly a product of Wright's own expertise in this field.

Much of the book also deals with Wright's own journey as a Buddhist, and he provides many helpful tips about both meditation and mindfulness. Among these are:

1) Consciously recognizing that your mind is wandering during meditation is actually a good thing, because it shows that you aware of the moment, which is the first step towards mindfulness.

2) Rather than you creating them, "thoughts think themselves" in your mind. They try to draw you into embracing them, but you are neither their slave or master. Once you become aware of that, it is easier to dismiss the ones you don't want or that are harmful to you. For example: frivolous thoughts during meditation or anxious ones when you have no reason to be unhappy.

3) Accepting and analyzing your feelings or temptations about something are a means of truly "owning" them and then deciding whether you want to accept them or not (again, you don't have to).

4) Declining to satisfy your temptations is a means of reducing their hold over you in the long term, as it gradually weakens the temptation-reward circuit in your brain.

Wright also briefly discusses some of the more blissful and you could say "supernatural" experiences that he has had while on the Buddhist path. Like writing about how a piece of cake tastes to someone who has never eaten one, this is a difficult thing to do and in a sense it is not really possible to convey in text to someone a thing that they just have to experience. He seems to be aware of this and the book is written in full humility about the limitations of text. It was interesting to me to contrast some of the teachings of Sufism, which I'm more familiar with, with the ideas that animate Buddhist meditation. While there are areas of crossover and perhaps the ending point is similar, I think that they are genuinely different paths.

All in all this was a rewarding book and the product of a deeply humane and thoughtful mind. ...more

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Nov 18, 2017 Shilpi Gowda rated it it was amazing

For the first time ever, as soon as I finished this book, I returned to the beginning and began it again.

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Oct 02, 2017 Indran Fernando rated it did not like it

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 ...more

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Sep 29, 2017 Radiantflux rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, self-help, spirituality

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 ...more

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Oct 11, 2017 Ross Blocher rated it really liked it

I've been interested in many of Robert Wright's other books, but this is the first one I've read. The title is misleading (and perhaps nonsensical?), but there's plenty of interesting reflection here on the benefits of mindfulness meditation, both in terms of personal health and wellbeing, and in better understanding the nature of self and the universe in ways consistent with what scientific discovery has revealed on those subjects. It is in THAT sense that Buddhism is "true", and Wright hastens I've been interested in many of Robert Wright's other books, but this is the first one I've read. The title is misleading (and perhaps nonsensical?), but there's plenty of interesting reflection here on the benefits of mindfulness meditation, both in terms of personal health and wellbeing, and in better understanding the nature of self and the universe in ways consistent with what scientific discovery has revealed on those subjects. It is in THAT sense that Buddhism is "true", and Wright hastens to separate secular Buddhism from the metaphysical claims and figures (such as Mara, the demonic deceiver) that attend some strains of Buddhism. I feel it is strange to label any belief system as "true" or "false", terms better suited to describing individual claims.

Wright shares his own stories from various retreats, personal experience, and discussions with sage practitioners. There's a LOT of repetition here, which can prove boring, but the book is punctuated by moments of profundity that could be collated into a much shorter work of greater impact. It didn't help that I was already convinced of the thesis, which is that a habit of introspection and contemplation offers many important benefits (and Buddhism has a long and impressive history of presenting the best methods for fueling that habit). Taking the time to inspect one's thoughts, to realize we are but temporary collections of atoms, and to see there is no self... directly improves one's grasp of reality and sense of humility. Adding a filter of detachment and examination of one's emotions provides an extra beat before reacting. This one habit allows a chance to assume the best in others, to put yourself in their shoes, and to reconsider passionate or angry responses that might prove ineffective.

An expert on evolution and morality, Wright spends a lot of time exploring how natural selection has primed us with certain behaviors. He looks at many pre-programmed urges in turn, and demonstrates how they've been co-opted in ways that no longer improve our reproductive success, yet still rule our habits and interactions. Meditation can be a great tool for examining those motivations and resisting them where they are unhelpful. There are mentions here and there of brain studies that buttress these findings, though not as many as I might have expected.

There are a lot of terms related to meditation practice: schools of thought and names of techniques that I must confess have not stayed in my head. Part of it is that I heard them pronounced on the audio book, but did not see how they are spelled. The other part is that I have a hard time engaging with these other-language terms because I fear I could only employ them superficially or incompletely. That's purely my fault - I can't blame the book for that. Throughout, Wright is self-deprecating and makes clear that his years of mindfulness study have only equipped him enough to be dangerous, but nods toward the findings of advanced practitioners. I'll admit a certain level of skepticism toward those claims, and the utility of such extensive withdrawal from society, but I can't fault those who have devoted years to internal searching. There are far more harmful things they could be doing, and the world could use a lot more introspection and awareness right now. Not less.

I was about to give this three stars, but realized I was docking it mainly for the soporific narration in the audio book, which is how I consumed this. That was the longest 10 1/2 hours of my life, and I've done Scientology auditing. I had to frequently rewind to figure out where I'd left off before my mind had started wandering. Robert Wright would remind me to use that as an opportunity to examine my thoughts question the nature of the sensation of "boredom". ...more

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Aug 28, 2017 Richard rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ebook, nonfiction, philosophy, cognition

I’d strongly recommend this for anyone curious about meditation, specifically the Buddhist Vipassanā “mindfulness” meditation that everyone and their dog is doing, attempting, or at least talking about.

What Robert Wright provides is the very welcome examination of the scientific basis of the claims and practice. Wright is a journalist so deeply embedded in cognitive science that he has taught in the philosophy department at Princeton and the psychology department at the University of Pennsylvani ...more

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Aug 26, 2017 MGMaudlin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2017

I was a huge fan of Wright's EVOLUTION OF GOD where he tracked the progress in humanity's idea of God from an evolutionary paradigm. That is why I was surprised by his new book: In what sense did he mean Buddhism is "true"? Well, he is still a naturalist but he has discovered that Buddhism has done the best job of describing the human problem and how to transcend our natural states and live happier, more peaceful lives--namely, through the practice of meditation. He even has some eschatological ...more

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Aug 09, 2017 Sarah marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: how-to-live, nonfiction

Interview with the author on Fresh Air:
http://www.npr.org/sections/health-sh...

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Oct 16, 2017 Shaina Robbins rated it it was ok

Shelves: audiobooks, 2017-adult-releases, mental-health

It took me a while to put my finger on why I found this book irritating, but I think I've figured it out. I LOVE self help books based on scientific and psychological research, ones that cite a lot of studies and academic papers. I HATE self help books based on the personal opinions and philosophical musings of the author.

Based on reviews and descriptions of WHY BUDDHISM IS TRUE, I thought it would be the former, when it was in fact the latter.

I also felt like the author only made about five ma ...more

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Jan 29, 2018 Holly rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2018-reads, audio

I started out skeptical, but once I realized what Wright was doing here I became very interested, sometimes fascinated. He's well-known as a sort of irascible atheistic moralist (The Moral Animal, The Evolution of God, etc.) and so maybe not someone I'd have expected to dive into mindfulness meditation, but in fact he's been practicing since 2003 and here he shares observations on his own experiences and then applies evolutionary psychology and cognitive neuroscience to understanding the meditat ...more

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Aug 30, 2017 Billie Pritchett rated it liked it

Shelves: nonfiction, religion, buddhism

I listened to Robert Wright's Why Buddhism Is True in audiobook format. I'm glad I did. It's a good work. What Wright does in the book is argue for the major tenants and practices of Buddhism insofar as they help us with the tendencies we've been endowed with through natural selection. For example, anger as an emotion may have served our species inasmuch as it helped propagate our genes, but it does very little for us in the modern world. It might be more useful to adopt some of the meditative p ...more

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Sep 24, 2017 Tom Grover rated it it was amazing

Shelves: religion, buddhism, science

This book is essentially an introduction to secular Buddhism. The emphasis on the utilizing Buddhist ideas and practice to recognize the distortions in our perception of reality both inwardly and outwardly. The book covers several core Buddhist ideas, however, it doesn't actually spend much time with the mechanics of meditation practice. I would recommend that before anyone read this book, they learn and try a little meditation practice. It will help provide context for the concepts the author t ...more

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Mar 17, 2018 Vinit Nayak rated it really liked it

Very insightful and raises very good discussion questions.
As expected with a book of this kind, you have to go in w/ an open mind.

More important TL;DRs:
Feelings are very central and important to humans. They’ve been put in place by evolution to get us to where we are today. However, because we far outpaced the rate of evolution, they are now out-of-place and misinterpreted. Feelings aren’t “bad”, they do still provide us with many quick judgements that we wouldn’t be able to make at the consciou ...more

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May 23, 2018 Mondo rated it it was ok

I think I may not have been the target audience for this one. Only part I enjoyed or found particularly interesting or useful were quotes by other authors. Still glad I read it though.

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Sep 25, 2017 Socraticgadfly rated it did not like it

Shelves: bs-pabluim, religious-study-theology

Wrong from the title on

Ignore the blurbs, it’s still a bad book

There are several reasons for that.

First, IMO, Wright is overrated. I rated “The Evolution of God” as a one-star. This one had a chance to get lucky, even though it was starting minus 1 star due to the title alone. That title, and ding, along with puffery from too many others, though, cost it that chance to do better.

Now, within specific reasons it’s a bad book.

First, ev psych isn’t nearly as true as Wright claims. And, as I said in ...more

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Sep 12, 2017 Dan Graser rated it it was ok · review of another edition

A bit of an extended throat-clearing before I explain rating a book by an author who I hold in very high esteem with a measly 2 stars:
1) I absolutely was enthralled with Robert Wright's, "The Moral Animal," and I think any animal wishing to understand morality should read it.
2) I am not a Buddhist but I have studied meditation extensively and read nearly all of the Buddha's writings, a particular treat was the Glenn Wallis edition of The Dhammapada.
3) Though a skeptic myself, I enjoy engaging wi A bit of an extended throat-clearing before I explain rating a book by an author who I hold in very high esteem with a measly 2 stars:
1) I absolutely was enthralled with Robert Wright's, "The Moral Animal," and I think any animal wishing to understand morality should read it.
2) I am not a Buddhist but I have studied meditation extensively and read nearly all of the Buddha's writings, a particular treat was the Glenn Wallis edition of The Dhammapada.
3) Though a skeptic myself, I enjoy engaging with arguments for various faiths especially when presented by scholars such as Wright.

Unfortunately, he very quickly - I'm talking on page one of the intro - explicitly states that he is not going to try to prove that Buddhism is true. Normally it's considered picking the low-hanging fruit to harp on the title but since Wright states several times that he himself chose the title I consider it fair game. What Wright is trying to prove is that a secular form of Vipassana meditation can have positive effects on your world-view and psychological make-up, without any of the supernatural baggage that comes along with it. Also, towards the end of the work, he admits and explains that he isn't a Buddhist and isn't seeking genuine enlightenment ("genuine" here meaning applicable to religious practice of Buddhism, not secular meditation). Hopefully you can see an issue with this...

His argument centers around similarities between suggestions from Buddhist teachings on the mind and recent modular theories of psychology, or more accurately represented, "domain-specific psychological mechanisms." These connections are mostly tenuous at best and a crash-course through Hume's philosophy of emotions is embarrassingly weak and unnecessary.

If you have access to the book I would recommend skipping right to the Appendix as here he spells out in great clarity what he means with several terms relating to Buddhism as a religion that he is using in a secular context throughout the preceding 300 pages. Also it contains a cogent summary of his position, unsupported as it is:
"We are animals are created by natural selection. Natural selection built into our brains the tendencies that early Buddhist thinkers did a pretty amazing job of sizing up, given the meager scientific resources at their disposal. Now, in light of the modern understanding of natural selections and modern understanding of the human brain that natural selection produced, we can provide a new kind of defense of this sizing up."

In my opinion this isn't even close to meeting any conceivable standard of proof or even argument for the book's title, Why Buddhism is True. Sadly I think this is one to be ignored, read his paradigm shifting work of evolutionary psychology, "The Moral Animal." ...more

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Dec 11, 2017 Joab Jackson rated it it was amazing

We may think we see the world around us clearly, but our view is distorted by the powerfully magnetic influence of natural selection – the insistent push from our genes to see everything in terms of passing them on to the new generation. “Natural selection didn’t design your mind to see the world clearly. It designed your mind to have perceptions and beliefs that would help take care of your genes,” Wright writes.

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Dec 27, 2017 Robyn Hammontree rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This was excellent. I’ve read a lot of books this year, and this was, by far, the most intellectually stimulating. I highly recommend it if you’re into books/apps like Headspace, but are wondering about deeper, more psychological and philosophical aspects of meditative and mindfulness practices. It’s not a book you can read quickly, and you shouldn’t try. By nature, it asks you to stop, think, and contemplate how these things relate to you. I’m sure the things I’ve learned from these pages will ...more

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Jun 01, 2018 Morgan Blackledge rated it really liked it

This is Robert Wright’s attempt to square the insights and outcomes of Buddhist practices and philosophy with evolutionary psychology.

The book is confused and confusing at times. But that’s mostly because Buddhism is pretty confused and confusing when you press down hard on some of its key constructs.

That being said. Write is honest about his areas of confusion and does a more than admirable job of exploring and resolving the dissonance over the course of the book.

Ultimately, Write’s basic arg ...more

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Aug 18, 2017 Domenic Molinaro rated it really liked it

I've given this 5 stars because it is the first book that I have come across that so neatly and persuasively links together the big ideas of buddhist thought and modern understanding of psychology and neuroscience. I've read great books that focus extensively on Buddhist logic with examples peppered throughout of corroboration with modern neuroscience (Rodney Smith's "Stepping Out of Self-Deception: The Buddha's Liberating Teaching of No-Self) or books that deconstruct Buddhist ideas using a rig I've given this 5 stars because it is the first book that I have come across that so neatly and persuasively links together the big ideas of buddhist thought and modern understanding of psychology and neuroscience. I've read great books that focus extensively on Buddhist logic with examples peppered throughout of corroboration with modern neuroscience (Rodney Smith's "Stepping Out of Self-Deception: The Buddha's Liberating Teaching of No-Self) or books that deconstruct Buddhist ideas using a rigorous empirical approach (Stephen Batchelor's "Alone With Others") or books about neuroscience that implicitly underline specific ideas within Buddhism (Robert Kurzban's "Why Everyone Else is a Hypocrite: Evolution and the Modular Mind") but nothing that is (at least to my knowledge) as single-minded in the synthesis of both fields as this new book by Robert Wright. So in that sense, it is an important book in my view.

The idea underpinning the book is that feelings have been utilized by natural selection as levers in which to push and pull us towards its ends (genetic proliferation), either towards things that are 'good' for us or away from things that are 'bad' for us, and that mindfulness meditation can help loosen the grip that these feelings have on us. It goes into the myriad ways in which these feelings give us inaccurate perceptions of the world and by extension guide us in ways that make us suffer, and offers real world experimental counterparts that give a clearer picture. For example, the tendency to anticipate a much more enduring sense of satisfaction from the attainment of goals than what actually occurs upon attainment of the goal is presented alongside a study of dopamine generation in primates where much more dopamine was produced in anticipation of fruit juice (association of a light being turned on with receiving juice) than when the juice was actually given to them. It makes sense from natural selection's perspective to program this sort of illusion into us, as resources need to be acquired to keep the gene-vehicle running and if what is 'out there' always seems better to us than what we already have, then we will try to keep acquiring new things. The 'good' feeling of of anticipation is a lever used to push us towards a new perceived resource, and the 'bad' feeling of dissatisfaction upon attainment is to keep us on the hedonic treadmill. This idea of craving leading to suffering is right in line with buddhist doctrines, as Wright lays out. And more importantly the teaching that mindfulness meditation can be effective in getting distance from your feelings and therefore more freedom in choosing which, if any, to follow. It seems that simply learning to focus on feelings themselves can dissolve their power in some fundamental way. As if our very ignorance of their presence or the circumstances in which they manifest is a core component that lets the levers do their work.

There are numerous examples in the book that go into different aspects of buddhist doctrines and seamlessly ties them to current findings. The feeling certain things in the world are imbued with a particular essence is another delusion that is is dealt with at length with experimental examples (among others: expensive wine labels giving a "good essence" to wine 'experts' in comparison to an identical wine sans label) and compared to buddhist ideas about emptiness. The stories we attach to things, and the accompanying feelings, drastically affect our judgment.

Outside of just experimental examples he goes into some detail with brain scans and which areas of the brain are activated for which impulses, and so on. It all helps to give a backbone to the arguments presented and make them altogether unassailable or at least very difficult to deny.

Perhaps the most powerful section of the book is the area about the modular view of the mind. The buddhist doctrine of no-self is perhaps one the most difficult to apprehend and integrate into practice and Mr. Wright meticulously details the history of the teaching as well as the nuts and bolts of it. He also expounds about how current neuroscience supports the claim, specifically the landmark 'Split-Brain Experiment' which casts serious doubt as to whether an "I" exists as perceived and suggests that the sense of self is, to borrow the analogy, more of a Public Representative than a CEO.

Wright intersperses the science and the rigorous appraisal of doctrine with his own experiential anecdotes of meditation and the evolution of his relationship with his feelings. The book is both parts descriptive and prescriptive in how a clearer relationship with our feelings can lead us to greater moral truth (dispelling the myth of our specialness in relation to others, for one). The prescriptive part may turn some people off, but I found it to be compelling and inspiring. There is a whole transcendent aspect of rising above natural selection's aims that permeates the book, and a call to arms using mindfulness as an entry point. The world is in a sorry state, and as effective as evolution has been to get us to this point of global integration, it now threatens to overwhelm. Higher cognizance of our situation is needed, and especially the delusions we operate under. We have to get distance from our feelings first, which is natural selection's primary tool for fostering delusion, and as Wright forcefully demonstrates mindfulness is a direct path to doing so. As liberating as the prospect of having a more objective relationship with your feelings and the world around you may seem, it can be hard to catalyze motivation without convincing evidence. Robert Wright's book offers such evidence and is an important dissemination of the 'radical' ideas of buddhism and modern neuroscience and what they tell us about our condition and how they can help us overturn our creator. ...more

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Apr 17, 2018 Vannessa Anderson rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: atheism-religion

Why Buddhism Is True was an interesting read with a lot of useful information if you lean towards Buddhism.

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Sep 27, 2017 Tadeas Petak rated it it was amazing

A good friend of mine suggested this book for a book circle, which was awesome, as it made me read it a bit more thoroughly than I would have otherwise. Given the topic, showing that modern psychology corroborates buddhism and its theories, it is a very good idea to be paying attention.

First things first. If you find the title of the book off-putting, don’t despair. The author goes out of his way to explain why he chose it and multiple times states that he realises how bold of a statement this i A good friend of mine suggested this book for a book circle, which was awesome, as it made me read it a bit more thoroughly than I would have otherwise. Given the topic, showing that modern psychology corroborates buddhism and its theories, it is a very good idea to be paying attention.

First things first. If you find the title of the book off-putting, don’t despair. The author goes out of his way to explain why he chose it and multiple times states that he realises how bold of a statement this is. Anyway, with the out of the way: the book is wicked.

Here’s what I would like to carry around with me having read this:

- Natural selection favours genes being transfered to the next generation, not seeing the world clearly. Often, seeing the world objectively is actually at odds with DNA preservation. If you realise you’re really only as important as everybody else, that could be detrimental for your DNA, especially when compared to you being the centre of the universe, right? This results in an abundance of illusions causing all sorts of afflictions to human beings.
- We tend to expect more satisfaction from achieving goals than will in reality transpire. I remember reading a study on dopamine release that showed that the vast majority of this chemical is in fact released during the anticipatory phase rather than after achieving that whatever (eating, having sex, …). This often results in dukkha, "suffering" or "unsatisfactoriness", i.e. being unhappy about the state of events, wanting more, i.e. tanha, which then causes more dukkha. Yay.
- Our understanding of "self" is very misleading indeed. Most of us tend to embrace feelings and thoughts as our own and anything outside our skin as foreign. Looking at the mind as a set of modules (my favourite chapter in the book!) enables as to appreciate the reality: there is no single self. Rather, there is a collection of overlapping modules specialised in dealing with concrete domains activated by emotions. That role of conscious self is then to observe whatever bubbles up, possibly do some analysis (although independent thinking would be taking it too far), send that information down and then let the modules grapple to make a decision manifested in our actions or ensuing conscious thoughts bubbling up.
- I love the idea that the conscious self is really only a marketing manager: My guess is that the reason your conscious mind observes the debate, including the winning rationale, is so that if someone ever asks you why you did x, y, or z, you’ll be able to cite a plausible rationale. I mean, gosh, if this is the case, how different should our attitude towards our selves be?
- The author explores two versions of non-self experience: interior and exterior. Interior means not identifying with your feelings and thoughts, while exterior refers to us identifying more with anything coming from the outside. Ultimately then, you would end up not distinguishing between the two, at least not emotionally. It’s obvious how dealing with negative emotions would become way easier then, as they would be as much part of you as if they were coming from someone else.
- We perceive things to have an inherent "essence", which is, most likely, natural selection’s way of assigning emotional significance important for our survival. Of course, this can be extremely misleading in many cases and escaping this perceptual construct can help e.g. eradicate contrived borders between groups of people.

The point of mindfulness meditation then is to allow us to see this (more) clearly, understand all these facts not only intellectually but also experientially. By taking a step back, we can take the wind out of emotions’ sails and be more in charge of how we react and who we are.

Some of my favourite quotes from the book can be found here. ...more

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Feb 25, 2018 Dolly rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: people who want to learn more about Buddhism

Shelves: 2018, audiobook, nonfiction, religion-philosophy, science, new-england, read-but-not-finished-reviewing

The author explains the truth of Buddhism, using evolutionary psychology, natural selection, and scientific empiricism.

I was very engaged throughout the book and Fred Sanders does a very capable job narrating it. I was frustrated when I got to within an hour or so of the end of the book and realized that it was about to expire. I put it back on hold, but I had to wait several weeks before I could borrow it again.

Mindfulness - to pay attention to what's happening in the here and now...but wait - The author explains the truth of Buddhism, using evolutionary psychology, natural selection, and scientific empiricism.

I was very engaged throughout the book and Fred Sanders does a very capable job narrating it. I was frustrated when I got to within an hour or so of the end of the book and realized that it was about to expire. I put it back on hold, but I had to wait several weeks before I could borrow it again.

Mindfulness - to pay attention to what's happening in the here and now...but wait - there's more.

interesting quotes (page numbers from hardcover edition with ISBN13 9781439195451):

"Being a product of evolution is by no means entirely a story of enslavement and delusion. Our evolved brains empower us in many ways and they often bless us with a basically accurate view of reality.
Still, ultimately, natural selection cares about only one thing, (or I should say 'cares,' - in quotes - about only one thing, since natural selection is a just a blind process, not a conscious designer.) And that one thing is getting genes into the next generation." (p. 3)

"Our brains are designed to, among other things, delude us.
Not that there's anything wrong with that!" (p. 4)

"Natural selection doesn't 'want' us to be happy, after all; it just wants us to be productive, in its narrow sense of of productive. And the way to make us productive is to make the anticipation of pleasure very strong, but the pleasure itself not very long-lasting." (p. 8)

"I'm not aware of any bestselling books on mindfulness meditation called 'Stop and Smell the Feces.'" (p. 12)

"My mother used to say, 'We wouldn't spend so much time worrying about what other people think of us if we realized how seldom they do." (p. 36)

"Still, if you want to go on full-Buddhist - if you want to take the red pill - you need to understand that staying in the present, though an inherent part of mindfulness meditation, isn't the point of the exercise. It is the means to an end, not the end itself." (p. 53)

"Feelings are, among other things, your brain's way of labeling the importance of thoughts. And importance, I'm natural selection's somewhat crude sense of the term, determineso which thoughts enter consciousness." (p. 119)

"Reason alone, Jim argued, can never oppose passion in the direction of the will. Nothing can oppose or retard the impulse of passion but a contrary impulse." (p. 126)

"...the claim is just that the machinery in my mind that assigns feelings to things was originally designed to maximize genetic proliferation. That it no longer reliably does so is among the absurdities of being a human." (p. 162)

"I say that the dampening of feelings leads to the clarity of vision. Indeed, I'd almost go so far as to say the dampening of feelings is the clarity of vision, so finely is affect intertwined with perception - in particular, with the perception of essence." (p. 165)

"" (p.)

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"" (p.) ...more

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Feb 17, 2018 Doctor Moss rated it really liked it

Shelves: religion-and-spirituality

There are a lot of popular books around about Buddhism for westerners. What makes this different is that Robert Wright’s goal is to show that some core tenets of Buddhism are borne out by modern, evolutionary psychology — hence the claim that Buddhism is “true.”

Maybe the core insight that Wright draws from evolutionary psychology is that human beings did not evolve to become truth-detectors. They evolved to reproduce successfully. You might think that the one would serve the other — that surviv ...more

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About Robert Wright

Robert Wright

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Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

ROBERT WRIGHT is the author of The Moral Animal, Nonzero, and Three Scientists and Their Gods. The New York Times selected The Moral Animal as one of the ten best books of the year and the other two as notable books of the year.

Wright is a recipient of the National Magazine Award for Essay and Criticism and ha ...more

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The Moral Animal: Why We Are the Way We Are: The New Science of Evolutionary Psychology

Three Scientists and Their Gods: Looking for Meaning in an Age of Information

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“Ultimately, happiness comes down to choosing between the discomfort of becoming aware of your mental afflictions and the discomfort of being ruled by them.” — 7 likes

“natural selection didn’t design your mind to see the world clearly; it designed your mind to have perceptions and beliefs that would help take care of your genes.” — 6 likes

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