Thoughts Without a Thinker: Psychotherapy from a Buddhist Perspective

by Mark Epstein

THE PURPOSE OF LIFE is to be happy. As a Buddhist I have found that one’s own mental attitude is the most influential factor in working toward that goal.

In order to change conditions outside ourselves, whether they concern the environment or relations with others, we must first change within ourselves.

Inner peace is the key. In that state of mind you can face difficulties with calm and reason, while ...

disappointment, as the Buddha also said, is inevitable.

the relentless demand to make relationships flawless squeezes the life out of them.

Like the undeveloped mind, the metaphorical monkey is always in motion, jumping from one attempt at self-satisfaction to another, from one thought to another.

“Monkey mind” is something that people who begin to meditate have an immediate understanding of as they begin to tune into the restless nature of their own psyches, to the incessant and mostly unproductive chatter of their thoughts.

Kuan Yin, popular in China, is a female figure whose name means “knower” or “observer” of sounds.