Hey I'm Kyrin and I review books of all genres/styles but with an emphasis on those that have stood the test of time (i.e., not recent releases). Join me as I cover the basic details before diving into the themes, ideas and learnings we can take away from the fascinating realm of literature. Weekly live episode on Thurs 10am AEST (Wed/Thurs Midnight UTC+0) plus bonus episodes from my cohost Juan every now and then.
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episode 55: Why Buddhism Is True (Robert Wright) - Book Review
What are the secular parts of Buddhism that align with evolutionary biology/psychology?
In the somewhat provocatively titled 'Why Buddhism Is True', Robert Wright explains the insights that can be gained from mindfulness meditation and juxtaposes these with observations from hard science, natural selection and Darwinian thinking. The central themes revolve around Dukkha, Anatta and Sunyata, all of which weave together to create an explanation for why humans experience suffering and what we can do to resolve it.
I summarised the book as follows. "Robert does a fantastic job of combining the subjective experiences that arise from mindfulness meditation with the solid base of scientific knowledge gained from evolutionary biology/psychology. There is no mention of the unverifiable claims of Buddhism (such as reincarnation) and the book contains some great insights and doesn't become too philosophical. I appreciated the engaging mini-stories from his own retreat but did get lost a couple of times when the terminology became difficult to understand. An interesting introduction for someone who wants to know more about the secular parts of Buddhist meditation."
I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out!
Timeline:
(0:00) - Synopsis
(1:13) - Dukkha: suffering or unsatisfactoriness
(4:24) - Anatta: not-self and the self is an illusion
(7:08) - Sunyata/Sunnatta: formless or emptiness
(9:42) - Personal Observations: mini-stories and lost in terminology
(11:41) - Summary: insightful and unexaggerated
(13:23) - Pragmatic Takeaway: listen to a podcast with the author
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