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Why Buddhism Is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment

Why Buddhism Is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment

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  • Create Date：2021-05-18 11:53:33
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：Robert Wright
  • ISBN：1982111607
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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 only discovering 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 readers 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。

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Reviews

Hagalmir ，

Solid arguments from an evolutionary perspective make this an interesting read for people who already are familiar with Buddhism。 I only hesitate to give it full marks for two reasons; first， the author too frequently weaves politics and morals into a text that promises science in the title， while also dwelling a bit too much on personal shortcomings; and secondly， the outline of the Buddhist teachings is rather sketchy in important aspects， with tricky and confusing concepts such as karma and r Solid arguments from an evolutionary perspective make this an interesting read for people who already are familiar with Buddhism。 I only hesitate to give it full marks for two reasons; first， the author too frequently weaves politics and morals into a text that promises science in the title， while also dwelling a bit too much on personal shortcomings; and secondly， the outline of the Buddhist teachings is rather sketchy in important aspects， with tricky and confusing concepts such as karma and rebirth barely mentioned。 For a concise yet comprehensive treatment see e。g。 What the Buddha Taught by W。 Rahula; for a broader view of the history and context of a particular branch of Buddhism see The Way of Zen by Alan Watts。 。。。more

Miklos ，

I am a fan of Robert Wright and so this was on my list of books to check out。 Wright tackles Buddhism from the perspective of an Evolutionary Psychologist and makes the case for a secular view of Buddhism that is consistent with modern psychology， neuroscience， and ethics。 If you're coming to this book from having read other works by Wright， you shouldn't be too surprised about how he gets to his eventual intersection at Buddhism and Psychology。 If you're coming to Wright via Buddhism， I suspect I am a fan of Robert Wright and so this was on my list of books to check out。 Wright tackles Buddhism from the perspective of an Evolutionary Psychologist and makes the case for a secular view of Buddhism that is consistent with modern psychology， neuroscience， and ethics。 If you're coming to this book from having read other works by Wright， you shouldn't be too surprised about how he gets to his eventual intersection at Buddhism and Psychology。 If you're coming to Wright via Buddhism， I suspect his approach may he unique， particularly as he is less interested in the spiritual arguments around Buddhism， just it's principal tenets and how they've paralleled our understanding of the mind over many years。 In any case， it's a thought provoking book and Wrights own perspective on being a novice meditator can help ground the practice into something more accessible。 。。。more

Robin Coral ，

4。5 stars。 I recommend this book。

Muralidheran Ramunnikutty ，

A complete western approach to an eastern way of life。 That is what I understood from this book of experience。

Hsandlin ，

Effectively， this book is an introduction to a western interpretation of Buddhist teachings。 As such， you get a high level overview of some teachings the western and secular world has found insightful from Buddhist ideas。 You also get short descriptions of modern theories and studies that Wright claims supports these Buddhist teachings。 Mixed in you will also so find anecdotes of the author’s experience learning about meditation and beginning to practice it。 I wasn’t sure what I was getting goin Effectively， this book is an introduction to a western interpretation of Buddhist teachings。 As such， you get a high level overview of some teachings the western and secular world has found insightful from Buddhist ideas。 You also get short descriptions of modern theories and studies that Wright claims supports these Buddhist teachings。 Mixed in you will also so find anecdotes of the author’s experience learning about meditation and beginning to practice it。 I wasn’t sure what I was getting going into this book but I’m pretty happy with what I found。 It’s basically a behavioral psychology book that references a western Buddhist ideology。 I thought that gave the book a really nice flavor to it， some behavioral psychology books can come across as a bit dry。 Additionally， I loved the through line of the book about the Robert Wright journey through meditation。 Having a thin narrative through nonfiction is always welcome。 Not long after reading this books I was told by a someone who studies Buddhist philosophy to drop it。 Before you read this， you should be aware that it is a bit of a controversial book。 It exemplifies the often criticized “Buddhist Modernism” or “Neuro Buddhism” by taking an overly western interpretation of Buddhist ideas。 While I can’t say I fully understand the criticism， it is something readers might want to be aware of。 Overall， I really enjoyed this book。 It was fun， interesting， and very insightful。 It opened me up to new curiosities - by the time I was half way through I had added multiple evolutionary psychology books to my reading list and started reading a book on the varieties of Buddhist practices。 I genuinely recommend this book to anyone interested western Buddhism or behavioral psychology。 。。。more

Patrick Laverty ，

The author includes his bibliography at the end of the book but nowhere in it does he cite what source he’s referencing to corroborate his point; based on any common UK universities marking scheme， I can’t give this essay more than a 50， which I think roughly translates to 3 stars （really it’s 2。5 but goodreads doesn’t do half stars and I’m in a generous mood so I’ll round up）。

Saurabh Jain ，

I have a fundamental disconnect with the book。 Mindful meditation is an experience and everyone has their own。 Serious meditators may want to read this book to share experiences but someone who has not meditated should not read this book （it primes the brain） into thinking though experiences。 There is some very good and clear writing around Raag Dwesha and Moh。 While some of the experiences have been linked to these concepts but we have to understand that these are not Buddhist concepts alone。

Dave M ，

Big disappointment。 The trouble starts with the bad title; Wright sees fit to open with a disclaimer as to what "Buddhism is true" is supposed to mean。 Always beware a book that needs to explain its title。But it gets worse than that。 Much of the writing has an idle-musing quality （"who knows， maybe it's。。。"）， leans heavily on stock phrases and chattery filler， and overrelies on evolutionary psychology and "mental modules" to try to explain just about everything。I give it a second star for boosti Big disappointment。 The trouble starts with the bad title; Wright sees fit to open with a disclaimer as to what "Buddhism is true" is supposed to mean。 Always beware a book that needs to explain its title。But it gets worse than that。 Much of the writing has an idle-musing quality （"who knows， maybe it's。。。"）， leans heavily on stock phrases and chattery filler， and overrelies on evolutionary psychology and "mental modules" to try to explain just about everything。I give it a second star for boosting mindfulness generally， and for some of the points on evo-psych。 But otherwise I'd recommend these superior alternatives: Mindfulness in Plain English （Gunaratana）; Waking Up （Harris）; Buddhism Without Beliefs （Batchelor）。 。。。more

Jack ，

Despite the title， subtitle and main thesis of the book actually being somewhat disagreeable to me， this was a good read and it's obvious that Wright is the good kind of non fiction writer that does not take popularizing as an opportunity to condescend。。。or rather， he's definitely got the knowledge and lived experience to back up lots of what he says， unlike others， in my experience。 More thoughts to come。 Despite the title， subtitle and main thesis of the book actually being somewhat disagreeable to me， this was a good read and it's obvious that Wright is the good kind of non fiction writer that does not take popularizing as an opportunity to condescend。。。or rather， he's definitely got the knowledge and lived experience to back up lots of what he says， unlike others， in my experience。 More thoughts to come。 。。。more

Nishit ，

Another 10 day silent meditation retreat is all I covet。

Eric Li ，

Instead of the title of this book suggests， Wright limits the scope of this work to mindful meditation & why it is valid from a cognitive science/neuroscience point of view。Starting from chapter 13， he's talking about buddhism philosophy， and has done a relatively good job in explaining paradoxical eastern philosophical concepts。His logics lays out like this:there's no self who are in control of one's decision makingfeelings are the ultimate driving force， and their intensity labels the priority Instead of the title of this book suggests， Wright limits the scope of this work to mindful meditation & why it is valid from a cognitive science/neuroscience point of view。Starting from chapter 13， he's talking about buddhism philosophy， and has done a relatively good job in explaining paradoxical eastern philosophical concepts。His logics lays out like this:there's no self who are in control of one's decision makingfeelings are the ultimate driving force， and their intensity labels the priority/urgency of associated thoughtsto detach oneself from the feeling （non-self）， can alleviate/eliminate the endless cycle of desire-satisfaction-more desire， and to eliminate the boundary between self and the surrounding （the paradox between unity & non-self） 。。。more

Jessica Zu ，

could be useful for teaching。。。

Shriram Narayanan ，

I found the book interesting especially the focus on meditation techniques and how science verifies them or doesn't。 Authors perspective of his own experience was also nice to read。The theory that many of our current problems are because of evolution and though evolution is responsible for sentient life， it at this stage is also the main barrier and maybe just maybe the sentience we have can allow us to transcend the biological and behavioral impulses and desires that evolution has implanted。 Th I found the book interesting especially the focus on meditation techniques and how science verifies them or doesn't。 Authors perspective of his own experience was also nice to read。The theory that many of our current problems are because of evolution and though evolution is responsible for sentient life， it at this stage is also the main barrier and maybe just maybe the sentience we have can allow us to transcend the biological and behavioral impulses and desires that evolution has implanted。 That aligns with my theory that we aren't sapiens yet， just apes with a lot more ability however acting in similar ways with one differences that ability to transmit culture amplifies our power， and a lot of the contradictions like why do I want to eat french fries and not broccoli or why do I want to veg instead of doing something productive may all have evolutionary reasons。 。。。more

Anuraag ，

Great topic but I found this to be written quite poorly

Tamara ，

Explain something to me via science and I’m all in。 I have a much better understanding of how meditation can be beneficial。 My favorite line。。” 。。the problem was built into us by our creator， natural selection。”

Heather ，

A good read for individuals who are curious about meditation and are interested in a scientific and secular perspective on Buddhism。 At times I didn’t feel like the target audience for this book， but I greatly appreciated how well Wright presents the benefits to your physical and emotional well being of taking the time to meditate and grapple with the paradoxes of Buddhism’s core principles。

Kim Kimberlin ，

it was fascinating， although I have mixed feelings about “westernizing” or “secularizing” buddhism。 hasn’t colonialism （sadly） done enough？ that being said， the science of the mind and meditation is amazing。 perhaps the title should reflect that instead。

Sheeraz ，

A decent commentary to contribute credulity to certain tenets of Buddhism by pointing to some evidence garnered from evolutionary mechanisms。 Some of the topics discussed are the hedonic treadmill （perceived pleasure from an object being larger than the experienced pleasure leading to a cycle of submitting to desires）， default self-centric mode of thinking （we are the pivotal character in all our thoughts， alienating others and emphasizing that boundary）， feelings dictating the essence of realit A decent commentary to contribute credulity to certain tenets of Buddhism by pointing to some evidence garnered from evolutionary mechanisms。 Some of the topics discussed are the hedonic treadmill （perceived pleasure from an object being larger than the experienced pleasure leading to a cycle of submitting to desires）， default self-centric mode of thinking （we are the pivotal character in all our thoughts， alienating others and emphasizing that boundary）， feelings dictating the essence of reality （friends are usually good people and any bad behavior is situational， while the bad behavior of foes is inherent to them）， questioning perceived reality with emphasis on oneness-nothingness （a pushback against the evolutionary programming of the selfish gene）， and so on。 The main goal is to convince the reader of the benefits of mindfulness meditation。The book offers a lot to think about， and stays closer to contemplative philosophy than empirical psychology。 The accounts are often anecdotal or even self-reported so need to be taken with a grain of salt。 In that respect， Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind， Brain， and Body， a book with a similar goal， fares favorably by sticking to core scientific methods。 What this lacks in rigor， it more than makes up for in its ability to make one question some very central assumptions about the nature of experiencing self。 The witty writing style with reference to hallucinogens， difficulties that arise during meditation， and some fun yet real characters make the dense subject more palatable。 Recommended especially if you think you need some convincing to start or maintain your meditation practice。 。。。more

Charles Lozner ，

Started awesome， got a little heavy/heady in the middle and towards the end。

Priyanka ，

The circles the author is running in tired me out。 🙄

Trang Xu ，

The perfect book for the situation I'm in now。 Also， it was kind of interesting journey reading this book as I'm from a culture hugely influenced by Buddhism but I never really understood what it was and what it really meant （as if I understand it now though I do think I am getting closer to the truth thanks to this book）。 The perfect book for the situation I'm in now。 Also， it was kind of interesting journey reading this book as I'm from a culture hugely influenced by Buddhism but I never really understood what it was and what it really meant （as if I understand it now though I do think I am getting closer to the truth thanks to this book）。 。。。more

Lucy Kraus-Cuddy ，

good book。 took a bit to get into but all the ideas are powerful and interesting

Nathan ，

Overall a very interesting read。 To be clear， the main premise of the book is really something more like "How certain aspects of Buddhism are correct and useful in certain ways in light of modern psychology and cognitive-science" rather than "Buddhism is True" - but that probably wouldn't make as good a title。There are a few areas that where I think the author's claims are a little bit strong， particularly in his claims as to how helpful meditation can be on a wide-scale。 Additionally he assumes Overall a very interesting read。 To be clear， the main premise of the book is really something more like "How certain aspects of Buddhism are correct and useful in certain ways in light of modern psychology and cognitive-science" rather than "Buddhism is True" - but that probably wouldn't make as good a title。There are a few areas that where I think the author's claims are a little bit strong， particularly in his claims as to how helpful meditation can be on a wide-scale。 Additionally he assumes many things about evolutionary psychology without really supporting it as well as giving the "non-self" more credence than I think is granted by cognitive-science。 Not to say his propositions are necessarily wrong， but I think their validity is far from settled and merits significantly more investigation。 Lastly， while there may well be many useful things that can be taken from Buddhist philosophy， I think this is an undertaking that should be done with extreme caution and skepticism; something I would have liked to see more of in this book。Otherwise it was a really good book and well worth a read！ 。。。more

Nguyen Hoang Quan ，

A good casual read。 It doesn't sell me on why exactly escaping from detachments is good， or how removing the distinction where your 'self' end and the external begin would help。 I suspect the author didn't either。 On the other hand， what it does present is solid - generally you do want less desire and more objectivity when reviewing your motive and actions。 A good casual read。 It doesn't sell me on why exactly escaping from detachments is good， or how removing the distinction where your 'self' end and the external begin would help。 I suspect the author didn't either。 On the other hand， what it does present is solid - generally you do want less desire and more objectivity when reviewing your motive and actions。 。。。more

Michael ，

210415: conversational， collegiate， comfortable。 if you can accept details of title， such as which 'buddhism' and what is 'true'， this is an easy， flowing read。 rather than bio， synopsis， critical overview， this book is intent on revealing personally educated experience that leads the author to his claims。 this is primarily through meditative practice， recognition of paradoxes such as are inherent in quantum physics， more mediative practice， conceptualisation of scientific models of psychology t 210415: conversational， collegiate， comfortable。 if you can accept details of title， such as which 'buddhism' and what is 'true'， this is an easy， flowing read。 rather than bio， synopsis， critical overview， this book is intent on revealing personally educated experience that leads the author to his claims。 this is primarily through meditative practice， recognition of paradoxes such as are inherent in quantum physics， more mediative practice， conceptualisation of scientific models of psychology that parallel buddhist models of thought/experience。。。having read certain number of books on buddhism as philosophy， there is nothing particularly new here for me， but perhaps his voice is friendly to others who do not know this tradition。 there are some basic reasons to meditate that do not rely on supernatural reasons， in fact the entire argument is more that of 'secular buddhism' than the common religious form。 the main focus of the book is that current scientific psychology， and particularly evolutionary schemes， seem to validate buddha's original insights about 2 500 years ago。 this is how humans are 'designed' （he notes this is just way of speaking） to search for pleasure， to be forever finding transient results， to search again etc。 this is everything from having no 'self' to dispersed 'co-dependant origination'。。。you are expected to understand 'science' as particularly valid interpretation of human experience， if not ontology of the universe， but this attitude is no more difficult than our common， current， 'western' prejudice towards apparently 'objective' facts。 such as brain scans， neurotransmitters， that can characterise unusual mental states such as meditation or， particularly， kind of baseline reduced mental 'noise' of wandering thoughts as shown by experienced meditators。。。from meditation as much ask logic it is apparent there is no 'CEO'， no 'Cartesian theatre' running our experience of the world， and wright would replace this with speculative scientific psychology of 'modules'， though these are intertwined and he does recognise details， conflicts， naming etc needs to be figured out。 but he is confident modern science in this conception validates buddhism。。。there is kind of 'natural selection' overdeterminism that answers our usual human delusions， misperceptions of reality as seen from 'nowhere'。 which is problem because 'nowhere' always strikes me as combination of many 'wheres'， and natural selection is not， from what i read in Science and Poetry， near as individually oriented as suggested。 there are many good reasons to follow the 'biology is all about propagating genes'-model， but this is much more complex than wright would have it。。。he does address the major schism between hinduism （all is one） and buddhism （all is empty） and suggests how these can be reconciled to mean the same thing。 he suggests buddha's contention there is 'no self' should be understood practically， as guide on the way， but to me this seems an attempt to 'westernise' this assertion because of the 'eastern' paradox。 he is candid that he is perhaps not fully 'accomplished' a meditator and that maybe this entire book is mistaken project （as one meditator tells him he might have to choose between writing this book and becoming liberated）。 very good introductory narrative of trying for 'enlightenment'。。。more Buddhism: A Philosophical ApproachWhat the Buddha ThoughtNietzsche and Buddhist PhilosophyBuddhist Philosophy: A Historical AnalysisEmpty Words: Buddhist Philosophy and Cross-Cultural InterpretationBuddhism as Philosophy: An IntroductionThe Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way: Nāgārjuna's MūlamadhyamakakārikāEthics Embodied: Rethinking Selfhood Through Continental， Japanese， and Feminist PhilosophiesSelf， No Self？: Perspectives from Analytical， Phenomenological， and Indian TraditionsAfter Buddhism: Rethinking the Dharma for a Secular Age 。。。more

Madeline Hart ，

If you want a good intro to mindfulness and Buddhism but you have a very scientific mind， you will love this book as much as I did。

Samanta Savickytė ，

It's been a while since I have read such an eye-opening book， which helped me a lot with my thinking。 It's been a while since I have read such an eye-opening book， which helped me a lot with my thinking。 。。。more

Spencer ，

This didn’t click with me。 I have so much in common with the author， and I like other things that he has with that at first I thought it might be great。 The idea the author shared， that knowing why people do things does not magically liberate the knower from the desires and consequences of doing those things， was tempting。 However， I wasn’t convinced by the end that the solution to the world’s problems is for a critical threshold of mindfulness to be met， and the tools for reaching that threshol This didn’t click with me。 I have so much in common with the author， and I like other things that he has with that at first I thought it might be great。 The idea the author shared， that knowing why people do things does not magically liberate the knower from the desires and consequences of doing those things， was tempting。 However， I wasn’t convinced by the end that the solution to the world’s problems is for a critical threshold of mindfulness to be met， and the tools for reaching that threshold are found in Buddhist teachings。 That’s not to say that there is no value to mindfulness， just that I feel that the worldview that the author has is different enough from mine that I was not able to incorporate the two together。I’m more disappointed than is logical。 I have read or studied most books by the author and every time they have been eye opening， so it sort of feels like I’m losing a favorite traveling companion。 We still have a lot in common， so I hope to learn more from him someday， but I also feel like I have spent so much time blazing my own trail that I worry I will be counting more disagreements than insights in the future。 。。。more

Stuart Woolf ，

My fiancee and I listened to this book on a recent road trip。 We had earlier read Wright's The Moral Animal， an introduction to evolutionary psychology that we regularly reference in conversation as "Bob's book"。We only got about halfway through this book before deciding that we had both lost interest in it。 Wright's real strength as a writer is in clarifying concepts resulting from the work of other people， usually scientists。 Unfortunately， his interests tend to be metaphysical， and it is alwa My fiancee and I listened to this book on a recent road trip。 We had earlier read Wright's The Moral Animal， an introduction to evolutionary psychology that we regularly reference in conversation as "Bob's book"。We only got about halfway through this book before deciding that we had both lost interest in it。 Wright's real strength as a writer is in clarifying concepts resulting from the work of other people， usually scientists。 Unfortunately， his interests tend to be metaphysical， and it is always on matters spiritual where his books are weakest。As one might guess for a book titled Why Buddhism is True， Wright's voice is decidedly less skeptical than typical for a scientist （or Buddhist， for that matter）， and one does get the sense he is selective with the data used to support his arguments。There are also a lot of passages that read something like "while I have never fully grasped the concept of {insert Buddhist concept here}， I know many others who have， and they insist {insert positive benefit or deep insight here}"。 We both felt it was a little too "he said， she said" to merit the title of Why Buddhism is True。Skip this one and read The Moral Animal instead。 。。。more

Carlos ，

This book was simply amazing。 As an atheist with an interest in meditation， the subtitle， more than the title caught my attention。 Just as Wright starts the book with a disclaimer about what he means by the claim “Buddhism is true”， let me start by highlighting what this book covers and what it does not。 Wright is completely focused on what neuroscience， evolutionary biology and psychology can confirm about the claims that we live in a world of illusion and are primed for dissatisfaction， and ho This book was simply amazing。 As an atheist with an interest in meditation， the subtitle， more than the title caught my attention。 Just as Wright starts the book with a disclaimer about what he means by the claim “Buddhism is true”， let me start by highlighting what this book covers and what it does not。 Wright is completely focused on what neuroscience， evolutionary biology and psychology can confirm about the claims that we live in a world of illusion and are primed for dissatisfaction， and how meditation can pierce the veil of illusion and correct our dissatisfaction。 Wright does not address any of the more spiritual/theistic claims of certain branches of Buddhism， such as reincarnation， demons， hell， etc。 He also stresses that he doesn’t call himself a Buddhist precisely because he doesn’t accept the entirety of traditional Buddhism as developed in the Asia over the previous millennium and a half。 The book is geared more to what meditation can help us uncover about our motivations and dissatisfactions。 While he addresses several concepts of Buddhist thought， the idea of the non-existence of the self， the underlying nothingness behind the veil of illusion， he does so through a completely naturalistic framework。 However， more than what he covers， I was blown away with the clarity of his explanations。 He brings to the discussion his own experience with meditation as well as the insight of much more traditional Buddhists， whether monks or instructors in meditation。 He tries， and succeeds， in making intelligible the superficially-confusing elements that I have elsewhere seen “explained” with New Age-y hand waving。I can wholeheartedly recommend this to anyone who has been curious about meditation and to those who have felt parts of the Buddhist thought resonate as true without buying the whole religious angle。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Why Buddhism Is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Why Buddhism Is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Why Buddhism Is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0