Why Buddhism Is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment Summary
Wright, Robert

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

Recounting dense research studies as easily as he relays his own personal anecdotes, Robert Wright seeks to reveal the psychology and philosophy behind the religious phenomenon of enlightenment in his nonfiction work Why Buddhism Is True. Focusing on a modern form of Buddhism he terms "Western Buddhism," rather than on the full spectrum of traditional Buddhist laws, customs, and beliefs, Robert Wright delves into psychological and scientific analysis of elements such as natural selection's unnecessary yet still-present effect on modern humans' behavior, the mental modules in which human thinking becomes trapped if left unchecked, the definition of true freedom, the role of happiness in humans' lives, and the phenomenon of the not-self.