Psychotherapy without the Self: A Buddhist Perspective Review

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(More customer reviews)I'd really hoped that Epstein's latest book would be similar to his other books, but unfortunately it isn't. It's a book written more for therapists than for people in general and features previously published academic articles. While the prose isn't too terribly hard to read or filled with academic jargon, it's clear that the intended audience probably has a deeper schooling in therapy than the average reader would.
It's an interesting perspective on Epstein's psychotherapeutic history and how his perspective has changed, but if you're looking for something, I'd recommend reading his earlier books instead.

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Immersed in Buddhist psychology prior to studying Western psychiatry, Dr. Mark Epstein first viewed Western therapeutic approaches through the lens of the East. This posed something of a challenge. Although both systems promise liberation through self-awareness, the central tenet of Buddha's wisdom is the notion of no-self, while the central focus of Western psychotherapy is the self. This book, which includes writings from the past twenty-five years, wrestles with the complex relationship between Buddhism and psychotherapy and offers nuanced reflections on therapy, meditation, and psychological and spiritual development.
A best-selling author and popular speaker, Epstein has long been at the forefront of the effort to introduce Buddhist psychology to the West. His unique background enables him to serve as a bridge between the two traditions, which he has found to be more compatible than at first thought. Engaging with the teachings of the Buddha as well as those of Freud and Winnicott, he offers a compelling look at desire, anger, and insight and helps reinterpret the Buddha's Four Noble Truths and central concepts such as egolessness and emptiness in the psychoanalytic language of our time.

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The Making of Buddhist Modernism Review

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(More customer reviews)This book should be essential reading for anyone currently involved with the practice of Buddism in America. The author does a superb job of explaining the connection between our heritage of the philosophies of the Enlightenment and Romanticism and Buddhism. The book cleared up for me the odd blending of modern science and neo-romantic (new-age) ideas espoused by many American Buddist teachers. It also clearly explicates the differences between many Asian practices of Buddhism and the modern emphasis on or perhaps even over emphasison meditation. I am a Buddhist and I highly recommend this thoughtful, erudite exposition by David McMahan.


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A great deal of Buddhist literature and scholarly writing about Buddhism of the past 150 years reflects, and indeed constructs, a historically unique modern Buddhism, even while purporting to represent ancient tradition, timeless teaching, or the "essentials" of Buddhism. This literature, Asian as well as Western, weaves together the strands of different traditions to create a novel hybrid that brings Buddhism into alignment with many of the ideologies and sensibilities of the post-Enlightenment West. In this book, David McMahan charts the development of this "Buddhist modernism." McMahan examines and analyzes a wide range of popular and scholarly writings produced by Buddhists around the globe. He focuses on ideological and imaginative encounters between Buddhism and modernity, for example in the realms of science, mythology, literature, art, psychology, and religious pluralism. He shows how certain themes cut across cultural and geographical contexts, and how this form of Buddhism has been created by multiple agents in a variety of times and places. His position is critical but empathetic: while he presents Buddhist modernism as a construction of numerous parties with varying interests, he does not reduce it to a mistake, a misrepresentation, or fabrication. Rather, he presents it as a complex historical process constituted by a variety of responses -- sometimes trivial, often profound -- to some of the most important concerns of the modern era.

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The Wisdom of Yoga: A Seeker's Guide to Extraordinary Living Review

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(More customer reviews)In his book, "The Wisdom of Yoga," Stephen Cope has created a small masterpiece. He has not tried to answer questions about man's place in the universe or or the existence of an external world. He has, however, by means of telling vignettes from the lives of people he knows well and insightful comments about what must be one of the most gnomic series of insights into the practice of Yoga, given the average reader a sence of what it is to become involved in the practice of Yoga and some of its life-changing potential. In addition to this, he has included illustrations from other belief systems, specifically Buddhist thought and Christianity that provide a wider context for his practice. The Yoga practioner, as well as the average person who would like to learn a little about Yoga, could both benefit from the wonderful book.

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Road Trip Guide to the Soul: A 9-Step Guide to Reaching Your Inner Self and Revolutionizing Your Life Review

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(More customer reviews)Sadie has the gift for teaching. Together with hard-earned, lived wisdom, her gift comes through on these pages, as it does in the yoga studio. Her lessons are specific, practical, and rooted in the teachings of ancient wisdom traditions. Using examples from her own life blended with the road trip metaphor, Sadie offers compelling, memorable, and empowering guidance. A key teaching that runs throughout is how self-reliance combines with generosity and compassion. She shows you how being intelligently and courageously generous with yourself benefits both you and others. Anyone who has taken a class with Sadie can see the integrity and discipline in her work. She brings these same qualities to this book. Her writing is both conversational and authoritative. You would be hard pressed to find a more engaging guide to life's rich journey. And you don't need to be a yogi to benefit from reading it. You only need to be alive with a commitment to living at full throttle!

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Yoga and mind-body expert Sadie Nardini shows readers how to attract their best life nowSadie Nardini is the founder of Core Strength Vinyasa Yoga, director of East/West Yoga in New York City, and one of the leading yoga teachers in the United States. With her powerful techniques and dynamic personality, she's helped thousands of people transform their lives. Now, she takes readers on an inner road trip to the soul. Her new nine-step program helps people rev up their lives and make positive changes in health, relationships, finances, and career while learning to lose unnecessary baggage, fall in love with themselves, turn no into yes, and much more. Drawing from the best of Eastern wisdom and Western science, Nardini shows contemporary readers how to easily overcome roadblocks that get in the way of reaching desired goals while enjoying the adventure of truly living life along the way.

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