  | Book Details Title: Why I Am Not a Buddhist |
Book DescriptionReview “Following in the tradition of Bertrand Russell’s Why I Am Not a Christian, Thompson delivers a timely rebuttal to what he calls Buddhist modernism, the idea, loosely, that Buddhism is not a religion but a science of the mind. The argument Western Buddhists need to hear.”—Kirkus Reviews“Presents a convincing case against Buddhist exceptionalism and scientific defenses of the tradition . . . The clarity of Thompson’s arguments, including his explanations of models of consciousness, and his genuine regard for Buddhism (despite his skepticism toward claims of superiority) avoid the pitfalls of many similar critiques.”—Publishers Weekly“A truly compelling critique of Buddhist exceptionalism and of modern Buddhism as a whole.”—Sam Littlefair, Lion’s Roar“Thompson’s erudite and eminently engaging essay should be required reading of all those interested in Buddhist modernism.”—Robert Sharf, University of California, Berkeley“Philosophy should be a project reaching beyond age-old geographical divides, a project anchored on critical reason to promote human transformation. With inspiring intellectual courage, Thompson shows us the way forward.”—Marcelo Gleiser, Dartmouth College”In this beautifully written philosophical memoir, Evan Thompson takes us through his incredible intellectual journey that begins in boyhood at the utopia of Lindisfarne and brings him to the deepest precincts of both Buddhist philosophy and cognitive science. A deeply thoughtful book.”—Owen Flanagan, author of The Geography of Morals“This book should be required reading for the increasingly large number of scientists and philosophers who are interested in understanding Buddhism”—Alison Gopnik“This is a wise and thoughtful book. Buddhism, from this perspective, turns out to be many things, but not a science of the mind.”—T.M. Luhrmann, author of When God Talks Back Read more About the Author Evan Thompson is professor of philosophy at the University of British Columbia and a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He is the author of Waking, Dreaming, Being: Self and Consciousness in Neuroscience, Meditation, and Philosophy, among other books. Read more Customers Review: In a seven day retreat with Goldstein and Salzberg Thompson described only experiencing a camaraderie with his fellow sitters. Not that anything had to happen but I would have wagered that some personal insights would have occured over such a long retreat in silence. I did a ten day version with Goenka, the founder of Vipassana which is the basis of the seven day retreat Thompson did with Salzberg and Goldstein. Being forced into silence created a good deal of inner turmoil that only subsided after the 5th day when I just started to enjoy sitting.I initially became quite angry at not having an opportunity to act on my impulses and mused about the role of the hero or heroine in Eastern meditation. All that anger just fell away. I noticed that my interactions with people after the retreat were more harmonious especially with those who tended to rub me the wrong way. The effects wore off over time. The experience of calm probably is just a thin veneer that hides an infinite depth of desire that disrupts the lives of even the greatest gurus like Trungpa Rinpoche. To be aware of the overwhelming force of our senses is a byproduct of even a modicum of silence. No truth claims about its connection with the brain, but an appreciation for a moment of clarity that it once provided me. Just as the depth of desire is infinite so is the effort to explore that depth is infinitely slow. I think by debunking the claims of Modernist Buddhism Thompson is well intentioned but in so doing may ignore the more humble gifts of the Buddhistic experience.
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5 reviews