Buddha's Nature: A Practical Guide to Enlightenment Through Evolution [Hardcover]

Wes Nisker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 6, 1998

The Buddha said that "everything we need to know about life can be found inside this fathom-long body." Yet when most people start on the spiritual path, they consciously or unconsciously cut themselves off from their body. Why?

This provocative synthesis of Eastern wisdom and Western science seeks to correct that tendency by bringing us back to the Buddha's original revolutionary message.  It shows how the path to true liberation comes only through a deep understanding and acceptance of our biology and its important role in our spiritual evolution.

It also shows how twentieth-century science is finally catching up with the time-honored beliefs of Buddhism.  The latest discoveries in physics, evolutionary biology, and psychology are expressing in scientific terms the same insights the Buddha first discovered more than 2,500 years ago.  Insights such as the impermanence of the body, where thoughts come from, and how the body communicates with itself.  Based on the traditional Buddhist meditation sequence known as the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, Buddha's Nature propels us on an extraordinary journey through our entire biological and psychological heritage.

Here is a practical program from a renowned meditation teacher for gaining a greater understanding of our true place in the cosmos as well as invaluable insight into the origin of attachment, desire, emotion, thought, and consciousness itself.  These practices do not require a belief in Buddhism, nirvana, or any religious concept.  Instead they offer a spiritual and scientific path to personal freedom and peace of mind.


Wes Nisker is the author of Crazy Wisdom and a renowned lecturer who has taught courses on Buddhist meditation in such places as the Esalen Institute, the University of California, and Spirit Rock Buddhist Meditation Center.  He has been a featured speaker at the Buddhism in America conferences as well as the Transpersonal Psychology Association conferences.  Mr.  Nisker currently serves as secretary of the International Transpersonal Association's board of directors and is the founder and co-editor of the international Buddhist journal Inquiring Mind.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

It sounds rather dry to call Buddha's Nature a commentary on the Mahasatipatthana Sutra. With headings like "A Case of Mistaken Identity," "You Slimebag!", "Sea Cells, Me Cells," and "Mindfulness: The Opposable Thumb of Consciousness," Wes Nisker's characteristic playfulness is anything by dry. Drawing on the latest developments in evolutionary biology and deep ecology, from writers such as Lynn Margulis and Theodore Roszak, Nisker illustrates Buddhist teachings about the interconnectedness of all things. This is his way of easing us into a series of meditation exercises called the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, which give that interconnectedness a vivid presence. It begins with focusing on breathing, then sense impressions, states of mind, and finally the mind itself. By tying personal anecdotes and scientific wisdom to meditation instruction, Nisker proves himself an entertaining educator. Read and do, and read and do--all the way to enlightenment. --Brian Bruya

From Publishers Weekly

At first glance, Nisker's book is a beginner's guide to Buddhism. It simply and clearly lays out, in a series of straightforward how-to steps, different Buddhist meditation techniques. At a deeper level, however, the book is not so simple. Nisker combines the practices and principles of Buddhist meditation with current breakthroughs in cosmology, evolution and molecular genetics. For instance, he argues that, in meditating on the body, one can pass through the cells into their evolutionary origins. While Nisker's remarks on Buddhism are informed by careful study, his exploration of science is less successful. Nisker often chooses scientific viewpoints that are outside the mainstream, and he presents them, often out of context, to justify his idiosyncratic points. Moreover, Nisker's rambling prose, which reads more like a disjointed diary than a refined, considered personal reflection, results in a flat, joyless book. The author's interpretations of the Buddhist view on the lack of God, the self and consciousness fall like afterthoughts in the last few pages.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (October 6, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553106015
• ISBN-13: 978-0553106015
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,289,663 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Make room on you Buddhism shelf for this book!, June 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Buddha's Nature: A Practical Guide to Enlightenment Through Evolution (Hardcover)

I was skeptical about this book when I first saw it. Was it going to be another lame attempt to reconcile science with religion? My fears were unfounded. I have some training in evolutionary science and I think Wes Nisker does a bang-up job in comparing its discoveries with the revelations of the Buddha. My only criticism is that I don't think the "how-to" part of the works very well - too lite in my opinion. One more thing - this book's a good pick if you're having trouble with the notion of karma as it applies to reincarnation. Nisker offers an alternative view that works for me (right now, anyway). Give it a try!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Western science meets eastern wisdom, February 16, 2001

By 

R. Griffiths "bookchoice" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Buddha's Nature: A Practical Guide to Enlightenment Through Evolution (Hardcover)

In this fun, accessible book, Wes Nisker takes his cue from Buddhist scholar Robert Thurman, who says, 'Buddhism is an evolutionary sport'. Here Nisker ably and readably demonstrates the links between eastern meditation and western science. In his view, both are attempting to understand the nature of existence and he writes, 'Buddhist meditation itself could be understood as a form of scientific research... The Buddha was a great scientist of the self'.

The author aims to introduce his readers to the practice of meditation as a way of understanding our existence. To do this he guides us through a commentary on the Buddhist classic, the Mahasatipattana Sutta (Great Discourse on the Establishment of Mindfulness). The four foundations of mindfulness contained therein form the framework of the bulk of Nisker's book. Along the way he ofers a series of exercises to allow readers to experiment with meditation for themselves.

I found this a good introduction to insight meditation and would recommend it to anyone wanting to know about vipassana - though experienced meditators or experienced scientists should probably look elsewhere.

I have only two criticisms. First, I would like to read fewer sweeping statements along the lines of 'Western psychologists have been telling us for years that...'. Second, I would like to see more of what the Mahasatipattana Sutta actually says. However, these are small quibbles. In all this is a very interesting introduction to Buddhist meditation which shows most clearly its relevance to contemporary science.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So Interesting, January 28, 1999

By 

R. L. FARLEY "R Farley" (Arlington, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Buddha's Nature: A Practical Guide to Enlightenment Through Evolution (Hardcover)

The main reason I picked up this book was I've listened to KFOG for years and have always enjoyed the "Weekly (now occasional) Scoop" -- Mr. Nisker's penetrating news and commentary. I have really enjoyed learning about more Buddhism and meditation from this extremely well written book.

Mr. Nisker does an wonderful job of explaining meditation and spirituality in a way that speaks effectively to someone raised in the rationalist, Western mode of thought. It make you want to stop reading about meditating and do it.

Thanks for a great book! I think that if you enjoyed Concilience by E.O. Wilson, you'd enjoy this book.