Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment Hardcover – August 8, 2017

As Wright sees it, 'The Truth' of the human condition is to be found in natural selection, as described through evolutionary psychology in his early book The Moral Animal: Why We Are, the Way We Are: The New Science of Evolutionary Psychology. And he argues that this truth is uniquely addressed by 'The Way' of Buddhism, or at least naturalistic Buddhism. This 'secular Buddhism' is Buddhism without reincarnation, spirits or gods. Even the concept of complete or lasting enlightenment is held at arms length.

Secular, naturalistic Buddhism rests on a few key ideas: the idea that people don't have an essential 'self' (no-self), the idea that dissatisfaction (dukkha) is caused by the 'hedonic treadmill' of pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of pain, and that meditation can help us to get off this treadmill. The philosophical approach is similar to that of Stephen Batchelor in Confession of a Buddhist Atheist and Secular Buddhism: Imagining the Dharma in an Uncertain World.

There is a decidedly Gnostic bent to the writing here, right from the beginning, when the movie The Matrix is cited. Here natural selection is the process which holds us in a state of delusion, warps our perceptions of reality, prevents us from experiencing lasting contentment and satisfaction, and keeps us trapped on the hedonic treadmill. And secular-Buddhism is The Way (the 'red pill') that will liberate us from this endless drama of delusion and frustration. This view of evolution stands in marked contrast with that of Wright's previous book, The Evolution of God (Back Bay Readers' Pick), in which biological and cultural evolution are instead 'divine' processes by which the Good becomes manifest in the world. (The God-as-Evolution view is also that of the 'Integral' spirituality of Ken Wilber, Steve McIntosh, and others.)

Part of this book is dedicated to showing that the key ideas of secular-Buddhism are scientifically true, through discussion of studies in psychology and neuroscience (an approach shared with Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion, by Sam Harris). This would be more convincing if the studies were cited as a way of evaluating Buddhism against competing theories of well-being, such as modern positive psychology, but the book generally avoids this type of direct comparison. This is reflective of the basic approach of secular-Buddhism: the concepts which don't find support in scientific studies, such as reincarnation, or lasting enlightenment, are abandoned or de-emphasized. Secular-Buddhism is reformulating Buddhism to be more consistent with modern psychology, a dynamic which complicates the question of whether science can be used to show that 'Buddhism is True'.

Wright expands on the concept of 'no-self' by presenting a 'modular' model of the mind. The idea is that our mind is composed of modules with different goals, desires, and thought patterns. The modules jostle and compete with each other on the subconscious level. Only when one of them carries a sufficiently strong feeling, do we then become aware of its associated thought on a conscious level. While Wright finds some support for this modular model from the Insight Meditation school, and from psychological research, he formulates it through his own preferred perspective of evolutionary psychology (Darwinian competition within the subconscious mind). Interestingly, the model is extended to suggest how mindfulness can improve our 'self'-control, and to weaken the pull of indulgent or addictive behavior.

One of the pleasures of The Evolution of God was its detailed historical examples of the ways in which the 'spiritual marketplace' of competing ideas, and the needs of merchants, kings, and rulers all influenced the development of ancient Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Wright could have also taken this approach with Buddhism, exploring how its history as the state religion of multiple empires has shaped its development over time and place. I was hoping for this, and am disappointed not to find it here. However, Wright instead manages to tackle some pretty subtle philosophical issues, such as the distinction between the Buddhist concept of 'emptiness' (sunyata) and Hindu non-dualism, in a manner that is unusually accessible. He enlivens the discussion with narrative accounts of past conversations and interviews.

This book is in many ways a personal account: Wright has found a version of secular-Buddhism that is True for him in his life, and he is bringing us along through his experience and thought process. Unlike many authors on Eastern spirituality, he is in no way trying to present himself as enlightened, or a spiritual teacher or guru. He is refreshingly unpretentious--humorously self-effacing, and transparent about his motivations for writing. And he is a clear writer--he does not try to intimidate us with obtuseness and paradox, even when addressing difficult concepts. The book is not always convincing, but it is engaging, approachable, and thought-provoking.

Like the author, I also went on a ten-day Vipassana meditation retreat nearly twelve years ago. I had a similar experience. I did not last all ten days (I left after seven days - with permission from the teacher) because the commentary that accompanied the retreat was not satisfying the questions that were bubbling up in my mind. Since that time I have struggled to understand and articulate the central tenet of Buddhism - Emptiness. Like the author, I need explanations that are grounded in science and minimize jargon as much as possible. This book is a gift. (And I shall give this book as a gift to my friends and family.) If you are willing to learn and practice mindfulness meditation, reading this book may change your life. This is a tall claim - and I usually refrain from making big claims - but in this case I mean it. Wright uses his personal experience and his art of writing lucidly and eloquently (I also loved Wright’s The Moral Animal) to assimilate wisdom from evolutionary biology and psychology to make this book full of insights and wisdom. A gem.

Like several other reviewers, I found less in this book than is suggested by the title -- but I still found it an interesting and worthwhile book. First off, the "nots". Readers looking for a critical examination of Buddhism, one of the world's great religions, will not find it here. Instead, it examines one type of modern, non-secular Buddhism. Nor will they find a rigorous scientific examination of Buddhism even in that very narrow definition: Wright proposes interesting theories based on natural selections, but doesn't provide much in the way of evidence. So why interesting enough to bother with? Because Wright focuses on meditation as a way of trying to reduce the impact of unproductive patterns of thinking. He traces these patterns to natural selection, in a way which is plausible, if not supported by evidence. As a discussion of why meditation is helpful, I found the book useful. It is also well written and amusing, leaving me interested in reading other works by this author.