Going On Being : Buddhism and the Way of Change--A Positive Psychology for the West

Rating:
Summary: For anyone who's read a lot about Buddhism...
Review: ...this book puts theory into the context of practice (and living). It's one of the most grounded books on Buddhism and psychotherapy I've ever read. Smart and pragmatic and worthwhile.

Rating:
Summary: Buddhism, Therapy, & I, Me, and Myself
Review: Epstein's book is about the process of personal change blending the perspective and praxis of Buddhism (especially meditation) with the practice of a Freudian psychotherapist (which he is). His target audience seems to be spiritually interested, but not specifically on the topic educated people.

Despite this looks like a very promising approach the book does not live up to such expectations.

First, Epstein's personal writing style is unpleasant to read. The author's self-absorbed writing style stressing the word "I" may get on your nerves pretty soon. All the anecdotes of his life, all written from his perspective makes it often difficult to absorb them analytically. Also the way Epstein structured his arguments is not complicated but confusing. But this may be just a personal preference; other reader may actually like his style.

The book was for me a bad compromise between broadness and deepness, insights and practical advise. Epstein just touches a topic by illustrating it by his anecdotes, even includes some explanations - deductive and inductive - but does not go really into it. The result is that the reader gets an "Aha" effect, but lacks in insight, reasoning, and understanding to feel sufficient enough to accept the point. This effect is quite reinforced by the fact that the author intents to marry two major related but though different subjects and thus consequently has to flip between both worlds, which is understandably not easy.

The book gets credit because of the topic itself. The author makes clear the benefits of Buddhism and its practices for our western world. His attempt to marry western psychoanalytic and eastern philosophy seems to me a very valuable one.

The above may look like I would have been better of with a school book about Buddhism and Psychotherapy, but I actually looked exactly for an approach like described in the first paragraph. Epstein's sources and his knowledge seems profound, it is just a little sad that he does not structure and communicate it better than he does in this book.

Rating:
Summary: Highly personal, but profound too
Review: Epstein's previous two books were focused on the practical application of Buddhist insights to psychology, and specifically to the psychotherapeutic relationship. By contrast, this is a highly personal account of Epstein's own experience as a student of meditation, and of the various teachers he has studied with over the years. The "guru" relationship is more central to Buddhist practices than most Westerners are used to (or comfortable with), but Epstein has been fortunate in his teachers, and this book shows how liberating the guidance of a good teacher can be. I also felt that he did a good job of conveying the joys of a meditation practice: too many guidebooks, I feel, give the impression that it's a constant uphill struggle. Developing mindfulness isn't a snap, of course, but the benefits are genuine and immediate, and that comes across well here. It does help in reading this book to have a basic understanding of Buddhist principles and practices -- he doesn't go into much depth about them -- but you don't have to be an expert to appreciate what he's talking about. This is less a "how to" and more a "how it happened to me," and in those terms I feel it's excellent.

Rating:
Summary: Reconciliation between Psychotherapy and Buddhism right here
Review: For those readers out there searching for an avenue to make incorporating Buddhism and psychotherapy together a reality, here is your book. From his rusty beginnings at the Naropa Institute in Colorado (Buddhist University) in 1974, he reflects how he knew he was at last at home. Here he met such people as Joseph Goldstein, Jack Kornfield, and Ram Dass, just to name a few. Though he still considered Gestalt therapy to be a sound approach in terms of helping those in need out, he was attracted especially to Buddhist Vipassana meditation while at the Institute. He now proposes various forms of meditation to his patients in his psychoanalytical practice. I don't want to tell the whole story, but needless to say he has found a way to bring together Gestalt therapy and Buddhism quite well. Epstein's writing style is somewhat consoling and encouraging here. I haven't read any of his other works, but I can categorically say I got pleasure from this one from top to bottom. Honest and hopeful, here lies a book all Buddhist therapists have been waiting for. Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: Familiar territory, with a more personal touch
Review: This is Epstein's third book on the growing rapprochement between traditional Buddhist thought and western psychology. It's his most personal book, and for me it's his best. His first two -- "Thoughts Without A Thinker" and "Going To Pieces Without Falling Apart" -- are more detailed and thorough, but the personal themes running through "Going On Being" make the subject matter more accessible. Part of the difficulty in writing about the experience of the Buddhist path is that there is an inherently ineffable quality to the knowledge gained. One cannot hit the target by aiming directly at it. By expressing the ideas of his first two books more simply, and by illustrating those ideas with stories from his own life, Epstein facilitates understanding and stimulates thought in a way that more detailed explication might not.

I can see how some readers would not read and evaluate this book as highly as I do. Epstein's personal approach won't resonate with everyone. But when it does it works well, and I suspect it will resonate often and deeply enough with most readers interested in the subject matter to make this book an enjoyable and valuable read.