Intro books for someone with science/philosophy background

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dharmafootsteps
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Intro books for someone with science/philosophy background

Post by dharmafootsteps »

I have a friend with an interest in learning more about Buddhism, but who hasn't read anything yet. She has a neuroscience background and is well educated in Western philosophy.

I'm trying to figure out what would be a good first read(s) for her. It's tricky to know what to start with. Her background is similar to my own, but I'm pretty sure that the books that have been most important to me e.g. 'Crystal and the Way of Light' would have sounded too 'out there' when I was first starting. I personally had a long slow process over many years, stumbling around different sources, gradually having my skeptical mind opened. It would be nice if by being pointed in a good direction that process could be shortened for her.

She's an open minded person, but I know for me, anything that sounded too mystical, and heavy on realms, mind treasures, bodhisattvas, dakinis, siddhis, rainbow bodies etc. without extensive explanation would have been off putting.

The first things that come to mind are 'Joy of Living' by Mingyur Rinpoche, or 'Open Heart, Open Mind' by Tsoknyi Rinpoche, but I'm interested to know if anyone has any other suggestions.

I imagine something written by a westerner who comes from a similar background, and assumes no prior knowledge, but is true to the tradition, could be an easy starting point.
humble.student
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Re: Intro books for someone with science/philosophy background

Post by humble.student »

I have the same sort of background as you, and sometimes wonder about this. I was recommended just today this book, which came out recently: https://global.oup.com/academic/product ... 0198732662

For Tibetan Buddhism, either of John Powers' introductions could do the trick.
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Lingpupa
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Re: Intro books for someone with science/philosophy background

Post by Lingpupa »

John Powers, yes, excellent, well said.
All best wishes

"The profundity of your devotion to your lama is not measured by your ability to turn a blind eye."
dharmafootsteps
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Re: Intro books for someone with science/philosophy background

Post by dharmafootsteps »

humble.student wrote: Sat Sep 22, 2018 8:07 am I have the same sort of background as you, and sometimes wonder about this. I was recommended just today this book, which came out recently: https://global.oup.com/academic/product ... 0198732662

For Tibetan Buddhism, either of John Powers' introductions could do the trick.
Thank you, those look like good suggestions! I think in this case a John Powers book could be a good second book, after something that further peaks her interest.

Perhaps for full disclosure I should say that the reason she's interested in reading about Buddhism is that we're dating, and she knows my interest in the subject. So it's slightly different in that she didn't develop a desire to read about it on her own. Just now it's really just some combination of a degree of trust in my judgement, intellectual curiosity and open mindedness. Due to that I wasn't thinking of giving her something quite as thorough/academic as those books. I think something that appeals a little more on the emotional level, and gets across the 'why' of Buddhist practice, more than the details of its philosophical schools, history, lineages etc. Although perhaps that's not the best approach, it was just my intuition.

Actually, I just thought, a Matthieu Ricard book could potentially be a good shout for what I was considering.
PSM
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Re: Intro books for someone with science/philosophy background

Post by PSM »

Alan Wallace has at least two books which might be suitable - Choosing Reality and Embracing Mind.
rai
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Re: Intro books for someone with science/philosophy background

Post by rai »

Waking up by Sam Harris
Dvs
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Re: Intro books for someone with science/philosophy background

Post by Dvs »

Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain and Body





https://www.amazon.com/Altered-Traits-S ... 0399184384
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Queequeg
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Re: Intro books for someone with science/philosophy background

Post by Queequeg »

Dhammapada.

Any hint of metaphysical will cause a well trained science-ist to recoil. The Dhammapada doesn't touch those nerves.

Edit - woops. Tibetan forum.

Good luck!
There is no suffering to be severed. Ignorance and klesas are indivisible from bodhi. There is no cause of suffering to be abandoned. Since extremes and the false are the Middle and genuine, there is no path to be practiced. Samsara is nirvana. No severance achieved. No suffering nor its cause. No path, no end. There is no transcendent realm; there is only the one true aspect. There is nothing separate from the true aspect.
-Guanding, Perfect and Sudden Contemplation,
Bristollad
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Re: Intro books for someone with science/philosophy background

Post by Bristollad »

I found these transcripts of Lama Yeshe valuable:
Image

available from https://www.lamayeshe.com/

Also this video from Ringu Tulku Rinpoche: What is Dharma Practice is clear and beautiful.

The antidote—to be free from the suffering of samsara—you need to be free from delusion and karma; you need to be free from ignorance, the root of samsara. So you need to meditate on emptiness. That is what you need. Lama Zopa Rinpoche
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Matt J
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Re: Intro books for someone with science/philosophy background

Post by Matt J »

I suggest The Monk and the Philosopher: A Father and Son Discuss the Meaning of Life by Ricard and Revel. Ricard presents Buddhism pretty in-depth to his father, who is a philosophy professor. It tackles a lot of questions scientific-minded Westerners have about Buddhism. Ricard had another conversation with a neuroscientist, but I haven't read it.

https://www.amazon.com/Monk-Philosopher ... 0805211039

I've found that atheistic types appreciate Sam Harris' Waking Up and Stephen Batchelor's Buddhism Without Beliefs.
"The world is made of stories, not atoms."
--- Muriel Rukeyser
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明安 Myoan
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Re: Intro books for someone with science/philosophy background

Post by 明安 Myoan »

The Quantum and the Lotus: A Journey to the Frontiers Where Science and Buddhism Meet, by Matthieu Ricard and Trinh Xuan Thuan

This is a very interesting book because I think it targets a specific audience like your friend. An astrophysicist and a Tibetan Buddhist monk talk about the Big Bang, quantum mechanics, cause/effect... Some high-level philosophy that I think would make a positive impression on a scientifically minded person.

May your friend discover the joy of the Dharma :smile:
Namu Amida Butsu
PeterC
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Re: Intro books for someone with science/philosophy background

Post by PeterC »

Consider starting with Theravedan material if you’re worried about how the Mahayana will be received. The “science meets Dharma” genre is mostly a melange of half-baked science and watered-down Dharma, and can quite easily turn off someone with a serious scientific background. Much of it is nonsense. You may be better off going straight to the Dharma and letting your friend figure out what to do with it.
dharmafootsteps
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Re: Intro books for someone with science/philosophy background

Post by dharmafootsteps »

Thank you all. Some really excellent looking suggestions here. I think some of these will be very interesting for me as well as her.
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Karma Dorje
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Re: Intro books for someone with science/philosophy background

Post by Karma Dorje »

I second the books by Matthieu Ricard and B. Alan Wallace as they both have unassailable academic credentials from a hard science background. This book by Wallace might pique her interest:

Hidden Dimensions: The Unification of Physics and Consciousness

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/02311 ... l_vppi_i14
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Empty Cloud
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Re: Intro books for someone with science/philosophy background

Post by Empty Cloud »

"This book, consisting of 21 essays, explores the encounters of Buddhism and science from the Scientific Revolution to the “Mindful Revolution.” Find out the relations between mindfulness meditation to neuroscience and psychotherapy."

https://www.kmspks.org/dharma-resources ... d-science/
Empty Cloud
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Re: Intro books for someone with science/philosophy background

Post by Empty Cloud »

I just remembered another one that is particularly suitable for someone with a neuroscience background.

Zen and the Brain by James H. Austin

"A neuroscientist and Zen practitioner interweaves the latest research on the brain with his personal narrative of Zen.

Aldous Huxley called humankind's basic trend toward spiritual growth the "perennial philosophy." In the view of James Austin, the trend implies a "perennial psychophysiology"―because awakening, or enlightenment, occurs only when the human brain undergoes substantial changes. What are the peak experiences of enlightenment? How could these states profoundly enhance, and yet simplify, the workings of the brain? Zen and the Brain presents the latest evidence. In this book Zen Buddhism becomes the opening wedge for an extraordinarily wide-ranging exploration of consciousness. In order to understand which brain mechanisms produce Zen states, one needs some understanding of the anatomy, physiology, and chemistry of the brain. Austin, both a neurologist and a Zen practitioner, interweaves the most recent brain research with the personal narrative of his Zen experiences. The science is both inclusive and rigorous; the Zen sections are clear and evocative. Along the way, Austin examines such topics as similar states in other disciplines and religions, sleep and dreams, mental illness, consciousness-altering drugs, and the social consequences of the advanced stage of ongoing enlightenment."

https://www.amazon.com/Zen-Brain-Unders ... 0262511096
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/238 ... _the_Brain
Brunelleschi
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Re: Intro books for someone with science/philosophy background

Post by Brunelleschi »

I mean, I have a similar background and most Buddhist I know are well educated - so it's not like she's some outlier. :shrug: I wouldn't worry too much.
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