Brain science and Buddhist lore combine in this compelling treatise on the benefits of meditation and mindfulness.
A Guardian science editor and self-proclaimed skeptic analyzes “the ancient science of enlightenment.”
Some 2,500 years ago, Siddhartha Gautama abandoned his princely life to follow an ascetic path in search of spiritual truths. Kingsland explores the history and science of mindfulness with the story of Siddhartha, the Buddha, as a backdrop. Tracing Western scientific research on the subject of meditation from the 1960s to the present day, the author details studies demonstrating the efficacy of mindfulness in battling chronic pain, mental illness, addiction, and even aging while emphasizing that the benefits of mindfulness have been enjoyed for centuries without the help of modern science. Positing that the first humans to learn to quiet their minds at will may have been hunter-gatherers staring into the flames of their fires at night, Kingsland draws attention to the ubiquity of meditative practices with examples from the world’s major religions, noting Buddhism as being exceptional for having removed supernatural beings from the equation. Juxtaposing science with Buddhist lore, he conjures Siddhartha meditating in a lush grove beneath a fig tree, imagines his followers, ascetics who renounced all worldly things, and depicts the enlightened Siddhartha addressing a crowd of angry fire worshipers and calming a rampaging elephant. Kingsland draws his readers’ attention to mindfulness success stories: Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction work with sufferers of chronic pain, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for the treatment of mental illness, and the proven use of meditation to treat drug addiction. The author also points to the proven ability of meditation to increase activity in parts of the brain responsible for regulating emotion as evidence that anyone can benefit from this cultivation of awareness to observe and quell the flames of negative emotions.
Brain science and Buddhist lore combine in this compelling treatise on the benefits of meditation and mindfulness.Pub Date: April 26, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-240385-8
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2016
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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