6 thinkers, books, and ideas connected to this field.
Tibetan Buddhist teacher who escaped Tibet in 1959 and became one of the most influential — and controversial — Buddhist teachers in the West, founding Naropa University and the Shambhala movement while becoming famous for heavy drinking, sexual relationships with students, and unconventional methods.
Bhante Gunaratana's practical guide to mindfulness meditation — the most widely read and freely available Theravada meditation manual, notable for its clarity and accessibility.
American Jungian analyst and Zen Buddhist practitioner who has written extensively on the intersection of Jungian psychology, Buddhism, and feminist psychology — The Self in Transformation, Women and Desire, The Resilient Spirit — and who has developed an integrative approach drawing on all three.
American author and journalist — author of The Moral Animal (evolutionary psychology), Nonzero (game theory and history), and Why Buddhism Is True — who applies evolutionary biology and game theory to ethics and religion.
Hermann Hesse's 1922 novel — following Siddhartha's spiritual journey in ancient India through asceticism, sensuality, and merchant life to ultimate enlightenment — the most widely read Western novel about Eastern spiritual seeking.
Robert Wright's 2017 argument — that core Buddhist claims about the self and suffering are validated by evolutionary psychology and cognitive science, specifically that the self is an illusion constructed by competing modules, and that mindfulness meditation provides access to this truth.