What the Buddha Felt

Dr Mark Epstein believes that people need tools to work with difficult emotions, and that the intersection of psychotherapy and Buddhism is the place to look for effective results. In this work, he teaches people how to combine these two tools for effective spiritual progress.

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Sigmund Freud once said that the best outcome that psychotherapy can offer is a return to common unhappiness. But what about those of us with higher aspirations? Where do we find the tools we need to heal—and then go further— to create a life of uncommon and authentic happiness? The answer, teaches Mark Epstein, may lie in the insights of one of the world's greatest psychologists—the Buddha. What the Buddha Felt uncovers a quiet revolution occurring in the West today: the merging of modern psychotherapy and ancient Buddhist meditation techniques to help us face even the most challenging emotional obstacles. Join the acclaimed author of Thoughts Without a Thinker and Going to Pieces Without Falling Apart to explore: The psychology of the Buddha's awakening Bare attention, a powerful inner resource for facing fear, sadness, anger, and other difficult emotions Buddhism's six realms of suffering (and the six antidotes) Looking, Smiling, Embracing, and Orgasm—a tantric map to spiritual evolution, and moreWhy do so many of us feel a pervasive sense of dissatisfaction in our lives? Do our problems lie in the traumas of the past? Or is the solution right in front of us, in the scope of our immediate awareness? What the Buddha Felt unravels these crucial questions—and invites each of us to discover the possibility of a happiness beyond our everyday minds.