[.ca] Going On Being: Buddhism and the Way of Change (ISBN 0767904613)

From Amazon.com:
Can you remember the childhood feeling of living happily moment to moment, without intrusive aims or fears? Psychoanalyst D.W. Winnicott called it the state of "going on being." Bestselling author Mark Epstein sees a similarity with the Buddhist practice of mindfulness, of just watching the mind and body without holding on or pushing away. Epstein excels at finding the similarities between Buddhist meditation and psychotherapy, and he is in top form in Going On Being. Offering an autobiographical account of his own gradual discovery of this nexus, Epstein tells of his encounters with such luminaries as Ram Dass, Joseph Goldstein, and Jack Kornfield, ruminating on them and then showing how his insights shed light on his work as a psychoanalyst. Ultimately, he finds that psychoanalysis can function as a kind of interpersonal meditation, helping the patient see aspects of the self that are hidden behind habitual ways of reacting to the world. Going On Being shows that, if done well, psychotherapy can offer some of the same benefits as Buddhist meditation. Eureka! --Brian Bruya

shallow inquiry into a deeply rich subject:
Dr. Epstein's sincerity is disarming, and the read is slippery quick, but he repeatedly introduces interesting perspectives - and drops them after little more than a cursory pass. His effort would have made a very acceptable magazine article. Since he chose, or was not prepared, to take any real risks, this should probably be a popular book. If you're satisfied with a little fascination, it will do fine. But if you use your time seeking to be challenged, let this one just go on being.

Reconciliation between Psychotherapy and Buddhism right here:
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!

Not worth the time.....:
If you are satisfied with short, strictly autobiographical stories about how Epstein discovered Buddhism in HIS life, if you are one of those people who like to approach a subject by storytelling: "I was like...", this book might be for you. To me, it lacked insight. Like one of the reviewer has written before: it is not deep but it is also not broad, it is not a nice read, it stops at the point, when it would be interesting to dig deeper. Even the attempt of Epstein to marry practices of Buddhism with western psychotherapy is not more than an attempt. It seems the author was so enthusiastic experiencing Buddhism in his life that he needed to write a book about it. That makes sense for him but not for the reader.

Highly personal, but profound too:
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.

For anyone who's read a lot about Buddhism...:
...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.