“Most people will never find a great psychiatrist or a great Buddhist teacher, but Mark Epstein is both, and the wisdom he imparts in Advice Not Given is an act of generosity and compassion. The book is a tonic for the ailments of our time.”—Ann Patchett, New York Times bestselling author of Commonwealth
Our ego, and its accompanying sense of nagging self-doubt as we work to be bigger, better, smarter, and more in control, is one affliction we all share. But while our ego is at once our biggest obstacle, it can also be our greatest hope. We can be at its mercy or we can learn to work with it. With great insight, and in a deeply personal style, renowned psychiatrist and author Dr. Mark Epstein offers a how-to guide that refuses a quick fix. In Advice Not Given, he reveals how Buddhism and Western psychotherapy, two traditions that developed in entirely different times and places, both identify the ego as the limiting factor in our well-being, and both come to the same conclusion: When we give the ego free rein, we suffer; but when it learns to let go, we are free.
ISBN-13: 9780399564345
Media Type: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Publication Date: 01-15-2019
Pages: 224
Product Dimensions: 5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.70(d)
Mark Epstein, M.D., is a psychiatrist in private practice in New York City and the author of a number of books about the interface of Buddhism and psychotherapy, including The Trauma of Everyday Life, Thoughts without a Thinker and Going to Pieces without Falling Apart. He received his undergraduate and medical degrees from Harvard University.
Table of Contents
Introduction 1
1 Right View 19
2 Right Motivation 41
3 Right Speech 65
4 Right Action 85
5 Right Livelihood 105
6 Right Effort 123
7 Right Mindfulness 149
8 Right Concentration 169
Epilogue 189
Acknowledgments 193
Notes 195
Index 199
