Going on Being: Buddhism and the Way of Change

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!

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.

...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.

Since this book is autobiographical, I find that it's easier to grasp the every-day truth of the statements than in his other books. I can see more easily how they might apply to my life.I say this book is like a guidebook to the spiritual journey because it feels like a travelogue. Imagine the spiritual Journey is like a trip to New York. You've always wanted to visit New York, perhaps live there, but until that day you can only dream. This book would then read like "When I first arrived in New York I didn't understand the subway system, the maps were confusing and I always got lost, but as I travelled more, I grew accustomed to them, the different colored lines on the map began to make sense. I eventually learned how to get from my home in Park Slope to Greenwich Village, the Empire State Building, and Central Park...." Then one day when you visit New York you'll feel okay if you don't understand the subway system. It validates your experience. Well, this book validates my experience.I haven't done much meditating, nor have I ever been to a therapist. I do, however, notice my thoughts from time to time, my state of mind, my emotional state, and I consider them, I try to examine them somewhat objectively, and I notice their impact on my life. What this book does (as did After the Ecstasy the Laundry by Jack Kornfield) is make a spiritual life something that happens every day, not something that happens high in the mountains, or locked away in a retreat.Now when I have certain thoughts, or notice certain thoughts and states of mind, I have a sense of normality. A sense that this is the proper path, and that I am progressing. A sense that I can achieve a state of Going On Being without locking myself away in a Monestary for several years. That I can reclaim a sense of connectedness and support in my every day life.More than the previous two books, I felt the subject matter was accessable. His story is almost a parable, the parable of his own life if you will. This isn't a straight narrative however, and as in his other books he sprinkles his search with academic research, zen stories, the stories of his patients, and this time, his mentors, who include Ram Dass and Jack Kornfield.The more the spiritual journey is made human to me, the more I realize I am a spiritual person. This book does a lot to humanize the spiritual path, make the concept of enlightenment accessible. While no biography is a substitute for a life, and no guidebook is a substitute for visiting a city, reading books of this nature can go a long way towards understanding, and making your experience real.I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the spiritual journey, psychology, meditation, eastern philsophy, and life....

This is Epstein's third book on the growing rapprochement between traditional Buddhist thought and western psychology. It's his most personal book, and for me it's his best. His first two -- "Thoughts Without A Thinker" and "Going To Pieces Without Falling Apart" -- are more detailed and thorough, but the personal themes running through "Going On Being" make the subject matter more accessible. Part of the difficulty in writing about the experience of the Buddhist path is that there is an inherently ineffable quality to the knowledge gained. One cannot hit the target by aiming directly at it. By expressing the ideas of his first two books more simply, and by illustrating those ideas with stories from his own life, Epstein facilitates understanding and stimulates thought in a way that more detailed explication might not. I can see how some readers would not read and evaluate this book as highly as I do. Epstein's personal approach won't resonate with everyone. But when it does it works well, and I suspect it will resonate often and deeply enough with most readers interested in the subject matter to make this book an enjoyable and valuable read.