Buddha's Brain, Hanson, Mendius, and Siegel

Buddha's Brain:  The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, & Wisdom by Rick Hanson, Richard Mendius, and Daniel J. Siegel is a book that talks about the neuroscience behind the practice of meditation (as well as some other aspects of being a Buddhist).  I picked this up at the library (and later bought it) because I wanted something to hear in the car and I am beginning to understand the value of meditation.

Started:  November 2015

Completed: 2/1/2016

Recommendation: Highly recommended

Recommended By: Nobody

Review:

It is great to see some of the science that is trying to understand meditation as a practice.  In particular, some of the principal foundations of Buddhist practices (such as sitting straight while meditating) are supported by straight-forward scientific explanations.  The Buddhists have known to do these things for thousands of years and here is an effort to start to understand why some of the practices work the way that they do.  It is very interesting and this book is going to require several visits.  I don't usually reread books, but this one is more of a manual and the volume of material that is presented is substantial.  I have this on audio so that I can listen to it while driving (a practice broadly discouraged by the author as one should focus on one thing), but it is nice to have something that I can start to absorb in the car and then think intensively about when walking to work or waiting in line or some other task.