Exploring Pleasure, Pain, and the Eightfold Path

When we think of Buddhism, Taoism, and other Eastern philosophies, we often imagine achieving a state of permanent inner peace - being completely untroubled by the concerns of this world.

Unfortunately, we need to be able to deal effectively with the realities of everyday life, rather than shrink away from them.

According to Dr. Mark Epstein, most people have a fundamental misunderstanding about what Buddhism is trying to teach us.

It isn’t about dissolving the ego completely, or becoming totally detached from our past and future.

Rather, the point of the Buddha’s teachings is to use fundamental psychological truths to become more effective at actually engaging with the difficulties of everyday life.

So if you’re struggling with difficult relationships, have difficulties with past trauma, or simply have never been able to understand the point of meditation, then you’re sure to find something valuable in today’s episode.

And if you like what you see here, then you should definitely order Mark’s latest book: The Zen of Therapy: Uncovering a Hidden Kindness in Life: https://amzn.to/3NDZxk5

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“Awakening does not mean a change in difficulty, it means a change in how those difficulties are met.” - Dr. Mark Epstein

SHOW NOTES:

00:00 | Introduction

01:27 | Why Eastern Philosophy Is So Attractive

09:16 | The Core Tenets of Buddhism

19:50 | How Buddhism Heals Trauma

35:04 | The Four Noble Truths

51:05 | What is the Ego?

56:49 | The Eightfold Path

1:04:39 | Struggling With Meditation

1:19:06 | Psychedelics and Therapy

Follow Dr. Mark Epstein:

Website: http://markepsteinmd.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mepstein108

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markepstein108

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/markepsteinmd/

Order The Zen of Therapy: https://amzn.to/3NDZxk5

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