Robert Wright: Why Buddhism is True argues that meditation works even if you don't believe in it. He says the practice of mindfulness can be used to help people deal with unpleasant feelings. Wright's book focuses on claims made by modern psychology and philosophy, not religion.
Robert Wright, author of Why Buddhism Is True, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the psychotherapeutic insights of Buddhism and the benefits of meditation and mindfulness. Wright argues our evolutionary past has endowed us with a mind that can be ill-suited to the stress of the present. He argues that meditation and the non-religious aspects of Buddhism can reduce suffering and are consistent with recent psychological research.