Seeing Clearly

A Buddhist Guide to Life

Nicolas Bommarito, Oxford University Press (JUL 1) Hardcover $19.95 (320pp), 978-0-19-088750-6 PHILOSOPHY

Of the many positive things to say about Buddhism, the most meaningful may be that Buddhists readily admit that life is very, very hard. By facing that fact head on, rather than denying or ignoring it, Buddhists can quickly get on with “the business of diagnosing the subtle and fundamental mistakes our minds make,” in the words of Nicolas Bommarito. Not surprisingly, in the 2600 years since Buddha walked the earth, his followers have identified plenty such mind mistakes. Humans struggle because the world is different from how our experiences make it seem, and “you fix [the problem] by changing your outlook so it better matches the way things really are,” says Bommarito.

In Seeing Clearly: A Buddhist Guide to Life, Bommarito offers frank, incisive commentary on many of Buddhism’s greatest insights—what he thinks are the best versions of the varying teachings from Buddhism’s many schools. The book’s goal is to interpret a wide variety of Buddhist practices “in a way that will be relevant to the lives of modern people,” and Bommarito excels at demystifying some of Buddhism’s harder to grasp concepts. He further provides specific techniques to help readers move beyond philosophy into the actual practice of quieting anxiety, embracing change, and, yes, seeing the world more clearly.