The Original Buddhist Psychology: What the Abhidharma Tells Us About How We Think, Feel, and Experience Life

I gave this 5 stars for taking a very complex subject and making it understandable and practical, and thoughtfully engaging.

Beth Jacobs has taken an extremely complex subject from early Buddhism, the Abhidharma, and presents it in an understandable style to a modern audience. She bring together modern neuroscientific findings which often confirm the early Buddhists theories of the mind and her own experience as a therapist and a Buddhist student to make this an enjoyable and accessible read. It is an important contribution to the study of the original Buddhist sources and their relevance for us today.

a deep dive into Buddhist perceptual understanding , some of which you see in the sutras, seasoned with a perspective of a modern psychoanalyst

This insightful study of an ancient core Buddhist text, "The Abidharma," rings true for 21st century practitioners. The writing is crystalline, graceful and rich with practical examples. Beth combines her sensei wisdom with her psychotherapy skills to invite the reader into material many Buddhists might not realize is immediately vital to waking up. When reading I often stopped in order to directly practice the teachings about consciousness Beth explains. Such a treasure trove of startling relevance!

If you have a good understanding of the Buddhadharma, this book will take you 10,000 times deeper and beyond. Your mind will be blown open, your jaw will drop, and you will be left speechless. And this is a good thing. This is serious work.

This is an excellent introduction to Buddhist psychology, the Abhidharma. In writing about the complexity of our experience on a moment-by-moment basis, it would be tempting to oversimplify, to offer summations, to diminish life with breezy explanations. Beth Jacobs never does this. She uses the sources at hand, her own 21st century life and the writings of the early Buddhists who gave us the Abhidharma, to invite us to contemplate the largeness of our lives and those of others. There is elegance in this book, and humor, and a good and necessary dose of humility.

Excellent very well and clearly written exposition of this difficult topic. I loved the original poetic language used to describe many of the concepts

Total waste of time. Really wanted to like this book, based on title. It's so elementary that only neophytes need apply.