Product Description Bringing wisdom to a fresh and compelling topic, Mark Epstein shows how desire can be a teacher in its own right, helping us to reconcile our conflicting thoughts about it from both a Buddhist and a psychological point of view.
It is common in both Buddhism and Freudian psychoanalysis to treat desire as the root of all suffering and problems, but psychiatrist Mark Epstein believes this to be a grave misunderstanding. In his defense of desire, he makes clear that it is the key to deepening intimacy with ourselves, one another, and our world. An enlightening tapestry of psychotherapeutic practice, contemporary case studies, Buddhist insight, and narratives as diverse as the Ramayana and Sufi parables, Open to Desire brings a refreshing new perspective to humanity’s most paradoxical emotion.
Proposing that spiritual attainment does not have to be detached from intimacy or eroticism, Open to Desire begins with an exploration of the dissatisfaction that causes us to both cling to, and fear, desire. Offering a new path for traversing this ambivalence, Dr. Epstein shows us how we can overcome these obstacles, not by indulgence or suppression, but by learning a new way to be with desire. Full of practical advice, this is a lasting guide for finding peace both in ourselves and in our most highly charged interactions.
BACKCOVER: Advance Praise for OPEN TO DESIRE
'Mark Epstein's Open to Desire is a masterpiece in his unique genre of combined Buddhist, psychological, and poetical insight. It teaches us how not just to fear and repress, but to re-channel and harness the most powerful energies of life toward freedom and bliss. I heartily recommend this work.'--Robert Thurman, Jey Tsong Khapa Professor of Buddhist studies, Columbia University; President, Tibet House, US; author of Infinite Life
“Open to Desire shines a bright beam of wisdom into an ever-confusing, ever- seductive realm. Mark Epstein, using his rare gifts of insight, brilliantly shows us a way through the confusion of craving to the treasures of intimacy and clarity hidden within our yearnings. The Buddha and Freud meet the Kama Sutra in this essential guidebook for anyone with a healthy lust for life.'-- Daniel Goleman, author, Destructive Emotions: A Scientific Dialogue with the Dalai Lama
“Mark Epstein writes with the keen insight of a skilled psychotherapist, the compassion of a long-term meditator, and the gift of a compelling storyteller. He courageously explores the true nature and potential of desire, which we depend on for our very connection to life. This book is an outstanding new view of an emotion at the core of our being..”--Sharon Salzberg, author of Faith: Trusting Your Own Deepest Experience
“At last a book that doesn’t shy away from the troubled topic of desire. Mark Epstein has written a beautifully crafted, intimate account of the struggle to come to terms with the contradictory yearnings within us. An illuminating, original and provocative work.” -- Stephen Batchelor, author of Living with the Devil
'A beautiful book. Heals the split between psychotherapy and spirituality by showing positive aspects of desire common to both. Mark Epstein's portrayals of the goodness of desire and its gaps move us in ways that heal and enlighten, always sensitive to who we are and who we can be.'--Michael Eigen, author of The Sensitive Self and Emotional Storm
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Kill attachment and not desire
Epstein's latest book argues that, according to both Buddha and Freud, it is not desire that we need to abandon, rather it is attachment that needs to be resolved in our daily lives. He presents this argument in an unabashed and intimate manner, which sets a very different tone from the clinical though spiritual style of his previous books.
Many buddhists believe that desire is an enemy of spiritual growth but Epstein says that not only should we not be afraid of desire, it is actually ... Read More
Rating: - Mindfully acknowledge and enjoy your desire
I was really impressed by this book. Epstein explains the possibility of feeling desire but not succumbing to cravings. He draws on Buddhist principles to explain the difference between desire and craving. Desire is acknowledgement of something you want, without clinging, while craving involves seeking satisfaction (which is rarely, if ever achieved).
I found the various examples he used to be instructive in learning how desire can become an obsession, and ways for being mindfully aware of ... Read More
Rating: - Thank you Dr. Epstein
I recommend this book to anyone who has ever desired for anything that he or she can never achieve. Though I found this book in Religion/Buddhist section of the bookstore, I will encourage non-Buddhist to read this book as well.
This book brought enormous amount of peace to me during difficult times.
I am a neo-Buddhist and for the past two years, I had been working on the "cessation of attachment" to objects. I felt that I was almost there.
Rating: - Open To Desire: Embracing a Lust for Life
Excellent book on Buddhism and desire from Mark Epstein. Epstein illuminates what seems to me a broader, more cogent, and more useful interpretation of the Buddhist position on desire.
Rating: - A daring contradiction of Buddhist anti-life teachings
I am a meditation teacher (since 1968), and I am really enjoying this book. It is brave of Mark to go against the doctrine of Buddhists to complain bitterly and mindlessly against desire. I find his writing enriching, for he is speaking as a meditator, a lover, a father, an analyst, and a wonderer - someone who is willing to just LOOK at what is going on. And opening to desire makes meditation juicier and more electrifying.
Since the late 60's, most of my friends have been Buddhists or Yogis, ... Read More
- Kill attachment and not desire
- Mindfully acknowledge and enjoy your desire 
