Stoicism & Western Buddhism

A Reflection on Two Philosophical Ways of Life

By: Patrick Ussher

Narrated by: Isabel McCune

Length: 2 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

Many practitioners of Buddhism find that Stoicism, the ancient Greco-Roman philosophy as a way of life, is similar to their own philosophy and a helpful addition to their lives. Meanwhile, many modern Stoics also practice Buddhist-inspired meditation and find inspiration in Buddhist ideas and practices. In this extended reflection, Patrick Ussher considers the ways Buddhism and Stoicism are similar, highly engaged, and practical philosophies to live by which can mutually inform and enlighten each other.

Ussher also explores why it is that of all forms of Buddhism, Western Buddhism is most similar to Stoicism. In the West, Buddhism has been "redeveloped" into a practical, highly engaged, present moment-focused philosophy as way of life. And, as it happens, this Western "reinvention" of Buddhism turns out to be much closer to Stoic philosophy than it is to the traditional Buddhism from which it draws. Similarly, Stoicism has also been undergoing a "reinvention" in recent times, which has particularly emphasized its practical nature as a philosophy as a way of life for anyone, regardless of belief in God, which was an essential feature of traditional Stoicism. The resulting "modern Stoicism" is, likewise, even closer to Western Buddhism than traditional Stoicism.

This book is for anyone who is interested in how either Stoicism or Buddhism can be a helpful and heartfelt addition to his or her life, as well as reflecting on how both Stoicism and Buddhism are undergoing dynamic "reinterpretations" in the modern world.

©2018 Patrick Ussher (P)2020 Patrick Ussher

Robotic Voice

Disappointed. Had been looking forward to hearing this, as the topic is fascinating to me. Unfortunately the narrator is so wooden and robotic that not only is it impossible to listen to, it literally makes me wonder if a text-to-voice software was used.

Robotic vocals are very distracting

Content is great. Unfortunately the robotic auto tuned vocals are so annoying I couldn’t listen to it.

Robotic Narration, Introductory Presentation

The robotic narration makes this book painful to listen to.

The contents of the book are largely introductory and assume that the reader has little background in either Western Buddhism and/or Modern Stoicism. This is perhaps necessary, but it would seem that those interested in reading this book would likely have a background in at least one of these topics if not both. So, for many potential readers this will be a robotic narration of things they already know.

The book tends to emphasize the similarities and the complimentariness between these two wisdom traditions. As it is an introductory work, it tends to skip over the deeper and more complex issues of how these two traditions differ,