Why We Meditate didn’t quite answer its titular question – but it contained some great nuggets of insight as well as practical knowledge. Rinpoche offers an array of simple exercises as well as frameworks of thought that are easy to implement and curated with care. 

Each chapter has two portions: Tsoknyi Rinpoche begins with detailing the practice and its personal impact, and then Daniel Goleman weaves in a scientific approach. 

I imagine this book would land differently with someone brand new to meditation. I didn’t find many fresh takeaways and the writing was not always as tight or compelling as I wished it to be - and felt disjointed at times between the two authors. I also wished that the science portions had more, well, science. 

However, this writing clearly comes from two deeply knowledgeable meditators and I definitely found some value here. 

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(I received a free copy of this book; this is my honest review.)