A systematic approach to making intelligent use of our lives: forget the self, live more fully for others, and find happiness deep within.

The idea that our experiences in life are shaped by our own minds is fundamental to Buddhist philosophy. An Intelligent Life uses the principles of Buddhist philosophy to explore how best to make use of our lives in order to benefit ourselves and others. Building on the foundation of core Buddhist concepts like the ego, interdependence, and karma, Professor Yokoyama presents a uniquely practical application of Buddhist philosophy.

By understanding how intimately our own habits of mind are related to the world that we experience, we begin to see how many of our everyday actions are founded on ignorance rather than intelligence. If you steadily work to transform your everyday habits, through meditation and reflection on the true nature of your experiences, you will come to forget your ego, feel more closely related to others, and gain access to the inestimable well of happiness and health that rests within. Learning to see ourselves and the world for what they truly are, we learn how to live truly intelligent lives.

An Intelligent Life: Buddhist Psychology of Self-Transformation, Koitsu Yokoyama, Wisdom Publications, Paperback, 144 pages, 2015, $16.95

Koitsu Yokoyama devoted his career to the study of Buddhist �Consciousness Only� (vij�aptimatra) philosophy during the second period in the development of Mahayana Buddhism. A Buddhist Studies scholar, Yokoyama earned his doctorate in Indian Philosophy at the graduate school of Tokyo University, and is currently an Honorary Professor at Rikkyo University and Vice Chancellor of Shogen Junior College. He has published many works on Consciousness Only philosophy in Japanese, including A Consciousness-Only-Dictionary of Buddhism, published to commemorate the 1300th anniversary of the Kofukuji Temple in Nara, Japan.