Skip to Main Content

The Grand Delusion

What We Know But Don't Believe

Published by Wisdom Publications
Distributed by Simon & Schuster
LIST PRICE $11.99

About The Book

This is a fun, unique book that goes deep into the great mysteries of knowing—and makes it enjoyable.

In The Grand Delusion, bestselling author Steve Hagen drills deeply into the most basic assumptions, strengths, and limitations of religion and belief, philosophy and inquiry, science and technology. In doing so, he shines new light on the great existential questions—Why is there Something rather than Nothing? What does it mean to exist? What is consciousness? What is the nature of truth?—and does so from an entirely unexpected direction.

Ultimately, this book reveals how all of our fundamental questions stem from a single error, a single unwarranted belief—a single Grand Delusion.

About The Author

Steve Hagen has been an instructor in religion at St. Olaf College and a science researcher for the University of Minnesota and the State of Alaska. In 1979 he was ordained a Zen priest, and in 1989 he received formal endorsement to teach. He has, however, no formal ties to any Zen or Buddhist hierarchy. In 1997, he founded Dharma Field Meditation and Learning Center in Minneapolis, where he continues to serve as head teacher. He is the author of the bestselling Buddhism Plain and Simple and several other popular books on religion, science, and philosophy.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Wisdom Publications (October 13, 2020)
  • Length: 328 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781614296799

Browse Related Books

Raves and Reviews

“I love Steve Hagen’s books! He manages to write about the most abstruse truths and make them sound as sensible and as straightforward as baseball scores—how does he do it? This book—which is so much fun to read and is full of scientific as well as everyday examples—is written in the form of a dialog between Steve and ‘Anyone’ (you and I) in which everything Anyone thinks makes sense doesn’t. By the time Anyone gets to the end, Anyone agrees. This is a wonderful book.”

– Norman Fischer, poet, Zen priest, and author of The World Could Be Otherwise and On a Train at Night

“A brilliant philosophical masterpiece. Hagen explores some of our most cherished assumptions about reality and self in a thought-provoking yet lighthearted interview-style conversation. This book is bound to shake up how you understand your life.”

– Mark Van Buren, author of The Fool’s Guide to Actual Happiness

“Steve Hagen’s best and most ambitious book—immensely enjoyable.”

– Scott Edelstein, author of The User’s Guide to Spiritual Teachers

“A thought-provoking read. Steve Hagen has a knack for taking complex ideas and presenting them simply and straightforwardly.”

– Tim Burkett, guiding teacher, Minnesota Zen Meditation Center and author of Nothing Holy about It and Zen in the Age of Anxiety

Resources and Downloads

High Resolution Images