Psychiatry Epstein is a graduate of
Harvard College and
Harvard Medical School. After completing his psychiatry residency at what is now
New York-Presbyterian Hospital/
Weill Cornell Medical Center, he entered the private practice of psychiatry in
New York City. He is a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at
New York University School of Medicine. He was interviewed for segments of the
PBS documentary
The Buddha.
Meditation Epstein went to a Buddhist summer camp in
Boulder, Colorado, where he met his first Buddhist teachers,
Joseph Goldstein and
Jack Kornfield. In his early 20s, he traveled to
Ajahn Chah's forest Buddhist monastery near
Bangkok, Thailand, together with these teachers as well as with
Richard Alpert. He is a contributing editor to
Tricycle: The Buddhist Review and his books include
Thoughts Without a Thinker and
Going to Pieces without Falling Apart. Both books deal with the Eastern teachings of
non-self. ==Personal life==