Facebuddha

Facebuddha is a rich memoir of relationships, online and off, and an exploration of the psychology of social networks through a Buddhist lens.


We are who happens to us, and what we make of the happening. Who do we become when we relate online? What happens to our minds and hearts? Ravi Chandra is a psychiatrist and Buddhist who values conversation, relationship and their ultimate goals: love and the feeling of society. And he thinks we are in danger.


Online, we seek belonging, self-expression and meaning, essential to our humanity. Social media can be a curio for the exploration of the self. Social networks might be an empowering means to address our social ills. But the online world has traps for our habitually and unconsciously self-centered egos, cause of so much of our suffering in life. Our transcendent spirits are challenged and even imperiled by the realms we enter through our screens.


Chandra writes, “Social media is not just a medium. It is a new religion. The Tweet is our Call to Prayers. We thumb our Phones like Rosaries. Food Porn is our Communion and our Offering to the Cloud. The Status Update is our Sermon on the Mount. The Selfie our personal Anointment and Beatification. Facebook Messenger is our Messiah. The Apple Store is our modern Cathedral, our Silicon Sanctuary. New Emoji are released to the fanfare of a new Pope.” Where is this religion taking us?


Thoughtful, humorous, engaging and enlightening, Facebuddha will be a conversation starter for years to come.