The Calm Center: Reflections and Meditations for Spiritual Awakening (An Eckhart Tolle Edition) Kindle Edition
by Steve Taylor (Author), Eckhart Tolle (Introduction) Format: Kindle Edition
Spirituality, Mind-Body, Gender, Ecology, Ageing, Peace, Scrapbook (in English and Korean)
Showing posts with label Steve Taylor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Steve Taylor. Show all posts
2020/11/21
The Calm Center: Reflections and Meditations for Spiritual Awakening (An Eckhart Tolle Edition) - Kindle edition by Taylor, Steve, Tolle, Eckhart. Religion & Spirituality Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.
The Calm Center: Reflections and Meditations for Spiritual Awakening (An Eckhart Tolle Edition) - Kindle edition by Taylor, Steve, Tolle, Eckhart. Religion & Spirituality Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.
The Leap: The Psychology of Spiritual Awakening Rev. Taylor, Steve, Tolle, Eckhart
The Leap: The Psychology of Spiritual Awakening (An Eckhart Tolle Edition): Taylor, Steve, Tolle, Eckhart: 9781608684472: Amazon.com: Books
The Leap: The Psychology of Spiritual Awakening (An Eckhart Tolle Edition) Paperback – February 15, 2017
by Steve Taylor (Author), Eckhart Tolle (Foreword)
4.5 out of 5 stars 196 ratings
Part of: An Eckhart Tolle Edition (4 Books)
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What does it mean to be enlightened or spiritually awakened?
In The Leap, Steve Taylor shows that this state is much more common than is generally believed.
He shows that ordinary people ― from all walks of life ― can and do regularly “wake up” to a more intense reality, even if they know nothing about spiritual practices and paths. Wakefulness is a more expansive and harmonious state of being that can be cultivated or that can arise accidentally.
It may also be a process we are undergoing collectively. Drawing on his years of research as a psychologist and on his own experiences, Taylor provides what is perhaps the clearest psychological study of the state of wakefulness ever published. Above all, he reminds us that it is our most natural state ― accessible to us all, anytime, anyplace.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“Life always gives you what you need, and right now it has given you this book to use as a guide or companion through challenging times. It contains a great deal of precious wisdom, expressed in the straightforward, clear, and down-to-earth language that Steve Taylor is so good at.”
― from the foreword by Eckhart Tolle, author of The Power of Now and A New Earth
“A wonderful synthesis of modern research and timeless wisdom that makes the mysterious process of spiritual awakening more comprehensible than ever before.”
― Peter Russell, author of From Science to God
“This book is both insightful and inspiring. Building on the foundations of his previous books, Steve Taylor’s expertise and profound understanding of awakened states shine through and culminate in his proposition of an evolutionary leap that awaits humankind. For anyone who is interested in or has experienced an awakening, this book is not to be missed, as Taylor eloquently conveys an in-depth understanding of this fascinating phenomenon. It’s an excellent book that everyone should read.”
― Dr. Penny Sartori, author of The Wisdom of Near-Death Experiences
“It’s high time we got clearer on what enlightenment is and isn’t. The Leap is readable, important, and long overdue. It offers a thorough portrait of this long-mysterious state with care and love.”
― Dr. Robert K. C. Forman, author of Enlightenment Ain’t What It’s Cracked Up to Be and Mysticism, Mind, Consciousness
“In The Leap, Steve Taylor takes a radically new approach to spiritual awakening, suggesting that the experience is more common than one might suspect, is not bound to any religious or spiritual tradition, and may be playing an essential role in human evolution. The Leap is filled with provocative statements, some of which you may agree with and some you may disagree with ― but you can be sure that this is a book you will never forget. It establishes Steve Taylor as a major spiritual author and teacher, whose lucid and articulate writing will evoke wonder and wisdom among readers.”
― Stanley Krippner, PhD, Alan Watts Professor of Psychology, Saybrook University
“A wonderfully detailed demystification of awakening within and without traditions that is a pleasure to read and offers hope for our dangerous times.”
― Claudio Naranjo, author of Healing Civilization and designer of the SAT Programs for personal and professional development
About the Author
Steve Taylor, PhD, is the author of several books on spirituality and psychology, including The Fall and Waking from Sleep. He has also published two books of poetic spiritual reflections, including The Calm Center. He is a senior lecturer in psychology at Leeds Beckett University in the United Kingdom. Since 2011, he has appeared annually in Mind, Body, Spirit magazine’s list of the world’s “100 most spiritually influential living people.”
Product details
Item Weight : 1 pounds
Paperback : 320 pages
Publisher : New World Library (February 15, 2017)
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Customer reviews
4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
Top reviews from the United States
George Ochsenfeld
5.0 out of 5 stars
Explains Awakening and Enlightenment; You May be More Awake Than You Think!
Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2017
Verified Purchase
If you’ve been wondering what ‘spiritually awakened’ or ‘enlightenment’ means, this book is a must read. If you’ve made progress on the path of awakening, this book will validate your journey. If you’re having intense spiritual experiences, confusion, and dark nights of the soul, this book could save your life.
Steve Taylor explores the awakened state of consciousness from a psychological perspective in simple, crystal clear language. The book is based on his scientific study of hundreds of people who had various awakening experiences, on his vast knowledge of ancient spiritual traditions, and on his own personal journey.
His approach is free from archaic terminology, dogma, and cultural baggage which sometimes obscure the spiritual brilliance of ancient teachings. His model of psychological awakening can be helpful to practitioners on any spiritual path as well as to fervent atheists who are having awakening experiences.
Taylor says that ordinary adult consciousness is a state of deep sleep characterized by a sense of separateness, discontent, anxiety, and constant mental chatter. To escape this discomfort, we pursue happiness through money, success, power, etc., or sedate ourselves with compulsive entertainment or mind altering substances. It doesn’t work.
The author distinguishes between awakening experiences and the awakened state. Awakening experiences are temporary episodes of spiritual uplift, which can range from mild awe, reverence, and harmony to full blown mystical ecstatic union with an all pervading spiritual force. Most people have had at least the mild versions, often from nature or artistic beauty. Taylor goes more deeply into temporary awakening experiences in his book, Waking From Sleep.
The Leap, however, focuses on the awakened state, which is permeant wakefulness. Taylor says that with permeant wakefulness, a new, higher-functioning self-system emerges, which often feels like rebirth.
The author provides a list of characteristics commonly seen in people who are spiritually awake. The intensity of these traits corresponds to the intensity of the person’s wakefulness. I’ll mention just a few: serenity, reduced mental chatter, ability to live primarily in the present moment, emotional wellbeing, pleasure in simple activities, empathy, compassion, altruism, and an enjoyable oneness with nature, other people, and a spiritual force. He describes these characteristic and many more in fascinating detail.
Of particular importance, this list of characteristics can be used to evaluate the authenticity of spiritual teachers who claim to be enlightened. Unfortunately, some ‘perfect masters’ are self-deluded, or simply fraudulent. As a result, followers get injured.
Awakened people are far more common than most people realize, says Taylor. Most live ordinary lives and are not spiritual teachers in any formal sense. Many do not comprehend what happened to them as they awakened from the normal adult sleep state. Taylor reports rare instances of people who are naturally awake, who never completely succumbed to adult drowsiness. He describes others who awakened gradually, often through spiritual practices. But the majority of people he studied had sudden, unexpected awakenings, triggered by extreme psychological turmoil and suffering. He gives brief case histories portraying a variety of awakening experiences.
One of my favorite chapters is The Natural Wakefulness of Children, which discusses similarities between the consciousness of young children and of spiritually awakened adults. They share such characteristics as spontaneity, curiosity, openness, present moment orientation, freedom from excessive mental chatter, joy in living, vitality, dynamic creativity, and felt connection to the external world. However, since children lack an adult self-system, their wakeful traits are often overridden by impulsive selfish desires.
In a great quote, Taylor says, “Sometimes, when I discuss childhood wakefulness in talks or lectures, I joke that children are a combination of enlightened beings and narcissistic monsters.” He then asks, “But isn’t that a good description of some spiritual teachers?”
Taylor then cracks open eleven myths about the awakened state or what some call enlightenment. His discussion as to why these commonly held beliefs are incorrect is based on his empirical research, his knowledge of ancient scriptures, and his extraordinarily powerful insight. In addressing these myths, he summarizes most of the important points in the text. This chapter is worth the price of the book!
Here are the eleven beliefs he demythologizes: Myth 1: Wakefulness is exceptional and extraordinary. Myth 2: It’s not possible to live in a continuous state of wakefulness. It would make it impossible to live in the world on a day-to-day basis. Myth 3: You are either enlightened or not. There is no middle ground. Myth 4: Wakefulness is the end point, the culmination, of our development. Myth 5: Awakened people live in a state of continuous bliss and ease, free from all suffering and difficulty. Myth 6: Awakened individuals are incapable of behaving improperly. Myth 7: Awakened Individuals are detached from the world. They become indifferent to worldly affairs and are content for the world to remain as it is, without interfering. Myth 8: Awakened individuals—or mystics—are passive or inactive. They just sit and meditate all day, immersed in their own blissfulness. Myth 9: In wakefulness, the world is revealed to be an illusion. Myth 10: In wakefulness, the self disappears. There’s literally “no one there.” Wakefulness is a state of selflessness. Myth 11: You can’t make an effort to wake up.
In the final chapter, The Evolutionary Leap: A Collective Awakening, Steve Taylor suggests that the evolutionary force that has been driving life on earth toward increasing complexity for billions of years, is nothing less than the universe seeking to become more fully awake and aware of itself. By aligning ourselves with that force, humanity may be able to leap into a new world of collective wakefulness. Planetary turmoil may hasten the process. Taylor makes the case that that is exactly what is happening worldwide as increasing numbers of people are awakening. He cautions, however, that there is no guarantee that we will successfully make the leap rather than self-destruct.
This book could easily become a classic on awakening with the staying power of Cosmic Consciousness (1901) by Richard Maurice Bucke, Varieties of Religious Experience (1902) by William James, and Mysticism (1911) by Evelyn Underhill. That’s assuming humankind awakens from the nightmare produced by the constricted consciousness currently driving us to annihilation. Again, this book gives abundant hope that we will.
Eckhart Tolle supplies an excellent forward to the Leap. To my mind, no one explains ‘be here now’—the essence of the awakened state—better than Eckhart. But when it comes to providing empirical data and explaining the psychological details of spiritual awakening, no one is better than Steve Taylor. And I am making these statements as someone who is not a newcomer to the spiritual rodeo.
Nearly 50 years ago, I had a powerful but fleeting awakening experience and since then have studied everyone from D.T. Suzuki to Suzuki Roshi; Ramakrishna to Krishnamuriti; Gopi Krishna to Muktananda; Ramana Maharshi to Maharishi Mahesh; Allan Watts to Allen Ginsberg; Chogyam Trungpa to Rajneesh (Osho); Timothy Leary to Ram Dass; Patanjali to Yogananda; Thich Nhat Hanh to Peace Pilgrim; Ken Wilbur to Michael Washburn; Aldous Huxley to Stan Grof; Houston Smith to Jean Houston; Meister Eckhart to Eckhart Tolle; Carl Jung to Joseph Campbell; Jack Schwarz to Jack Kornfield; St. Teresa of Avila to St. John of the Cross; Walt Whitman to Gary Snyder; Annie Besant to Charlotte-Joko Beck; St. Hildegard to Thomas Merton; Evelyn Underhill to June Singer; Matsuo Basho to William Blake.
And again, to my mind, no one describes the psychological details of spiritual awakening better than Steve Taylor. Take The Leap home and enjoy.
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140 people found this helpful
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M. Scorelle
5.0 out of 5 stars Review of "The Leap" by Steve Taylor
Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2017
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Review of "The Leap" by Steve Taylor
I enjoyed this book. It is about Non-Duality but written in a rational style rather than revelatory or inspirational. It's an easy read. I like the theory that Waking Up is a part of the scheme of evolution. He offers a good definition of awakening: "an experience of clarity, revelation, and joy in which we become aware of a deeper or higher level of reality, perceive a sense of harmony and meaning, and transcend our normal sense of separateness from the world." He outlines some of the typical conditions with which awakening occurs, and differentiates between temporary glimpse and permanent awakening. He has a nice section on wakeful states in various world spiritual traditions. He aligns the permanent wakefulness with sahaja samadhi which I think is correct. He gives some beautiful examples of awakened artists, Walt Whitman, D.H.Lawrence. He surprised me on Lawrence. Also Peace Pilgrim and some other average folk culled from Taylor's own research and work. There are some really interesting case histories. He also covers the aftermath of awakening with examples and stories, always fun to read. This book has something of the style of the Near Death Experience literature, some case histories, some theory, something of a social topological map. He has a helpful summary of the characteristics of wakefulness and the awakened personality in life. One of my favorite parts is listing the common misunderstandings about waking up. I liked Satyam Nadeen's list also in "From Seekers to Finders." I found it helpful when just starting out. If you are used to shocking counter-intuitive pointers to enlightenment, the world is an illusion, there is no self, "there's just what's happening to no one," "There is no teacher, no student," this book does not take that approach. It is rational, comforting and down to earth. A good read.
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21 people found this helpful
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Atman
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Overview and Summary of the Experience of Awakening and Enlightenment
Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2017
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An excellent overview and summary of the teachings and experience of awakening (aka enlightenment). The book gets to the core of mystical teachings from many traditions, religions, and ideologies, and then simple explains the information in a format the is very clear and accessible to the reader. Often the book is more easy to understand than the great religious texts from which these very ideas are expressed and drawn from. An great companion book to all inquiry into the basic experience of spirituality as opposed to the ideology of spirituality. I would call it an overview of the perennial experience of spirituality found at the core of all mystic teachings. There is a catch 22 in that to understand some of the concepts you must have had at least a little direct experience with them yourself. The good news is that most people have had touched on this experience even if only briefly. This book may help reinforce the taste of awakening that some people have experienced and help it grow and expand into a higher, deeper experience of awakening.
12 people found this helpful
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Anna
5.0 out of 5 stars So good...
Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2017
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Just finished The Leap and have to say, "Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!" to Steve Taylor for giving this to the world. Everyone pulled by that mysterious something inside that keeps insisting that "something greater exists, and it's powerful and wonderful," should read this.
I'd assumed the really "important" trans-personal experiences were "given by a guru," but he made me realize that my own experiences earlier in life were just as valid...indeed, PART of the path of awakening toward the greater level of human expression that WE ALL are intended to embody, guru or not. "Awakening" isn't confined to religion at all, it's a human race-consciousness-evolution. This book covers every question I had, and in every chapter I learned things. If anything, it's made me realize the importance of my relationship with the Universe as ONE of its very beloved expressions. This was one great book that should find a wide and grateful audience.
7 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries
Banjoman
5.0 out of 5 stars 5 stars.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 9, 2018
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I would recommend this book to anyone interested in spirituality. The book describes what awakening is, and gives anecdotal accounts and stories from people who have experienced some kind of awakening. Previously I've read books by Eckhart Tolle and the Dalai Lama. It has greatly complemented my own understanding of awakening, and as I find myself with a terminal illness, the book gave me some guidance and comfort. I am not too hard on myself now.....
5 people found this helpful
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P. Brisk
5.0 out of 5 stars A fresh and important contribution to the subject of consciousness and spiritual awakening
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 31, 2017
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This is the first of Steve's books that I have read but it certainly will not be the last. Very well researched and very well reasoned - and also engagingly personal at times. Steve is a gifted writer as well as an insightful psychologist and philosopher of consciousness, making this an enjoyable as much as an extremely informative read. I can see I will now need to work my way through all his other books. I urge others with an interest in this field of study to do so too!
11 people found this helpful
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Mark Kawecki
5.0 out of 5 stars This book is amazing
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 2, 2018
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Ordered this book after a chance noticing of it whilst casually browsing in Waterstones, was drawn in by the ‘Ekhart Tolle edition’ written on the cover.
Took this book with me on a month long hiking & camping trip in the back country of the US Pacific Northwest and Canada. Excellent location of solitude and nature to be able to absorb into the content fully, align with the writers ideas & intent and meditate/reflect on the meanings.
Simply reading this book took my awareness and consciousness to a higher level.
The fact the the author teaches at my hometown university, (I discovered this after purchase), added an extra connection. The empirical stories could really be felt deeply, understood and subsequently integrated into my own being.
5 people found this helpful
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Shikasta
3.0 out of 5 stars Only half the story
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 1, 2017
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If I'd had this book in 1985 it would have explained what happened to my mind during my awakening and saved me a lot of confusion. An excellent book for those people who have experienced an awakening and want a psycho-spiritual explanation. However, only 3 stars because Steve reckons that the physical brain has nothing to do with the awakening experience, an attitude that I feel seriously limits his understanding of the process.
This book is an interesting starting place, but in my view, incomplete.
6 people found this helpful
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Anon101
4.0 out of 5 stars Valuable overview, till it veers to the speculative
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 29, 2020
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This publication offers a comprehensive framework for identifying what constitutes ‘awakening’ (often termed ‘enlightenment’), the means and circumstances through which it is attained, who attains it, and to what degree of intensity and duration. In this, it offers considerable value to those simply curious about what ‘awakening’ is really about, and to those who, whereby deliberately or inadvertently, are already engaged in a process of waking. Due to these elements, this work is indeed ‘enlightening’ and a strong recommendation to read it can be made.
Of course, some of the author’s contentions on the key characteristics of ‘awakening’ are open to debate. But that is a not a great problem. It is well established that one of the characteristics of ‘awakening’ is indeed the commitment to investigation. (For example, classical Buddhism offers a list of seven ‘awakening factors’ of which #2 is ‘investigation’.)
What is a problem is that an author with a background in scientific research, and who makes claims to ‘demythologise’ (notably in chapter 15), should be so prone to ‘mythologise’. He perpetuates the myth of a ‘golden age’, purportedly occurring in two periods. One was in the past, with a ‘Fall’ from the awakened state, some 10,000 years ago. The other, predicted for an indeterminate future, is an ‘evolution’ to a higher consciousness for the human species as a whole. Thus the ‘Leap’ in the book’s title has at least two aspects, individual awakening and collective awakening. Whilst the book documents the former very ably, its treatment of the latter involves a leap into speculation. There is no proof of a golden age in the very distant past – we simply have no records. Likewise, we can know very little about what the future holds – the human species will probably ‘evolve’, but whether forwards or backwards is uncertain, and it may disappear altogether.
Further, in espousing the ‘New Age’ idiom, the author seems to be overlooking – or at least underestimating in this publication – two invaluable lines of inquiry. One is to ask what ‘evolution’ has actually occurred over the past 5,000 years or so of relatively well-recorded history. (Of course, this topic is usually treated under the term not of ‘evolution’ but ‘civilisation’ in a copious literature to which the author may be disinclined to add, for understandable reasons.) The other is to document whether, going forwards, the propensity to awaken is increasing, decreasing or static. In other words, does the proportion of the population that is awake or awakening change over time? And if so, to what degree and for what reasons? Are some factors and methods stronger - more effective and/or more reliable - than others? Can the best methods be further refined, and just how do we do that? At the moment, all we do is to guess and proceed on the basis of (often individual) trial and error, because we do not have a historical baseline for comparison. Indeed, perhaps all our generation can do, through the good offices of researchers such as Steve Taylor is to establish a baseline in relation to the present day which can be utilised over the longer term to discover in what direction we are going, individually and collectively, and why. That research project is a lot more modest than New Age myth-making, but it is potentially a greater gift and legacy to future generations. Though it calls for significant resources, it does seem within reach.
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The Leap: The Psychology of Spiritual Awakening
The Leap: The Psychology of Spiritual Awakening
by Steve Taylor, Eckhart Tolle (Foreword)
4.16 · Rating details · 268 ratings · 35 reviews
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Many assume that enlightenment is the result of arduous effort — self-denial such as fasting, travel to far-flung places, encounters with teachers thought to be enlightened themselves. But here, Steve Taylor shows that ordinary people — from all walks of life and every age and place — can and do regularly experience the kind of life-changing moments many of us seek. Taylor ...more
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Janet
May 16, 2017Janet rated it liked it
Shelves: self-help-spiritual
Great overview of what it means to be awakened. I don't know exactly how awakened I truly am, but this is certainly accurate: "Awakened individuals love doing nothing. They love solitude, quietness, and inactivity." "We can rest contentedly within our own being because there is no turbulence or discord inside us. We don't need to constantly do things just for the sake of it or constantly supply ourselves with distractions. Rather than fear quietness and inactivity, we enjoy them deeply because they allow us to touch into the radiance of our own well-being." (less)
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Jennifer
Sep 03, 2018Jennifer rated it really liked it
This was a really informative and fascinating read. Only a couple things held me back from giving it five stars: one of the earlier chapters on religions and spiritual practices was major information-overload and could turn some people off early (it's the only chapter that feels really dense and could easily be skipped), and often the book reads like a dissertation which may be unexpected for some. I personally enjoy reading research material so the style was fine for me. Overall, a really great explanation of our spiritual awakening as a species, particularly due to its layout and the order in which concepts are presented to the reader. (less)
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انتصار فضل
Dec 26, 2019انتصار فضل rated it really liked it · review of another edition
" القفزة " / ستيف تايلور.
ما الذي يعنيه أن تكون مستنيراً أو مستيقظاً روحياً؟ في “القفزة” يبيّن “ستيف تايلور” أن هذه الحالة أكثر شيوعاً مما يعتقد عموماً. كما يبيّن أن الناس العاديين من جميع مناحي الحياة، يستطيعون ويطبقون “الاستيقاظ” بانتظام إلى واقع أكثر كثافة، حتى لو كانوا لا يعرفون شيئاً عن الممارسات والمسارات الروحية. إن اليقظة التامة هي حالة أكثر توسعاً وتناغماً كونها حالة يمكن أن تغرس أو تنشأ عن طريق الخطأ. قد تكون أيضاً عملية نخضع لها على نحو جماعي. بالاستناد إلى السنوات التي قضاها في أبحاث ...more
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Sonia
Mar 31, 2017Sonia rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
This book answered my many questions about awakening. I was curious ever since learning about Eckhart Tolle. I assumed it was a rare occurrence but have since learned differently. This is also the first book that I've read that adequately addresses kundalini awakening. We as a species are on the leading edge of another evolutionary moment and it's astounding.
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سارّه ..
Aug 25, 2019سارّه .. rated it really liked it · review of another edition
يتحدث هذا الكتاب عن علم نفس الإستيقاظ الروحي كما هو مكتوب في غلافه. يصف كل نوع/ حالة من اليقظة ويحللها مستعيناً بتجارب أشخاص مرّوا بها.
يصف كل حالة، وخصائصها، وأسبابها، وكيف تحدث.
أعجبني من حيث استعانته بتجارب الآخرين واضعاً صورة واضحة لمن يمر بتجربة الإستيقاظ لتعزيز وفهم تجربته.
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Lyn
May 25, 2017Lyn rated it it was ok
I expected it to be easier to read. It got bogged down after the first couple chapters
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Dyana Sahiouni
Mar 13, 2020Dyana Sahiouni rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
الاقتباس:
عندما نستخدم مصطلحات مثل اليقظة التامة والاستيقاظ، يكون من المهم أن نفهم ماهو الشيء
الذي نستيقظ منه.
فإن ما نستيقظ منه هو في الأساس حالة من الغفلة، حالة من التعقيد، الوعي المحدد، التناقض، والمعاناة.
إن السبب الرئيسي وراء هذه الحاجة إلى الهوية والانتماء هو شعور الضعف والهشاشة الناتج عن انفصالنا،
انفصالنا عن الطبيعة، نشعر أننا مهددون ونحتاج إلى بعض الدعم، كي نشعر أننا جزء من شيء أكبر منا، يوفر لنا الملاذ والأمن والحماية.
فإنه يخلق بالتوازي حاجة قوية للقبول.
إنه يجعلنا حريصين على أن نكون ملائمي ...more
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Johnny Stork, MSc
May 13, 2017Johnny Stork, MSc rated it it was amazing
We are all on a similar path in life. Regardless of our professional, personal or relationship goals, ultimately we all strive to be happy and "successful" in our lives, however we define it. Most of us also strive to become the "best" we can become as a person, a spouse or excel through some sort of creative or athletic activity. The psychologist Abraham Maslow proposed a hierarchy of human needs which determine what motivates us through our lives starting from basic food and shelter needs at the bottom all the way to "Self Actualisation" as the final pursuit or motivation in one's life. Self Actualisation is basically the pursuit of realising our highest potential, our greatest talent, our ultimate meaning or experience of life. In many religious traditions there is also a similar notion or pursuit of some ideal state of existence or state of mind. Some optimal state of consciousness and experience of life which transcends our "normal" day-to-day lives. This state of mind has many names in different religious traditions ranging from "Nirvana", "Enlightenment", "Buddha Mind", "Moksha", "Liberation" and of course "Awakening". Although it is not uncommon to associate these transcendent and "awakening" experiences with a religious practice, Steve's extensive research (and multiple books) into the 'awakening" state has reinforced similar research which demonstrates that these awakened states are NOT uncommon and are NOT always associated with a religious or spiritual practice of any kind. In other words, the joyful, exhilarating, compassionate and grateful state of mind and acceptance which also contributes to feelings of purpose and meaning in life, is available to EVERYONE.
"I define an awakening experience as “an experience of clarity, revelation, and joy in which we become aware of a deeper (or higher) level of reality, perceive a sense of harmony and meaning, and transcend our normal sense of separateness from the world.”" (Steve Taylor)
Steve Taylor in The Leap, does an exceptional job of outlining his theory that human civilisation was once in a more "awakened" state due to our direct connection to, and dependence upon, our natural environment. At some point in our evolutionary history we had a "Fall" into the "sleep state" we find ourselves in now. However, once we understand this "awakened" state is actually our normal and foundational state, we can re-awaken this dormant and transcendent state of existence. The Leap also covers a great deal of ground describing real-world examples of ordinary non-religious persons who have clearly gone through an awakening experience which transformed their lives in deep and meaningful ways.
I can highly recommend The Leap for every person on any spiritual or religious path, or none at all and who are simply seeking a better way of living and some direction as to how to find happiness and meaning in their own lives. A renewed motivation to pursue activities and ideas which will re-awaken your dormant and awakened self.
"In many ways, awakened individuals experience a higher-functioning state that makes life more fulfilling, exhilarating, and meaningful than it may appear in a normal state of being. As a result of this internal shift, they often make major changes to their lives. They begin new careers, hobbies, and relationships. They feel a strong impulse to make positive contributions to the world, to live in meaningful and purposeful ways, rather than simply trying to satisfy their own desires, enjoy themselves, or pass the time." (Steve Taylor)
"Awakened individuals have little or no sense of group identity. They see distinctions of religion or ethnicity or nationality as superficial and meaningless. They see themselves purely as human beings, without any external identities, who are no different from anyone else. As a result, they don’t put members of their own group before others, but rather treat all people equally. They don’t feel any pride in their nationality or ethnicity; they feel just as connected to “foreigners” as they do to their own “people.” (Steve Taylor) (less)
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Tristy at New World Library
Feb 06, 2017Tristy at New World Library rated it it was amazing
Shelves: spirituality, philosophy
Endorsements:
“Life always gives you what you need, and right now it has given you this book to use as a guide or companion through challenging times. It contains a great deal of precious wisdom, expressed in the straightforward, clear, and down-to-earth language that Steve Taylor is so good at.”— from the foreword by Eckhart Tolle, author of The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment and A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose
“The Leap establishes Steve Taylor as a major spiritua ...more
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Jennifer Precious
Oct 28, 2017Jennifer Precious rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Essential spiritual reading
This book was above all, encouraging. He describes wakefulness (enlightenment) in terms that are more humanly recognizable than the traditional view of an enlightened person being somehow super human and magical. In fact, it is an evolutionary impulse that we are headed for as a species and that we can all cultivate through stillness, mindfulness, appreciation of the natural and artistic world around us and through practicing empathy and altruism. I won't say where I a ...more
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Heidi Nobantu
Oct 25, 2017Heidi Nobantu rated it really liked it
Shelves: psychology, non-fiction, spiritual-mystical
Demythologizing Wakefulness - A book to read if you have been on a 'path' in life ~ explored a variety of ways to go in terms of religion or spiritual quest... or not. Or if you simply have not been able to buy that there is only 'one right way' to be 'saved' and get to heaven, so to speak. This is a thoughtful and a scientific look at what it means to 'wake up,' from the ways it can look and feel to a comparison/exploration of common traits across religions and in wakeful individuals themselves ...more
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Donnell
Apr 11, 2017Donnell rated it it was ok
The number of stars are NOT an indication of the value of this book, which I consider quite high. It offers valuable info on the awakening process and gaining this info could actually move the process along for the reader.
To sit down and read the book through, though, is a bit tough. I had to stop, actually, about mid way through and then jump to a skim of the "myths" about awakening and a read of the "Appendix: An Inventory of Spiritual/ Secular Wakefulness", which is particularly valuable."
On ...more
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Timbrel
Nov 03, 2017Timbrel rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Validated my experiences
This book is an unbiased collection of data presented in an intelligent and efficient fashion that anyone can read and understand it. I am grateful it was available to read because it was nice to finally see that my experience was normal (lol well, normal for someone awakening anyway). It would be a good read for everyone, from seeker to someone who has already found.
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Karen Kerrigan
Jun 19, 2017Karen Kerrigan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Excellent
A very detailed account of awakening as well as the different religious groups perception of wakefulness. Deep and thorough but ultimately a great read. It gave me insight into some things that I didn't know and validated many of the feelings that I've been having over the past few months. How wonderful it is to be awake with peace and wholeness!!! Thank you Steve for your inspired research and genuine effort.
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Trudy
Apr 05, 2017Trudy rated it did not like it · review of another edition
I was only a few pages into this when the left wing political lecturing started. I should've known better, but I'd somehow overlooked the name, Eckhart Tolle on the cover. Then I remembered he's Oprah's approved arbiter of spirituality. Oh, well. It was an interesting concept. Maybe someday somebody will write this book without politics, that would REALLY be something!
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lucho
Feb 03, 2018lucho rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Good Book
Nice detailed review of the types of Spiritual Awakenings posible in humans, why, how and when they occur. The overall need at a personal and for the overall evolution of our specie. Nicely Done !! Loved the way you explained why all this is happening, not as a personal as a much as it is related to our evolution.
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Alis Anagnostakis
Jun 27, 2018Alis Anagnostakis rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Must-read for those on a path of self-transformation
Beautiful perspective on what living an “awakened” life means, on why the crises of pur lives might actually be triggers of deeply transformaritve processes. A great read on your journey of personal growth.
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Nsns2hotmail.com
Feb 04, 2019Nsns2hotmail.com rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
كتاب عجيب .. عبارة عن بحث لحالات الاستيقاظ الروحي ..
يصف الكاتب عملية الاستيقاظ الروحي كتجربة
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Teren Hanz
Jan 17, 2020Teren Hanz rated it it was amazing
This book is a mind opener. We think, keeping our eyes open is enough but I think keeping your mind open teaches you the art of being conscious, consciously. But what does that mean? It simply means - inner growth. We may think, it is not easy but it is not as difficult as one may think. This book provides answers to somethings that you may have been pondering over decades. Its an easy read if the subject is of interest but only if you keep your mind open. I think, as human beings we tend to chase our life goals and relationships without knowing ourselves. Unfortunately, neither of the two can be achieved to an A level without a spiritual path. Some do, but, at some point, one will come around to explore the real meaning of life. When you read some of the stories with examples in this book, one will understand what I mean. At some point, it may not make sense and you might find it too much but don't give up. I skipped a few pages which were heavy and then came back to them later. Just read bits that you easily understand, reflect and read again and then it will start making sense and provide you innner growth and precious wisdom. This is what makes us realise our ulitmate potential which in other words is 'self actualisation'. Its a book that must be in every home to be read, whenever you get a few minutes, which will remind you of your unexplored inner potential. (less)
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Riccardo Scafati
Mar 03, 2020Riccardo Scafati rated it really liked it
Veramente ammirevole l'impegno di Taylor nello strutturare in maniera completa e chiara quel processo a tratti misterioso, a tratti assolutamente naturale, del risveglio e della crescita interiore (anche se probabilmente quest'ultimo termine non piacerebbe all'autore).
Ho apprezzato in particolar modo le continue analogie tra le religioni e discipline tradizionali nel loro volgersi ad aspetti di risveglio: Taylor traccia i punti in comune tra induismo, buddismo e scuole mistiche delle religioni tradizionali e li mette in rapporto con gli aspetti pratici ed esistenziali di casi studio reali. (less)
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T Love
Jun 14, 2017T Love rated it it was amazing
Easy to read and simple to understand. While the psychology of spirituality is not new, the way in which Dr. Taylor uses simple explanations, through stories and examples, is. This work provides the reader fully clarity on not only how to get to an awakened state but what life is like along the way. I found this work fascinating and comprehensive. Whether just starting out on the path to awakening, or well into the journey, I believe this book will prove greater expansion and growth to one’s awakening experience. (less)
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Mahdikhazaee
Dec 11, 2019Mahdikhazaee rated it it was amazing
Excellent book, useful for those who are awakened and don't know exactly what has happened to them.\
the best thing about this book, is its simplicity in lexicon usage and nice subtle simply used grammatical structure that has made this book really easy to understand.
Characteristics of awakened people are described in this book, and important ways to being awakened and present are listed. easy to understand for foreign readers.
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Rebecca
Jul 30, 2020Rebecca added it
Shelves: read-in-2020, spirituality
really interesting and illuminating book. i'm not sure if it's the nature of the topic, but after the first 40% or so, it felt like the same points were being repeated in different words. but either way, it was really helpful.
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Nsns2hotmail.com
Jul 17, 2017Nsns2hotmail.com rated it it was amazing
I started reading this book 2 weeks ago .. I'm surprised and affected by the truth that Steve had mentioned it in the book through stories of real awakening happened for human being .. I feel enthusiastic to read his other books.
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Peter Gyulay
Jul 22, 2019Peter Gyulay rated it it was amazing
A very thorough study of the phenomenon of spiritual enlightenment. This book gives the spiritual seeker a framework with which to understand their journey and also a mirror to reflect their experiences.
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Eric
Mar 22, 2018Eric rated it it was amazing
Wonderful book taking a factual look at enlightenment/awakening and pulling it out of the mists of religion and gurus. Establishes that, in fact, enlightenment is a real process and much more common than one would think. One of the best books on spirituality I have read.
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Meagan
May 02, 2018Meagan rated it liked it
By reading only the last chapter, you can get all the value of this book. Worth a read, if only for the ending.
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Jim Ewing
Jul 19, 2017Jim Ewing rated it it was amazing
An absolute belter of a book, just what I needed.
A MUST READ for anyone with an interest in the evolution/raising of consciousness.
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Anna Baran
Jan 19, 2018Anna Baran rated it it was amazing
Beautifully written book about spiritual emergence
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Dusica
Feb 09, 2019Dusica rated it it was amazing
A book I have been looking for for a long time to explain ‘consciousness shift’ occurring in daily existence. Indeed, a must read for anyone on a spiritual path.
에크하르트 톨레의 메세지 - 『보통의 깨달음』을 독자들에게 소개하며 : 네이버 포스트
에크하르트 톨레의 메세지 - 『보통의 깨달음』을 독자들에게 소개하며 : 네이버 포스트
《보통의 깨달음》 ─ 에크하르트 톨레 추천책!
에크하르트 톨레의 메세지 - 『보통의 깨달음』을 독자들에게 소개하며
판미동 I 민음인
2020.11.18. 10:2367 읽음
삶은 우리에게 언제나 필요한 것만 준다.
그리고 지금은 이 책을 주고 있다.
-에크하르트 톨레
『보통의 깨달음』을 독자들에게 소개하며
에크하르트 톨레
우리는 ‘인간 존재(human being)’다. 이 두 단어는 우리가 특정 생물종에 속함을 보여 준다. 그런데 좀 더 깊이 들어가 보면, 이 말은 우리 정체성을 이루는 두 가지 성격을 하나씩 드러낸다.
먼저 ‘인간(human)’은 형태 수준에서 우리가 누구인지 말해 준다. 그러니까 우리 몸과 마음을 말해 준다. 우리 형태의 이 두 측면은 조건화된 자아와 관계가 있다. 이 자아는 유전, 환경, 그리고 과학적으로 아직 규명되지 못한 요소들에 의해 조건화된다.
반면 ‘존재(being)’는 형태 없고 조건화되지 않은 영원한 의식으로서의 우리 본질을 말해 준다. 인간 그리고 존재, 이 형태와 본질은 대양과 그 표면의 파도가 그렇듯 궁극적으로 서로 연결되어 있다. 파도는 대양과 또 다른 파도들로부터도 떼려야 뗄 수 없는 관계다. 다만 서로 분리된 것처럼 보일 수는 있을 것이다.
이 ‘존재’, 다른 말로 ‘순수 의식’은 모든 생명의 보편 원천(혹은 신)으로부터 나왔다. 마치 빛이 태양으로부터 터져 나오듯 그렇게 터져 나왔다. 하지만 태양과 달리 이 원천은 우리가 사는 시공간에는 없는 듯하다. 보이지 않으므로 상상할 수 없고, 묘사도 할 수 없다. 하지만 우리의 의식은 이 원천에서 나왔고, 지금도 나오고 있으며, 따라서 이 원천과 결코 떨어질 수 없다. 태양빛이 태양과 떨어질 수 없는 것과 같다. 사실 이 원천은 우리가 사는 시공간 차원의 우주 전체에 스며 있고 퍼져 있다. 이 원천이 배후의 지성으로 작용해 물리 우주의 진화를 이끈다. 그러므로 인간 존재를 포함한 이 우주는 먼 과거에만 창조된 것이 아니라 지금도 창조되고 있다. 이른바 과정 중에 있는 것이다.
이 책을 이해하고 큰 도움을 받으려면 이런 기본적 전제들을 알아야 한다. 스티브 테일러(《보통의 깨달음》 저자)에 따르면 진화는 옛날 일이기도 하고 미래의 일이기도 하기 때문이다.
나아가, 테일러도 설명하듯이, 이 세상의 주류 문화가 믿고 있는 것과 달리 이 진화의 과정에는 분명 방향과 목적이 있다. 하지만 그 방향이 구체적으로 어디로 향할지는 지금으로서는 상상하기 어렵다. 우리가 말할 수 있는 것은 이 진화의 과정 그 배후의 원동력이 바로 우리의 ‘의식’, 더 정확하게 말하면 ‘우리 의식의 성장’이라는 것뿐이다. 우리가 사는 물리적 우주는 (무의식에서 벗어나) 좀 더 의식적이 되는 방향으로 성장하고 싶어 한다. 그리고 우리 삶의 주요 목적이 그런 우주적 목적과 함께하게 될 것이다.
물론 더 높은 관점에서 보면 존재하는 모든 것들은 이미 다 그 목적과 함께하고 있다. 지금 그 목적에 반하는 것처럼 보이는 것은 단지 우리가 아직까지는 무의식적으로만 그 목적과 함께하고 있기 때문이다. 우주의 그 목적과 의식적으로도 함께하는 때가 되면 그때 비로소 진화적인 큰 도약 하나가 완수될 것이다.
그렇다면 진화의 현재 단계에 있는 인간 존재에게 ‘좀 더 의식적으로 된다는 것’ 즉 ‘깨어난다는 것’은 과연 무슨 의미일까?
‘좀 더 의식적으로 된다는 것’
즉 ‘깨어난다는 것’은 과연 무슨 의미일까?
간단명료하게 말하면 더 이상 자신의 생각에서 ‘자신의 정체성을 찾지 않게 되는 것’이다. 머릿속에서 끊임없이 이어지는 강박적인 생각들, 그 목소리가 ‘내’가 아님을 알 때 ‘나’는 깨닫기 시작한다. 그때 의식이 새로운 차원으로 들어가면서 순간을 살고, 알아차리고, 깨어난다. 생각에 빠지지 않고 생각을 넘어선 것이다. 그러면 생각에 이용당하지 않고 오히려 생각을 이용할 수 있다. 머릿속 수다, 생각, 피상적 느낌 등에서 정체성을 찾다가 이제는 내면에 살아 있는 존재, 의식 그 자체에서 정체성을 찾게 된다.
다시 말해 ‘인간’ 그 배후에 있는 ‘존재’를 깨닫는다. 조건화된 인격을 초월하고 조건화 없는 의식 그 자체로서의 본질적인 정체성을 깨닫는다. 그럼 “네가 세상의 빛이다.”라고 했던 예수의 말이 사실임을 스스로 증명하게 될 것이다.
이 책은 깨어남에 대한 개념을 정리해 주고, 그 의식적 전환을 직접 경험한 사람들에 대한 흥미로운 이야기들을 들려준다. 머릿속 산만한 생각과 개념들을 극복한 후 스스로 깨닫지 않는 한 깨달음의 의미를 진정으로 이해할 수는 없지만, 깨달음 개념들은 제대로 이용될 경우 깨달음을 위한 지표로서 매우 유용하다. ‘깨달은 상태’와 같은 개념들을 확정된 것으로 믿지만 않는다면 말이다.
그런 의미에서 이 책은 이미 깨달음의 과정을 지나온 사람 혹은 그 어떤 위기, 상실, 정신적 격변의 시기를 거친 후 깨달을 준비가 된 사람들에게 실질적으로 큰 도움이 될 것이다. 특히 의식 전환 초기 단계에서 동반되곤 하는 혼란에 잘 대처하고 싶고 자신에게 벌어지고 있는 일을 이해하고자 하는 사람에게 유용하다. 이 책을 통해 자신이 이미 깨달은 바 있음을 알게 될 사람도 있을 테고, 그동안 잘 몰랐지만 자신이 조금씩 깨달아 왔음을 알게 될 사람도 있을 것이다.
인류가 머지않은 미래에 거대한 문제에 봉착하게 될 것이 거의 확실해 보인다. 아직 깨어나지 못한 의식의 그 이기성이 자초해 온 문제들 말이다. 아직까지 우리 대다수는 그 이기성에 집착하고 있다. 하지만 그렇다고 인류가 깨어날 일은 앞으로도 없을 거라고 단정해서는 안 된다. 오히려 그 반대일 것이다. 우리가 현재 경험하고 있는 위기와 앞으로 오게 될 큰 격변의 시기가 의식의 집단적 전환에 촉매로 작용할 것이다.
스티브 테일러의 말을 빌리면 “지금처럼 문제들이 심각해지기 전부터 이미 진화적 도약은 시작되었다. 그리고 이 문제들 때문에 도약은 더 강력해져 왔고, 지금도 더 강력해지고 있다.”
‘문제’란 모든 진화에 없어서는 안 되는 것으로, 인간으로 치면 피와 살 같다. 식물부터 동물과 인간에 이르기까지 모든 생명체는 문제에 직면한 후 도전을 거듭하면서 진화해 왔고, 지금도 진화하고 있다. 안전한 곳에만 있을 때 영적 깨달음은 일어나지 않는다. 물론 우리의 에고는 다른 주장을 할 것이다.
하지만 어떤 사람을 만나기만 하면, 어떤 곳에 가고 어떤 물건을 갖기만 하면 만족하고 행복할 거라고 믿고 있다면 실망만 거듭하게 될 것이다. 세상을 향해 “나를 행복하게 해 줘!”라고 말하지 말라. 그것은 불가능한 요구이고 끝없는 좌절을 자초하는 일이다. 그보다는 좀 더 알아차리는 데 세상을 이용하자. 삶이 던져 주는 모든 문제나 장애가 있기에 현재에 살 수 있고, 깨어날 수 있고, 최소한 현재의 상태를 심화할 수 있다.
우리가 직면하는 개인적이고 집단적인 수많은 도전들은 ‘나’에 의해서든 타인에 의해서든 인간의 무의식이 만들어 낸 것들이다. 우리의 행복이나 자기실현을 가로막는 것처럼 보이는 것들은 모두 활짝 열린 대문 같은 것이다. 그 문만 넘으면 현재의 이 순간으로 들어올 수 있다!
이제 문제가 생기면 다르게 반응하자. 그리고 어떤 일이 일어나는지 보자. 우리의 삶은 우리에게 일어나는 일이 아니라 그 일에 우리가 어떻게 반응하느냐에 따라 달라진다. 미디어나 정치권이 조장하는 집단 무의식에 선동되거나 기여하지 않는 것이 무엇보다도 중요하다. 우리가 만나는 모든 사람, 직면하게 되는 모든 문제에, 심지어 페이스북 포스팅에도 무의식이 아닌 의식의 빛을 전달하자!
삶은 우리에게 언제나 필요한 것만 준다. 그리고 지금은 이 책을 주고 있다. 삶이 우리에게 이 책을 안내자 삼고 친구 삼아 어려운 시대를 잘 살아 내라고 말하는 듯하다. 곳곳에 포진해 있는 통찰들, 스티브 테일러의 강점인 직설적이고 솔직하고 간명한 언어가 돋보이는 책이다. 나는 이 책이 어떤 기적을 일으켜 미디어와 정치권에 있는 사람들조차 바꿀 것 같다는 느낌이 든다. -에크하르트 톨레, 『보통의 깨달음』 서문 중에서
보통의 깨달음
저자 스티브 테일러
출판 판미동
발매 2020.11.18.
《보통의 깨달음》 ─ 에크하르트 톨레 추천책!
에크하르트 톨레의 메세지 - 『보통의 깨달음』을 독자들에게 소개하며
판미동 I 민음인
2020.11.18. 10:2367 읽음
삶은 우리에게 언제나 필요한 것만 준다.
그리고 지금은 이 책을 주고 있다.
-에크하르트 톨레
『보통의 깨달음』을 독자들에게 소개하며
에크하르트 톨레
우리는 ‘인간 존재(human being)’다. 이 두 단어는 우리가 특정 생물종에 속함을 보여 준다. 그런데 좀 더 깊이 들어가 보면, 이 말은 우리 정체성을 이루는 두 가지 성격을 하나씩 드러낸다.
먼저 ‘인간(human)’은 형태 수준에서 우리가 누구인지 말해 준다. 그러니까 우리 몸과 마음을 말해 준다. 우리 형태의 이 두 측면은 조건화된 자아와 관계가 있다. 이 자아는 유전, 환경, 그리고 과학적으로 아직 규명되지 못한 요소들에 의해 조건화된다.
반면 ‘존재(being)’는 형태 없고 조건화되지 않은 영원한 의식으로서의 우리 본질을 말해 준다. 인간 그리고 존재, 이 형태와 본질은 대양과 그 표면의 파도가 그렇듯 궁극적으로 서로 연결되어 있다. 파도는 대양과 또 다른 파도들로부터도 떼려야 뗄 수 없는 관계다. 다만 서로 분리된 것처럼 보일 수는 있을 것이다.
이 ‘존재’, 다른 말로 ‘순수 의식’은 모든 생명의 보편 원천(혹은 신)으로부터 나왔다. 마치 빛이 태양으로부터 터져 나오듯 그렇게 터져 나왔다. 하지만 태양과 달리 이 원천은 우리가 사는 시공간에는 없는 듯하다. 보이지 않으므로 상상할 수 없고, 묘사도 할 수 없다. 하지만 우리의 의식은 이 원천에서 나왔고, 지금도 나오고 있으며, 따라서 이 원천과 결코 떨어질 수 없다. 태양빛이 태양과 떨어질 수 없는 것과 같다. 사실 이 원천은 우리가 사는 시공간 차원의 우주 전체에 스며 있고 퍼져 있다. 이 원천이 배후의 지성으로 작용해 물리 우주의 진화를 이끈다. 그러므로 인간 존재를 포함한 이 우주는 먼 과거에만 창조된 것이 아니라 지금도 창조되고 있다. 이른바 과정 중에 있는 것이다.
이 책을 이해하고 큰 도움을 받으려면 이런 기본적 전제들을 알아야 한다. 스티브 테일러(《보통의 깨달음》 저자)에 따르면 진화는 옛날 일이기도 하고 미래의 일이기도 하기 때문이다.
나아가, 테일러도 설명하듯이, 이 세상의 주류 문화가 믿고 있는 것과 달리 이 진화의 과정에는 분명 방향과 목적이 있다. 하지만 그 방향이 구체적으로 어디로 향할지는 지금으로서는 상상하기 어렵다. 우리가 말할 수 있는 것은 이 진화의 과정 그 배후의 원동력이 바로 우리의 ‘의식’, 더 정확하게 말하면 ‘우리 의식의 성장’이라는 것뿐이다. 우리가 사는 물리적 우주는 (무의식에서 벗어나) 좀 더 의식적이 되는 방향으로 성장하고 싶어 한다. 그리고 우리 삶의 주요 목적이 그런 우주적 목적과 함께하게 될 것이다.
물론 더 높은 관점에서 보면 존재하는 모든 것들은 이미 다 그 목적과 함께하고 있다. 지금 그 목적에 반하는 것처럼 보이는 것은 단지 우리가 아직까지는 무의식적으로만 그 목적과 함께하고 있기 때문이다. 우주의 그 목적과 의식적으로도 함께하는 때가 되면 그때 비로소 진화적인 큰 도약 하나가 완수될 것이다.
그렇다면 진화의 현재 단계에 있는 인간 존재에게 ‘좀 더 의식적으로 된다는 것’ 즉 ‘깨어난다는 것’은 과연 무슨 의미일까?
‘좀 더 의식적으로 된다는 것’
즉 ‘깨어난다는 것’은 과연 무슨 의미일까?
간단명료하게 말하면 더 이상 자신의 생각에서 ‘자신의 정체성을 찾지 않게 되는 것’이다. 머릿속에서 끊임없이 이어지는 강박적인 생각들, 그 목소리가 ‘내’가 아님을 알 때 ‘나’는 깨닫기 시작한다. 그때 의식이 새로운 차원으로 들어가면서 순간을 살고, 알아차리고, 깨어난다. 생각에 빠지지 않고 생각을 넘어선 것이다. 그러면 생각에 이용당하지 않고 오히려 생각을 이용할 수 있다. 머릿속 수다, 생각, 피상적 느낌 등에서 정체성을 찾다가 이제는 내면에 살아 있는 존재, 의식 그 자체에서 정체성을 찾게 된다.
다시 말해 ‘인간’ 그 배후에 있는 ‘존재’를 깨닫는다. 조건화된 인격을 초월하고 조건화 없는 의식 그 자체로서의 본질적인 정체성을 깨닫는다. 그럼 “네가 세상의 빛이다.”라고 했던 예수의 말이 사실임을 스스로 증명하게 될 것이다.
이 책은 깨어남에 대한 개념을 정리해 주고, 그 의식적 전환을 직접 경험한 사람들에 대한 흥미로운 이야기들을 들려준다. 머릿속 산만한 생각과 개념들을 극복한 후 스스로 깨닫지 않는 한 깨달음의 의미를 진정으로 이해할 수는 없지만, 깨달음 개념들은 제대로 이용될 경우 깨달음을 위한 지표로서 매우 유용하다. ‘깨달은 상태’와 같은 개념들을 확정된 것으로 믿지만 않는다면 말이다.
그런 의미에서 이 책은 이미 깨달음의 과정을 지나온 사람 혹은 그 어떤 위기, 상실, 정신적 격변의 시기를 거친 후 깨달을 준비가 된 사람들에게 실질적으로 큰 도움이 될 것이다. 특히 의식 전환 초기 단계에서 동반되곤 하는 혼란에 잘 대처하고 싶고 자신에게 벌어지고 있는 일을 이해하고자 하는 사람에게 유용하다. 이 책을 통해 자신이 이미 깨달은 바 있음을 알게 될 사람도 있을 테고, 그동안 잘 몰랐지만 자신이 조금씩 깨달아 왔음을 알게 될 사람도 있을 것이다.
인류가 머지않은 미래에 거대한 문제에 봉착하게 될 것이 거의 확실해 보인다. 아직 깨어나지 못한 의식의 그 이기성이 자초해 온 문제들 말이다. 아직까지 우리 대다수는 그 이기성에 집착하고 있다. 하지만 그렇다고 인류가 깨어날 일은 앞으로도 없을 거라고 단정해서는 안 된다. 오히려 그 반대일 것이다. 우리가 현재 경험하고 있는 위기와 앞으로 오게 될 큰 격변의 시기가 의식의 집단적 전환에 촉매로 작용할 것이다.
스티브 테일러의 말을 빌리면 “지금처럼 문제들이 심각해지기 전부터 이미 진화적 도약은 시작되었다. 그리고 이 문제들 때문에 도약은 더 강력해져 왔고, 지금도 더 강력해지고 있다.”
‘문제’란 모든 진화에 없어서는 안 되는 것으로, 인간으로 치면 피와 살 같다. 식물부터 동물과 인간에 이르기까지 모든 생명체는 문제에 직면한 후 도전을 거듭하면서 진화해 왔고, 지금도 진화하고 있다. 안전한 곳에만 있을 때 영적 깨달음은 일어나지 않는다. 물론 우리의 에고는 다른 주장을 할 것이다.
하지만 어떤 사람을 만나기만 하면, 어떤 곳에 가고 어떤 물건을 갖기만 하면 만족하고 행복할 거라고 믿고 있다면 실망만 거듭하게 될 것이다. 세상을 향해 “나를 행복하게 해 줘!”라고 말하지 말라. 그것은 불가능한 요구이고 끝없는 좌절을 자초하는 일이다. 그보다는 좀 더 알아차리는 데 세상을 이용하자. 삶이 던져 주는 모든 문제나 장애가 있기에 현재에 살 수 있고, 깨어날 수 있고, 최소한 현재의 상태를 심화할 수 있다.
우리가 직면하는 개인적이고 집단적인 수많은 도전들은 ‘나’에 의해서든 타인에 의해서든 인간의 무의식이 만들어 낸 것들이다. 우리의 행복이나 자기실현을 가로막는 것처럼 보이는 것들은 모두 활짝 열린 대문 같은 것이다. 그 문만 넘으면 현재의 이 순간으로 들어올 수 있다!
이제 문제가 생기면 다르게 반응하자. 그리고 어떤 일이 일어나는지 보자. 우리의 삶은 우리에게 일어나는 일이 아니라 그 일에 우리가 어떻게 반응하느냐에 따라 달라진다. 미디어나 정치권이 조장하는 집단 무의식에 선동되거나 기여하지 않는 것이 무엇보다도 중요하다. 우리가 만나는 모든 사람, 직면하게 되는 모든 문제에, 심지어 페이스북 포스팅에도 무의식이 아닌 의식의 빛을 전달하자!
삶은 우리에게 언제나 필요한 것만 준다. 그리고 지금은 이 책을 주고 있다. 삶이 우리에게 이 책을 안내자 삼고 친구 삼아 어려운 시대를 잘 살아 내라고 말하는 듯하다. 곳곳에 포진해 있는 통찰들, 스티브 테일러의 강점인 직설적이고 솔직하고 간명한 언어가 돋보이는 책이다. 나는 이 책이 어떤 기적을 일으켜 미디어와 정치권에 있는 사람들조차 바꿀 것 같다는 느낌이 든다. -에크하르트 톨레, 『보통의 깨달음』 서문 중에서
보통의 깨달음
저자 스티브 테일러
출판 판미동
발매 2020.11.18.
====
보통의 깨달음
스티브 테일러 (지은이),추미란 (옮긴이)판미동2020-11-18원제 : The Leap: The Psychology of Spiritual Awakening (2017년)
508쪽
책소개
깨달음은 종교인이나 구도자에게만 일어나는 특별한 일일까? 깨달았다는 영적 지도자들은 왜 잘못된 행동을 저지르는 것일까? 생태·환경운동, 채식주의, 심플라이프 등 사회적 관심과 변화는 깨달음과 무슨 관련이 있을까? 깨달음이 보통 사람들에게도 흔하게 일어나는 일이라면 그것은 무엇을 의미할까?
‘깨달음’을 종교와 수행의 관점이 아닌 보편적인 심리학적 관점으로 접근해 보통 사람들의 일상에서 일어나는 깨어남 현상의 실체를 밝히는 『보통의 깨달음』이 판미동 출판사에서 출간되었다. 세계적인 영성가 에크하르트 톨레가 읽고 찬사를 보내며 자신의 이름을 내건 ‘에크하르트 톨레 에디션(Eckhart Tolle Edition)’으로 출간한 책이다.
저자 스티브 테일러는 영국 리즈 베켓 대학교의 심리학과 부교수이자 세계에서 가장 영향 있는 생존 영성가 100인 안에 꾸준히 선정되어 온(《MIND, BODY, SPIRIT》지 선정) 인물로, 그 자신도 영적 수행의 길을 걸어가는 동시에 영성의 본질을 이성적·학문적으로 이해하려는 노력을 병행해 왔다. 오랜 연구와 취재의 결과물이 집약된 이 책에는 깨어남을 촉발하는 원인들 / 자연적 깨어남, 단계적 깨어남, 급작스러운 깨어남 등 깨어남의 여러 형태 / 깨어날 때 우리 존재나 정신에서 실제로 일어나는 일들 / 깨어난 사람의 세계관, 인간관계, 가치관, 삶의 목적 / 사기꾼 구루와 진짜 깨어난 사람의 차이점 등이 상세히 담겨 있다.
목차
『보통의 깨달음』을 독자들에게 소개하며 | 에크하르트 톨레 -6
들어가는 말 -14
1장 잠에 빠지다, 깨어나길 열망하다 -31
2장 다양한 문화에서 말하는 깨어남 -53
3장 자연적 깨어남, 깨어난 예술가 -83
4장 자연적 깨어남, 혼란과 통합의 과정 -113
5장 전통 안에서의 단계적 깨어남 -139
6장 전통 밖에서의 단계적 깨어남 -163
7장 급작스러운 깨어남, 혼란 끝의 변형 -191
8장 급작스러운 깨어남, 쿤달리니 각성 -229
9장 급작스러운 깨어남, 향정신성 약물이나 테크놀로지 -249
10장 깨어난 후 찾아오는 영적 위기 ?277
11장 폭풍 뒤에도 남아 있는 특성과 문제적 스승 -309
12장 깨어남의 의미: 새 세상, 새 자아 -325
13장 깨어남의 의미: 새 정신, 새 인생 -355
14장 자연적인 깨어남 상태에 있는 아이들 -389
15장 깨어남에 대한 신화들 -417
16장 집단 깨어남, 그 진화적 도약 -445
감사의 말 -478
부록 | 종교적/일반적 깨어남 특성 항목표 -479
주 -482
참고 문헌 -496
자료 -504
----
접기
책속에서
첫문장
깨어남, 깨어나기 같은 용어를 쓸 때 어디로부터 깨어나는지를 아는 것이 무엇보다 중요하다.
P. 21 사실 이 책을 비롯한 내 연구들의 목적 중 하나가 깨어남 상태의 특성들을 명확히 규명해 가짜 깨달음과 진짜 깨달음을 구분하는 지표들을 제시하는 것이다. 영적 지도자들에 대한 규제가 없기 때문에, 자칭 구루라고 하는 자기 망상에 빠진 사람들이 나약한 신봉자들의 삶을 파괴하는 문제들이 심심찮게 일어난다. 깨어난다는 것이 실제로 어떤 의미인지 명확하게 알고 있다면, 그런 망상에 빠진 사람 혹은 사기꾼 지도자를 좀 더 쉽게 알아볼 수 있을 것이다. 접기
P. 28~29 이 책의 주제인 ‘그 상태’를 설명하는 데 어떤 용어를 써야 할지 오랫동안 고민해 보았다. 처음에는 ‘깨달음(enlightenment)’이라는 말을 고려해 보았지만, 나는 이 말이 늘 조금 불편했다. 원래 불교 용어 보리(bodhi)에서 나온 말인데, 그 번역이 부정확하다는 게 그 한 이유다. 19세기 불교 경전 번역가들이 보리를 깨달음이라고 번역했다. 하지만 보리는 팔리어 동사 부드흐(budh)에서 나온 말로 사실은 ‘깨어난다(to awaken)’라는 뜻이다. 그러므로 보리를 직역하면 ‘깨어남(awakening)’에 더 가깝다. 게다가 사람들은 깨달음을 모든 문제와 잘못이 사라져 축복만 넘치는 편안한 상태로 보고, 따라서 완벽하게 긍정적인 용어로 보는 경향이 있다. 이것은 내가 인터뷰했던 사람들 대다수가 깨달음 후에도 이런저런 문제들을 겪었음을 고려할 때 적절하지 않은 듯하다. 접기
P. 281~282 깨어남은 기본적으로 ‘경험’하는 것인데, 그 상태의 개념적인 이해가 중요하다고 하면 이상하게 들릴지도 모르겠다. 어떤 의미에서 개념적인 이해가 깨어남에 장애가 되는 것도 사실이다. 개념이라는 것이 우리로 하여금 세상을 그 자체로 보지 못하게 하므로 결국 우리가 초월하려고 하는 게 아닌가? 흔히 지성, 관념, 믿음 같은 것들에 사로잡혀 있으면 안 된다고 하지 않는가?
사실이 그렇긴 하지만 깨어남에 대한 아주 기본에 해당하는 개념들은 반드시 이해하고 있어야 한다. 지도는 길을 갈 때 방위를 찾고, 내가 어디 있는지 어디로 가야 하는지 알기 위해서 꼭 필요하다. 지도는 순간의 세상을 경험하지 않고, 길 가는 내내 그것만 붙잡은 채 내가 어디를 지나왔고 어디로 가고 있나만 생각할 때 문제가 된다. 깨어난 사람이 자신이 지금 통과하고 있는(혹은 이미 통과한) 과정을 이해하지 못한다면 거듭 의구심이 들 테고, 심지어 깨어남 상태를 억압하려 들지도 모른다. 접기
P. 323 다만 이 장에서 마지막으로 강조하고 싶은 것은 바로 깨어남이 상태가 아니라 과정이라는 것이다. 깨어남은 끝이 아니라 다른 여정의 시작이다. 깨어남은 길의 끝에 도달했다는 뜻이 아니라 다른 길로 옮겨 갔다는 뜻이다. 비유를 좀 더 확장하면 그 다른 길은 좀 더 높은 산길이다. 그 길에서는 더 넓은 전망을 볼 수 있고, 풍경이 더 아름답고 더 생생하다. 시공간이 더 넓어지고 여정이 더 고요해지면서 동시에 더 신난다. 하지만 그럼에도 여전히 길은 길이라서 그곳에서도 움직임이 있고 변화가 있다. 진화의 가능성도 여전하고 (일부 구루들의 경우처럼) 퇴화의 가능성도 있다. 문제도 직면해야 한다. 접기
P. 346~347 에고는 자연과 분리되어 있는 대도시와도 같아서, 도시 밖의 자연과 그 빛을 감지하지 못한다. 하지만 깨어난 자아 체계는 대도시보다는 환경친화적인 작은 에코 타운 같아서, 섬세하고 자연을 침해하지 않으며 머릿속 수다가 만들어 내는 안개로부터 대체로 자유롭다 보니 자연과 그 빛을 감지할 수 있다. 이때 우리 존재의 영적 에너지가 우리를 관통하며 자유롭게 흐른다. 우주에 편재하는 영적인 힘과 본질적으로 같은 바로 그 에너지 말이다. 접기
추천글
“삶은 우리에게 언제나 필요한 것만 준다. 그리고 지금은 이 책을 주고 있다. 삶이 우리에게 이 책을 안내자 삼고 친구 삼아 어려운 시대를 잘 살아 내라고 말하는 것 같다. 곳곳에 포진해 있는 통찰들, 스티브 테일러의 강점인 직설적이고 솔직하고 간명한 언어가 돋보이는 책이다.” - 에크하르트 톨레 (<NOW> <지금 이 순간을 살아라>의 저자)
“깨달음이라는 전통적 지혜와 현대의 과학적 연구가 아름답게 조우했다. 덕분에 영적 깨어남의 신비한 과정을 드디어 이해할 수 있게 되었다.” - 피터 러셀 (물리학자, 저술가)
“통찰력이 대단하고 영감으로 가득한 책이다. 전작들에서도 빛나던, 깨어남에 대한 깊은 이해와 전문 지식이 마침내 이 책으로 그 꽃을 피웠고, ‘인류가 곧 진화할 것이다.’라는 성명으로 그 정점을 찍었다. 깨어남에 대해 관심이 있거나 깨어남을 경험한 사람이라면 꼭 읽어야 할 책이다. 그 흥미진진한 현상에 대한 깊은 이해가 돋보이는 책이다. 사실 모두가 읽어야 할 훌륭한 책이다.” - 페니 사토리
“『보통의 깨달음』에서 스티브 테일러는 영적 깨어남에 대한 급진적인 접근법을 선택했다. 이 책에 따르면 영적 깨어남은 생각보다 흔한 일이고, 종교적 전통들과 별도로 일어나며, 인간 진화에 중요한 역할을 한다. 이 책은 도발적인 성명으로 가득하다. 동의할 수 있는 것도 있고 없는 것도 있을 테지만, 이 책이 하는 말을 잊어버릴 수는 없을 것이다. 이 책으로 스티브 테일러는 다시 한번 뛰어난 영성서 작가이자 영적 지도자로 우뚝 섰다. 명쾌하기 그지없는 이 책이 많은 생각과 지혜를 끌어낼 것이다.” - 스탠리 크리프너 (세이브룩대학 심리학과 교수)
“종교 안팎에서 깨어남을 낱낱이 그리고 아름답게 탈신화했다. 재밌게 읽을 수 있고 위험한 시대에 희망을 갖게 한다.” - 클라우디오 나란조
“이제 깨달음이 정확하게 무엇인지 알아야 할 때가 왔다. 『보통의 깨달음』은 읽기 쉬운 책이며, 이미 한참 전에 나왔어야 하는 아주 중요한 책이다. 오랫동안 미스터리였던 깨달음을 스티브 테일러가 사랑하고 걱정하는 마음으로 완벽하게 파헤쳤다.” - 로버트 K. C. 포먼 (전 뉴욕 시립대학교 종교학과 교수)
저자 및 역자소개
스티브 테일러 (Steve Taylor) (지은이)
영국의 리즈 베켓 대학교에서 부교수로 학생들에게 심리학을 가르치고 있다. 어릴 때 ‘자연스러운’ 깨달음을 경험하고 방황한 끝에, 영적 수행의 길을 걸으면서 동시에 수행과 영성의 본질을 이성적·학문적으로 이해하려는 노력을 꾸준히 병행해 왔다. 그의 연구는 《자아초월 심리학 저널(The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology)》, 《인본주의 심리학 저널(The Journal of Humanistic Psychology)》을 포함한 여러 학술지에 실렸고, 《가디언》, BBC와 같은 유력 매체에 특별 보도되기도 했다. 영성에 대한 통찰력과 인류를 대하는 따뜻하고 균형 잡힌 시각으로 현재 세계에서 가장 영향 있는 생존 영성가 100인 안에 꾸준히 이름을 올리는 등 큰 주목을 받고 있다. 지은 책으로는 『자아폭발』, 『조화로움』, 『제2의 시간』, 『잠에서 깨어나기』, 『고요한 중심(The Calm Center)』 등이 있으며, 전 세계 20여 개 언어로 번역되어 소개되었다. 그중에서도 이 책 『보통의 깨달음』은 세계적인 영성가 에크하르트 톨레가 삶을 깨우는 데 강력한 도움을 주는 책을 직접 선정하고 독자들에게 추천하는 ‘에크하르트 톨레 에디션’에 포함되어 있다. 접기
최근작 : <보통의 깨달음>,<조화로움>,<제2의 시간> … 총 88종 (모두보기)
2020/11/09
Buddhism and psychology - Wikipedia
Buddhism and psychology - Wikipedia
Buddhism and psychology
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Buddhist monk Barry Kerzin participating in neuropsychology meditation research with EEG.
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Buddhism includes an analysis of human psychology, emotion, cognition, behavior and motivation along with therapeutic practices. Buddhist psychology is embedded within the greater Buddhist ethical and philosophical system, and its psychological terminology is colored by ethical overtones.[1] Buddhist psychology has two therapeutic goals: the healthy and virtuous life of a householder (samacariya, "harmonious living") and the ultimate goal of nirvana, the total cessation of dissatisfaction and suffering (dukkha).[2]
Buddhism and the modern discipline of Psychology have multiple parallels and points of overlap. This includes a descriptive phenomenology of mental states, emotions and behaviors as well as theories of perception and unconscious mental factors. Psychotherapists such as Erich Fromm have found in Buddhist enlightenment experiences (e.g. kensho) the potential for transformation, healing and finding existential meaning. Some contemporary mental-health practitioners such as Jon Kabat-Zinn find ancient Buddhist practices (such as the development of mindfulness) of empirically therapeutic value,[3] while Buddhist teachers such as Jack Kornfield see Western psychology as providing complementary practices for Buddhists.
Contents
1 Interaction
2 Psychology in the Tripitaka
2.1 Perception and the self
2.2 Motivation and emotion
2.3 The Unconscious
2.4 Self development and cognitive behavioral practices
2.5 Abnormal Psychology
2.6 Abhidhamma psychology
3 Buddhism and psychology
3.1 Psychology
3.2 Japanese Psychology
3.3 Buddhism and Psychoanalysis
3.3.1 D.T. Suzuki's influence
3.3.2 Buddhist psychoanalytic dialogue and integration
3.3.3 David Brazier
3.4 Gestalt therapy
3.5 Existential and Humanistic psychology
3.6 Positive Psychology
3.7 Naropa University
3.8 Mind and life institute
4 Buddhist techniques in clinical settings
4.1 Mindfulness practices
4.1.1 Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
4.1.2 Mindfulness-based pain management
4.1.3 Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
4.1.4 Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
4.1.5 Adaptation Practice
4.2 Cognitive restructuring
5 Reaction from Buddhist traditionalists
6 Popular psychology and spirituality
6.1 Mainstream teachers and popularizers
7 Education and research
8 See also
9 Notes
10 References
11 Sources and bibliography
11.1 Related texts
12 External links
12.1 Early scholarship
12.2 Mainstream teachers and popularizers
12.3 Caveats and criticisms
12.4 Psychotherapy and Buddhism
Interaction
The establishment of Buddhism predates the field of psychology by over two millennia; thus, any assessment of Buddhism in terms of psychology is necessarily a modern invention.[a] One of the first such assessments occurred when British Indologists started translating Buddhist texts from Pali and Sanskrit. The modern growth of Buddhism in the West and particularly the development of Buddhist modernism worldwide has led to the comparing and contrasting of European psychology and psychiatry with Buddhist theory and practice. According to Austrian psychologist Gerald Virtbauer,[4] the contact of Buddhism and European Psychology has generally followed three main approaches:[5]
The presentation and exploration of parts of Buddhist teachings as a Psychology and psychological method for analyzing and modifying human experience.
The integration of parts of the Buddhist teachings in already existing psychological or psychotherapeutic lines of thought (such as in Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and in Acceptance and commitment therapy).
Buddhist integration of Western psychological and social science knowledge into the Buddhist system (e.g., Buddhist modernism, Vipassana movement)
Psychology in the Tripitaka
The earliest Buddhist writings are preserved in three-part collections called Tipitaka (Pali; Skt. Tripitaka). The first part, the Sutta Pitaka contains a series of discourses attributed to the Buddha containing much psychological material.
A central feature of Buddhist psychology is its methodology which is based on personal experience through introspection and phenomenological self observation.[6] According to the Buddha while initially unreliable, one's mind can be trained, calmed and cultivated so as to make introspection a refined and reliable method. This methodology is the foundation for the personal insight into the nature of the mind the Buddha is said to have achieved. While introspection is a key aspect of the Buddhist method; observation of a person's behavior is also important.[7]
Perception and the self
Figure 1: The Pali Canon's Six Sextets:
sense bases
→ f
e
e
l
i
n
g
→ c
r
a
v
i
n
g
"internal"
sense
organs <–> "external"
sense
objects
↓ ↓
↓ contact
↓ ↑
consciousness
The six internal sense bases are the eye, ear,
nose, tongue, body & mind.
The six external sense bases are visible forms,
sound, odor, flavors, touch & mental objects.
Sense-specific consciousness arises dependent
on an internal & an external sense base.
Contact is the meeting of an internal sense
base, external sense base & consciousness.
Feeling is dependent on contact.
Craving is dependent on feeling.
Source: MN 148 (Thanissaro, 1998) diagram details
The Five Aggregates (pañca khandha)
according to the Pali Canon.
form (rūpa)
4 elements
(mahābhūta)
↓
contact
(phassa)
↓ ↑
consciousness
(viññāna)
→
←
←
mental factors (cetasika)
feeling
(vedanā)
perception
(sañña)
formation
(saṅkhāra)
Form is derived from the Four Great Elements.
Consciousness arises from other aggregates.
Mental Factors arise from the Contact of
Consciousness and other aggregates.
Source: MN 109 (Thanissaro, 2001) | diagram details
The early Buddhist texts outline a theory of perception and cognition based on the ayatanas (sense bases, sense media, sense spheres) which are categorized into sense organs, sense objects and awareness. The contact between these bases leads to a perceptual event as explained in Buddhist texts: "when the eye that is internal is intact and external visible forms come within its range and when there is an appropriate act of attention on the part of the mind, there is the emergence of perceptual consciousness."[8]
The usual process of sense cognition is entangled with what the Buddha terms "papañca" (conceptual proliferation), a distortion and elaboration in the cognitive process of the raw sensation or feeling (vedana).[9] This process of confabulation feeds back into the perceptual process itself. Therefore, perception for the Buddhists is not just based on the senses but also on our desires, interests and concepts and hence it is in a way unrealistic and misleading.[10] The goal of Buddhist practice is then to remove these distractions and gain knowledge of things as they are (yatha-bhuta ñānadassanam).
This psycho-physical process is further linked with psychological craving, manas (conceit) and ditthi (dogmas, views). One of the most problematic views according to the Buddha, is the notion of a permanent and solid Self or 'pure ego'. This is because in early Buddhist psychology, there is no fixed self (atta; Sanskrit atman) but the delusion of self and clinging to a self concept affects all one's behaviors and leads to suffering.[9] For the Buddha there is nothing uniform or substantial about a person, only a constantly changing stream of events or processes categorized under five categories called skandhas (heaps, aggregates), which includes the stream of consciousness (Vijñāna-sotam). False belief and attachment to an abiding ego-entity is at the root of most negative emotions.
The psychologist Daniel Goleman states:
The notion of an "empty self" posits that there is no "CEO of the mind," but rather something like committees constantly vying for power. In this view, the "self" is not a stable, enduring entity in control, but rather a mirage of the mind—not actually real, but merely seemingly so. While that notion seems contrary to our own everyday experience, it actually describes the deconstruction of self that cognitive neuroscience finds as it dissects the mind (most famously, Marvin Minsky's "society of mind"). So the Buddhist model of the self may turn out to fit the data far better than the notions that have dominated Psychological thinking for the last century.[11]
The Buddha saw the human mind as a psycho-physical complex, a dynamic continuum called namarupa. Nama refers to the non-physical elements and rupa to the physical components. According to Padmasiri de Silva, "The mental and physical constitutents form one complex, and there is a mutual dependency of the mind on the body and of the body on the mind."[12]
Motivation and emotion
Buddha's theory of human motivation is based on certain key factors shared by all human beings and is primarily concerned with the nature of human dissatisfaction (dukkha) and how to dispel it. In the suttas, human beings are said to be motivated by craving (tanha, literally 'thirst') of three types:[9]
Kama tanha - craving for sensory gratification, sex, novel stimuli, and pleasure.
Bhava tanha - craving for survival or continued existence, also includes hunger and sleep as well as desire for power, wealth and fame.
Vibhava tanha - craving for annihilation, non-existence, also associated with aggression and violence towards oneself and others[13]
These three basic drives have been compared to the Freudian drive theory of libido, ego, and thanatos respectively (de Silva, 1973). The arousal of these three cravings is derived from pleasant or unpleasant feelings (vedana), reactions to sense impressions with positive or negative hedonic tone. Cravings condition clinging or obsession (upadana) to sense impressions, leading to a vicious cycle of further craving and striving, which is ultimately unsatisfactory and stressful.
The suttas also enumerate three "unwholesome roots" (akusala mulas) of suffering, negative emotions and behavior: raga (passion or lust); dosa (hatred or malice); and moha (delusion, or false belief).[9] These are opposed by three wholesome roots: liberality, kindness and wisdom.
Feeling or affective reaction (vedana) is also at the source of the emotions and it is categorized in various ways; as physical or mental, as pleasant, unpleasant or neutral; and as rooted in the different senses.[14] The Buddha also makes a distinction between worldly and unworldly or spiritual feelings, seeing spiritual feelings as superior. Out of these basic immediate reactions as well as our situational context, conceptualization and personal history arise more complex emotions, such as fear, hatred, hope or despair. The Buddhist theory of emotions also highlights the ethical and spiritual importance of positive emotions such as compassion and friendliness as antidotes for negative emotions and as vehicles for self development.
According to Padmasiri de Silva, in the early Buddhist texts emotions can be divided into four groups: "those which obstruct the ideal of the virtuous life sought by the layman, emotions that interfere with the recluse seeking the path of perfection, emotions enhancing the layman's ideal of the virtuous life and emotions developed by the recluse seeking the path of perfection."[15]
The Unconscious
The early Buddhist texts such as the Pali Canon present a theory about latent mental tendencies (Anusaya, "latent bias," "predisposition", "latent disposition") which are pre-conscious or non-conscious[9][16] These habitual patterns are later termed "Vāsanā" (impression) by the later Yogacara Buddhists and were held to reside in an unconscious mental layer. The term "fetter" is also associated with the latent tendencies.
A later Theravada text, the Abhidhammattha-sangaha (11th-12th century) says: “The latent dispositions are defilements which ‘lie along with’ the mental process to which they belong, rising to the surface as obsessions whenever they meet with suitable conditions” (Abhs 7.9).[16] The Theravada school also holds that there is a subconscious stream of awareness termed the Bhavanga.
Another set of unconscious mental factors responsible for influencing one's behavior include the asavas (Sanskrit asrava, "influx, canker, inflows"). These factors are said to "intoxicate" and "befuddle" the mind. The Buddha taught that one had to remove them from the mind through practice in order to reach liberation. The asavas are said to arise from different factors: sensuality, aggression, cruelty, body, and individuality are some of the factors given.[9]
The Yogacara school of Mahayana Buddhism (starting from the 3rd to 5th century CE) extended these ideas into what has been called a Buddhist theory of the Unconscious mind.[17] This concept was termed the ālaya-vijñāna (the foundation consciousness) which stores karmic seeds (bija) and undergoes rebirth. This theory was incorporated into a wider Yogacara theory of the Eight Consciousnesses and is also held in Tibetan Buddhism.
Self development and cognitive behavioral practices
Meditating Buddhist monk in Khao Luang.
Main article: Buddhist meditation
According to Padmal de Silva "Buddhist strategies represent a therapeutic model which treats the person as his/her agent of change, rather than as the recipient of externally imposed interventions."[18] Silva argues that the Buddha saw each person responsible for their own personal development and considers this as being similar to the humanistic approach to psychology. Humanistic psychotherapy places much emphasis on helping the client achieve self-actualization and personal growth (e.g. Maslow).[18]
Since Buddhist practice also encompasses practical wisdom, spiritual virtues and morality, it cannot be seen exclusively as another form of psychotherapy. It is more accurate to see it as a way of life or a way of being (Dharma).
Personal development in Buddhism is based upon the noble eightfold path which integrates ethics, wisdom or understanding (pañña) and psychological practices such as meditation (bhavana, cultivation, development). Self-actualization in traditional Buddhism is based on the ideas of Nirvana and Buddhahood. The highest state a human can achieve (an Arahant or a Buddha) is seen as being completely free from any kind of dissatisfaction or suffering, all negative mental tendencies, roots and influxes have been eliminated and there are only positive emotions like compassion and loving-kindness present.[9]
Buddhist meditation is of two main types: Samatha is meant to calm and relax the mind, as well as develop focus and concentration by training attention on a single object; Vipassana is a means to gain insight or understanding into the nature of the mental processes and their impermanent, stressful and self-less qualities through the application of continuous and stable mindfulness and comprehension (Sampajañña).[9] Though the ultimate goal of these practices are nirvana, the Buddha stated that they also bring mundane benefits such as relaxation, good sleep and pain reduction.[9]
Buddhist texts also contain mental strategies of thought modification which are similar to Cognitive behavioral therapy techniques.[19] A comparison of these systems of cognitive behavioral modification has been discussed by professor William Mikulas[20] and Padmal de Silva.[21]
According to Padmal de Silva these similarities include: "fear reduction by graded exposure and reciprocal inhibition; using rewards for promoting desirable behavior; modelling for inducing behavioral change; the use of stimulus control to eliminate undesirable behavior; the use of aversion to eliminate undesirable behavior; training in social skills; self-monitoring; control of intrusive thoughts by distraction, switching/stopping, incompatible thoughts, and by prolonged exposure to them; intense, covert, focusing on the unpleasant aspects of a stimulus or the unpleasant consequences of a response, to reduce attachment to the former and eliminate the latter; graded approach to the development of positive feelings towards others: use of external cues in behavior control; use of response cost to aid elimination of undesirable behavior; use of family members for carrying out behavior change programs; and cognitive-behavioral methods--for example, for grief."[9]
An important early text for these cognitive therapeutic methods is the Vitakkasanthana Sutta (MN 20) (The Removal of Distracting Thoughts) and its commentary, the Papancasudani. For removing negative or intrusive thoughts, the Buddha recommended five methods in this sutta:
Focus on an opposite or incompatible thought or object.
Ponder on the perils and disadvantages of the thought, its harmful consequences.
Ignore the thought and distract yourself from it through some other activity.
Reflect on the removal or stopping of the causes of the target thought.
Make a forceful mental effort.
Another recommended technique is from the Satipatthana Sutta, which outlines the practice of mindfulness, which is not just a formal meditation, but a skill of attentive awareness and self monitoring. In developing mindfulness, one is advised to be aware of all thoughts and sensations that arise, even unwanted or unpleasant ones and continuously attend to such thoughts. Eventually, through habituation and exposure, the intensity and unpleasantness of such thoughts will disappear.[9] Buddhist texts also promote the training of positive emotions such as loving-kindness, compassion, empathetic joy and equanimity.
Abnormal Psychology
The Pali Canon records that the Buddha distinguished between two kinds of illness (rogo): physical illness (kāyiko rogo) and mental illness (cetasiko rogo). The Buddha attributed mental illness to the arising of mental defilements (Kleshas) which are ultimately based on the unwholesome roots (three poisons) of greed, hatred and confusion.[22] From the perspective of the Buddha, mental illness is a matter of degree, and ultimately, everyone who is not an awakened being is in some sense mentally ill. As the Buddha in the Pali canon states: "those beings are hard to find in the world who can admit freedom from mental disease even for one moment, save only those in whom the asavas are destroyed."[23] Another set of negative qualities outlined by the Buddha are the five hindrances, which are said to prevent proper mental cultivation, these are: sense desire, hostility, sloth-torpor, restlessness-worry and doubt.
According to Edwina Pio, Buddhist texts see mental illness as being mainly psychogenic in nature (rooted mainly in "environmental stress and inappropriate learning").[24]
The Pali canon also describes Buddhist monks (epitomized by the monk Gagga) with symptoms of what would today be called mental illness. An act which is against the monk's code of discipline (Vinaya) committed by someone who was "ummatta" - "out of his mind" was said by the Buddha to be pardonable. This was termed the madmans leave (ummattakasammuti)[25] The texts also assume that this 'madness' can be cured or recovered from, or is at least an impermanent phenomenon, after which, during confession, the monk is considered sane by the sangha once more.[24]
There are also stories of lay folk who show abnormal behavior due to the loss of their loved ones.[26] Other Buddhist sources such as the Milinda Panha echo the theory that madness is caused mainly by personal and environmental circumstances.[26]
Other abnormal behaviors described by the early sources include Intellectual disability, epilepsy, alcoholism, and suicide. Buddhagosa posits that the cause of suicide is mental illness based on factors such as loss of personal relations and physical illness.[27]
Abhidhamma psychology
Main article: Abhidharma
The third part (or pitaka, literally "basket") of the Tripitaka is known as the Abhidhamma (Pali; Skt. Abhidharma). The Abhidhamma works are historically later than the two other collections of the Tipitaka (3rd century BCE and later) and focus on phenomenological psychology. The Buddhist Abhidhamma works analyze the mind into elementary factors of experience called dharmas (Pali: dhammas). Dhammas are phenomenal factors or "psycho-physical events" whose interrelations and connections make up all streams of human experience. There are four categories of dharmas in the Theravada Abhidhamma: Citta (awareness), Cetasika (mental factors), Rūpa (physical occurrences, material form) and Nibbāna (cessation).[28] Abhidhamma texts are then an attempt to list all possible factors of experience and all possible relationships between them. Among the achievements of the Abhidhamma psychologists was the outlining of a theory of emotions, a theory of personality types, and a psychology of ethical behavior.
Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi, president of the Buddhist Publication Society, has synopsized the Abhidhamma as follows:
The system that the Abhidhamma Pitaka articulates is simultaneously a philosophy, a psychology, and an ethics, all integrated into the framework of a program for liberation.... The Abhidhamma's attempt to comprehend the nature of reality, contrary to that of classical science in the West, does not proceed from the standpoint of a neutral observer looking outwards towards the external world. The primary concern of the Abhidhamma is to understand the nature of experience, and thus the reality on which it focuses is conscious reality.... For this reason the philosophical enterprise of the Abhidhamma shades off into a phenomenological psychology. To facilitate the understanding of experienced reality, the Abhidhamma embarks upon an elaborate analysis of the mind as it presents itself to introspective meditation. It classifies consciousness into a variety of types, specifies the factors and functions of each type, correlates them with their objects and physiological bases, and shows how the different types of consciousness link up with each other and with material phenomena to constitute the ongoing process of experience.[29]
Buddhism and psychology
Buddhism and psychology overlap in theory and in practice. Since the beginning of the 20th century, four strands of interplay have evolved:
descriptive phenomenology: scholars[30] have found in Buddhist teachings a detailed introspective phenomenological psychology (particularly in the Abhidhamma which outlines various traits, emotions and personality types).
psychotherapeutic meaning: humanistic psychotherapists have found in Buddhism's non-dualistic approach and enlightenment experiences (such as in Zen kensho) the potential for transformation, healing and finding existential meaning. This connection was explained by a modification of Piaget's theory of cognitive development introducing the process of initiation.[31]
clinical utility: some contemporary mental-health practitioners increasingly find ancient Buddhist practices (such as the development of mindfulness) of empirically proven therapeutic value.[32]
popular psychology and spirituality: psychology has been popularized,[33] and has become blended with spirituality in some forms of modern spirituality. Buddhist notions form an important ingredient of this modern mix.
Psychology
Caroline A. F. Rhys Davids was one of the first modern Psychologist to conceptualize canonical Buddhist writings in terms of psychology.
The contact between Buddhism and Psychology began with the work of the Pali Text Society scholars, whose main work was translating the Buddhist Pali Canon. In 1900, Indologist Caroline A. F. Rhys Davids published through the Pali Text Society a translation of the Theravada Abhidhamma's first book, the Dhamma Sangani, and entitled the translation, "Buddhist Manual of Psychological Ethics".[34] In the introduction to this seminal work, Rhys Davids praised the sophistication of the Buddhist psychological system based on "a complex continuum of subjective phenomena" (dhammas) and the relationships and laws of causation that bound them (Rhys Davids, 1900, pp. xvi-xvii.).[b] Buddhism's psychological orientation is a theme Rhys Davids pursued for decades as evidenced by her further publications, Buddhist Psychology: An Inquiry into the Analysis and Theory of Mind in Pali Literature (1914) and The Birth of Indian Psychology and its Development in Buddhism (1936).
An important event in the interchange of East and West occurred when American psychologist William James invited the Sri Lankan Buddhist Anagarika Dharmapala to lecture in his classes at Harvard University in December 1903. After Dharmapala lectured on Buddhism, James remarked, “This is the psychology everybody will be studying 25 years from now.”[35] Later scholars such as David Kalupahana (The principles of Buddhist psychology, 1987), Padmal de Silva (Buddhism and behaviour modification, 1984), Edwina Pio (Buddhist Psychology: A Modern Perspective, 1988) and Hubert Benoit (Zen and the Psychology of Transformation, 1990) wrote about and compared Buddhism and Psychology directly. Writers in the field of Transpersonal psychology (which deals with religious experience, altered states of consciousness and similar topics) such as Ken Wilber also integrated Buddhist thought and practice into their work.
The 1960s and '70s saw the rapid growth of Western Buddhism, especially in the United States. In the 1970s, psychotherapeutic techniques using “mindfulness” were developed such as Hakomi therapy by Ron Kurtz (1934–2011), possibly the first mindfulness based therapy.[35] Jon Kabat-Zinn's Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) was a very influential development, introducing the term into Western Cognitive behavioral therapy practice. Kabat-Zinn's students Zindel V. Segal, J. Mark G. Williams and John D. Teasdale later developed Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) in 1987.[35] In the early 2000s Vidyamala Burch and her organization Breathworks developed Mindfulness-Based Pain Management (MBPM).
Research by Sarah Lazar et al (2005) found brain areas that are thicker in practitioners of Insight meditation than control subjects who do not meditate.[36]
More recent work has focused on clinical research of particular practices derived from Buddhism such as mindfulness meditation and compassion development (ex. the work of Jon Kabat-Zinn, Daniel Goleman) and on psycho-therapeutic practices which integrate meditative practices derived from Buddhism. From the perspective of Buddhism, various modern Buddhist teachers such as Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach have academic degrees in psychology.
Applying the tools of modern Neuropsychology (EEG, fMRI) to study Buddhist meditation is also an area of integration. One of the first figures in this area was neurologist James H. Austin, who wrote Zen and the Brain (1998). Others who have studied and written about this type of research include Richard Davidson, Alan Wallace, Rick Hanson (Buddha's Brain, 2009) and Zoran Josipovic.[37] A recent review of the literature on the Neural mechanisms of mindfulness meditation concludes that the practice "exerts beneficial effects on physical and mental health, and cognitive performance" but that "the underlying neural mechanisms remain unclear." [38]
Japanese Psychology
Dr. Shoma Morita (1874-1938)
In Japan, a different strand of comparative thought developed, beginning with the publication, "Psychology of Zen Sect" (1893) and "Buddhist psychology" (1897), by Inoue Enryō (1858–1919).[39] In 1920, Tomosada Iritani (1887–1957) administered a questionnaire to 43 persons dealing with Zen practice, in what was probably the first empirical psychological study of Zen.[39] In the field of psychotherapy, Morita therapy was developed by Shoma Morita (1874-1938) who was influenced by Zen Buddhism.
Koji Sato (1905–1971) began the publication of the journal, Psychologia: An International Journal of Psychology in the Orient in 1957 with the aim of providing a comparative psychological dialogue between East and West (with contributions from Bruner, Fromm, and Jung). In the 1960s, Kasamatsu and Hirai used Electroencephalography to monitor the brains of Zen meditators. This led to the promotion of various studies covering psychiatry, physiology, and psychology of Zen by the Japanese ministry of education which were carried out in various laboratories.[39] Another important researcher in this field, Prof. Yoshiharu Akishige, promoted Zen Psychology, the idea that the insights of Zen should not just be studied but that they should inform psychological practice. Research in this field continues with the work of Japanese psychologists such as Akira Onda and Osamu Ando.[39]
In Japan, a popular psychotherapy based on Buddhism is Naikan therapy, developed from Jōdo Shinshū Buddhist introspection by Ishin Yoshimoto (1916–1988). Naikan therapy is used in correctional institutions, education, to treat alcohol dependence as well as by individuals seeking self development.[35]
Buddhism and Psychoanalysis
Buddhism has some views which are comparable to Psychoanalytic theory. These include a view of the unconscious mind and unconscious thought processes, the view that unwholesome unconscious forces cause much of human suffering and the idea that one may gain insight into these thought processes through various practices, including what Freud called "evenly suspended attention." A variety of teachers, clinicians and writers such as D.T. Suzuki, Carl Jung, Erich Fromm, Alan Watts, Tara Brach, Jack Kornfield and Sharon Salzberg have attempted to bridge and integrate psycho-analysis and Buddhism. British barrister Christmas Humphreys has referred to mid-twentieth century collaborations between psychoanalysts and Buddhist scholars as a meeting between: "Two of the most powerful forces operating in the Western mind today."[c]
D.T. Suzuki's influence
One of the most important influences on the spread of Buddhism in the west was Zen scholar D.T. Suzuki. He collaborated with psycho-analysts Carl Jung, Karen Horney and Erich Fromm.
Carl Jung wrote the foreword to Suzuki's Introduction to Zen Buddhism, first published together in 1948.[d] In his foreword, Jung highlights the enlightenment experience of satori as the "unsurpassed transformation to wholeness" for Zen practitioners. And while acknowledging the inadequacy of Psychologist attempts to comprehend satori through the lens of intellectualism,[e] Jung nonetheless contends that due to their shared goal of self transformation: "The only movement within our culture which partly has, and partly should have, some understanding of these aspirations [for such enlightenment] is psychotherapy."[40]
Referencing Jung and Suzuki's collaboration as well as the efforts of others, humanistic philosopher and psychoanalyst Erich Fromm noted that: "There is an unmistakable and increasing interest in Zen Buddhism among psychoanalysts". One influential psychoanalyst who explored Zen was Karen Horney, who traveled to Japan in 1952 to meet with Suzuki and who advised her colleagues to listen to their clients with a "Zen-like concentration and non attachment".[41][42][f]
Suzuki, Fromm and other psychoanalysts collaborated at a 1957 workshop on "Zen Buddhism and Psychoanalysis" in Cuernavaca, Mexico.[g] Fromm contends that, at the turn of the twentieth century, most psychotherapeutic patients sought treatment due to medical-like symptoms that hindered their social functioning. However, by mid-century, the majority of psychoanalytic patients lacked overt symptoms and functioned well but instead suffered from an "inner deadness" and an "alienation from oneself".[43] Paraphrasing Suzuki broadly, Fromm continues:
Zen is the art of seeing into the nature of one's being; it is a way from bondage to freedom; it liberates our natural energies; ... and it impels us to express our faculty for happiness and love.[44] [...] [W]hat can be said with more certainty is that the knowledge of Zen, and a concern with it, can have a most fertile and clarifying influence on the theory and technique of psychoanalysis. Zen, different as it is in its method from psychoanalysis, can sharpen the focus, throw new light on the nature of insight, and heighten the sense of what it is to see, what it is to be creative, what it is to overcome the affective contaminations and false intellectualizations which are the necessary results of experience based on the subject-object split"[45]
Buddhist psychoanalytic dialogue and integration
The dialogue between Buddhism and psychoanalysis has continued with the work of psychiatrists such as Mark Epstein, Nina Coltart, Jack Engler, Axel Hoffer, Jeremy D. Safran, David Brazier, and Jeffrey B. Rubin.
Nina Coltart (1927-1997) was the Director of the London Clinic of Psychoanalysis, a neo-Freudian and a Buddhist. She theorized that there are distinct similarities in the transformation of the self that occurs in both psychoanalysis and Buddhism.[46] She believed that the practice of Buddhism and Psychoanalysis where "mutually reinforcing and clarifying" (Coltart, The practice of psychoanalysis and Buddhism).
Mark Epstein is an American psychiatrist who practiced Buddhism in Thailand under Ajahn Chah and has since written several books on psychoanalysis and Buddhism (Thoughts Without a Thinker 1995, Psychotherapy Without the Self, 2008).[47] Epstein relates the Buddhist Four Noble Truths to primary narcissism as described by Donald Winnicott in his theory on the true self and false self.[48][49] The first truth highlights the inevitability of humiliation in our lives of our narcissistic self-esteem. The second truth speaks of the primal thirst that makes such humiliation inevitable. The third truth promises release by developing a realistic self-image, and the fourth truth spells out the means of accomplishing that.[50][51]
Jeffrey B. Rubin has also written on the integration of these two practices in Psychotherapy and Buddhism, Toward an Integration (1996). In this text, he criticizes the Buddhist idea of enlightenment as a total purification of mind: "From the psychoanalytic perspective, a static, conflict-free sphere-a psychological "safehouse" -beyond the vicissitudes of conflict and conditioning where mind is immune to various aspects of affective life such as self-interest, egocentricity, fear, lust, greed, and suffering is quixotic. Since conflict and suffering seem to be inevitable aspects of human life, the ideal of Enlightenment may be asymptotic, that is, an unreachable ideal."[52] He points to scandals and abuses by American Buddhist teachers as examples. Rubin also outlines a case study of the psychoanalytic treatment of a Buddhist meditator and notes that meditation has been largely ignored and devalued by psychoanalysts.[53] He argues that Buddhist meditation can provide an important contribution to the practice of psychoanalytic listening by improving an analyst's capacity for attention and recommends meditation for psychoanalysts.[54]
Axel Hoffer has contributed to this area as editor of "Freud and the Buddha", which collects several essays by psychoanalysts and a Buddhist scholar, Andrew Olendzki. Olendzki outlines an important problematic between the two systems, the Freudian practice of free association, which from the Buddhist perspective is based on: “The reflexive tendency of the mind to incessantly make a narrative of everything that arises in experience is itself the cause of much of our suffering, and meditation offers a refreshing refuge from mapping every datum of sensory input to the macro-construction of a meaningful self.”[55] Olendzki also argues that for the Buddhist, the psychoanalytic focus on linguistic narrativity distracts us from immediate experience.
David Brazier
See also: Four Noble Truths § David Brazier: existence is imperfect
David Brazier is a psychotherapist who combines psychotherapy and Buddhism (Zen therapy, 1995). Brazier points to various possible translations of the Pali terms of the Four Noble Truths, which give a new insight into these truths. The traditional translations of samudhaya and nirodha are "origin" and "cessation". Coupled with the translation of dukkha as "suffering", this gives rise to a causal explanation of suffering, and the impression that suffering can be totally terminated. The translation given by David Brazier[56] gives a different interpretation to the Four Noble Truths.
Dukkha: existence is imperfect, it's like a wheel that's not straight into the axis;
Samudhaya: simultaneously with the experience of dukkha there arises tanha, thirst: the dissatisfaction with what is and the yearning that life should be different from what it is. We keep imprisoned in this yearning when we don't see reality as it is, namely imperfect and ever-changing;
Nirodha: we can confine this yearning (that reality is different from what it is), and perceive reality as it is, whereby our suffering from the imperfectness becomes confined;
Marga: this confinement is possible by following the Eightfold Path.
In this translation, samudhaya means that the uneasiness that's inherent to life arises together with the craving that life's event would be different. The translation of nirodha as confinement means that this craving is a natural reaction, which cannot be totally escaped or ceased, but can be limited, which gives us freedom.[56]
Gestalt therapy
Gestalt Therapy, an approach created by Fritz Perls, was based on phenomenology, existentialism and also Zen Buddhism and Taoism.[57] Perls spent some time in Japanese Zen monasteries and his therapeutic techniques include mindfulness practices and focusing on the present moment.[58] Practices outlined by Perls himself in Ego, hunger and aggression (1969), such as “concentration on eating” (“we have to be fully aware of the fact that we are eating”) and “awareness continuum” are strikingly similar to Buddhist mindfulness training.[59] Other authors in Gestalt Therapy who were influenced by Buddhism are Barry Stevens (therapist) and Dick Price (who developed Gestalt Practice by including Buddhist meditation).
According to Crocker, an important Buddhist element of Gestalt is that a “person is simply allowing what-is in the present moment to reveal itself to him and out of that receptivity is responding with ‘no-mind’”.[57]
More recently, Claudio Naranjo has written about the practice of Gestalt and Tibetan Buddhism.
Existential and Humanistic psychology
Both existential and humanistic models of human psychology stress the importance of personal responsibility and freedom of choice, ideas which are central to Buddhist ethics and psychology.[60]
Humanistic psychology's focus on developing the ‘fully functioning person’ (Carl Rogers) and self actualization (Maslow) is similar to the Buddhist attitude of self development as an ultimate human end. The idea of person-centered therapy can also be compared to the Buddhist view that the individual is ultimately responsible for their own development, that a Buddhist teacher is just a guide and that the patient can be “a light unto themselves”.[58]
Carl Rogers's idea of "unconditional positive regard" and his stress on the importance of empathy has been compared to Buddhist conceptions of compassion (Karuṇā).[61][62]
Mindfulness meditation has been seen as a way to aid the practice of person centered psychotherapy. Person centered therapist Manu Buzzano has written that "It seemed clear that regular meditation practice did help me in offering congruence, empathy and unconditional positive regard."[63] He subsequently interviewed other person centered therapists who practiced meditation and found that it enhanced their empathy, nonjudgmental openness and quality of the relationship with their clients.[63]
A comparison has also been made between Marshall Rosenberg's Nonviolent Communication and Buddhist ideals of right speech, both in theory and in manifesting Buddhist ideals in practice.[64][65][66]
Padmasiri de Silva sees the focus of existential psychology on the "tragic sense of life" just a different expression of the Buddhist concept of dukkha. The existential concept of anxiety or angst as a response to the human condition also resonates with the Buddhist analysis of fear and despair.[60] The Buddhist monk Nanavira Thera in the preface to his "Notes on Dhamma" wrote that the work of the existential philosophers offered a way to approach the Buddhist texts, as they ask the type of questions about feelings of anxiety and the nature of existence with which the Buddha begins his analysis. Nanavira also states that those who have understood the Buddha's message have gone beyond the existentialists and no longer see their questions as valid. Edward Conze likewise sees the parallel between the Buddhists and Existentialists only preliminary: "In terms of the Four Truths, the existentialists have only the first, which teaches that everything is ill. Of the second, which assigns the origin of ill to craving, they have only a very imperfect grasp. As for the third and fourth, they are quite unheard of...Knowing no way out, they are manufacturers of their own woes."[67]
Positive Psychology
The growing field of Positive psychology shares with Buddhism a focus on developing a positive emotions and personal strengths and virtues with the goal of improving human well-being. Positive psychology also describes the futility of the "hedonic treadmill", the chasing of ephemeral pleasures and gains in search of lasting happiness. Buddhism holds that this very same striving is at the very root of human unhappiness.[68]
The Buddhist concept and practice of mindfulness meditation has been adopted by psychologists such as Rick Hanson (Buddha's brain, 2009), T.B. Kashdan & J. Ciarrochi (Mindfulness, acceptance, and positive psychology, 2013) and Itai Ivtzan (Mindfulness in Positive Psychology, 2016). Kirk W. Brown and Richard M. Ryan of the University of Pennsylvania have developed a 15-item "Mindful attention awareness scale" to measure dispositional mindfulness.[69]
The concept of Flow studied by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi has been compared to Buddhist meditative states such as samadhi and mindfulness. Ronald Siegel describes flow as “mindfulness while accomplishing something.”[70] Nobo Komagata and Sachiko Komagata, however, are critical of characterizing the notion of “flow” as a special case of mindfulness, noting that the connection is more complicated.[71] Zen Buddhism has a concept called Mushin (無心, no mind) which is also similar to flow.
Christopher K. Germer, clinical instructor in psychology at Harvard Medical School and a founding member of the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy, has stated: "Positive psychology, which focuses on human flourishing rather than mental illness, is also learning a lot from Buddhism, particularly how mindfulness and compassion can enhance wellbeing. This has been the domain of Buddhism for the past two millennia and we’re just adding a scientific perspective."[72]
Martin Seligman and Buddhist monk Thanissaro Bhikkhu have pointed out that the framework of Positive psychology is ethically neutral, and hence within that framework, you could argue that "a serial killer leads a pleasant life, a skilled Mafia hit man leads a good life, and a fanatical terrorist leads a meaningful life."[73] Thanissaro argues that Positive psychology should also look into the ethical dimensions of the good life. Regarding the example of flow states he writes:
A common assumption is that what you do to induce a sense of flow is purely a personal issue, and ultimately what you do doesn’t really matter. What matters is the fact of psychological flow. You’re most likely to experience flow wherever you have the skill, and you're most likely to develop skill wherever you have the aptitude, whether it’s in music, sport, hunting, meditating, etc. From the Buddha’s point of view, however, it really does matter what you do to gain gratification, for some skills are more conducive to stable, long-term happiness than others, due to their long-term consequences.[73]
The skills that Thanissaro argues are more conductive to happiness include Buddhist virtues like harmlessness, generosity, moral restraint, and the development of good will as well as mindfulness, concentration, discernment.
Naropa University
"Buddhism will come to the West as a psychology."
- Chogyam Trungpa, 1974[h]
In his introduction to his 1975 book, Glimpses of the Abhidharma, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche wrote:
Many modern psychologists have found that the discoveries and explanations of the abhidharma coincide with their own recent discoveries and new ideas; as though the Abhidharma, which was taught 2,500 years ago, had been redeveloped in the modern idiom.[74]
Trungpa Rinpoche's book goes on to describe the nanosecond phenomenological sequence by which a sensation becomes conscious using the Buddhist concepts of the "five aggregates."
In 1974, Trungpa Rinpoche founded the Naropa Institute, now called Naropa University. Since 1975, this accredited university has offered degrees in "contemplative psychology."[75][i]
Mind and life institute
Every two years, since 1987, the Dalai Lama has convened "Mind and Life" gatherings of Buddhists and scientists.[j] Reflecting on one Mind and Life session in March 2000, psychologist Daniel Goleman notes:
Since the time of Gautama Buddha in the fifth century BC, an analysis of the mind and its workings has been central to the practices of his followers. This analysis was codified during the first millennium after his death within the system called, in the Pali language of Buddha's day, Abhidhamma (or Abhidharma in Sanskrit), which means 'ultimate doctrine'.... Every branch of Buddhism today has a version of these basic psychological teachings on the mind, as well as its own refinements.[76]
Buddhist techniques in clinical settings
For over a millennium, throughout the world, Buddhist practices have been used for non-Buddhist ends.[k] More recently, clinical psychologists, theorists and researchers have incorporated Buddhist practices in widespread formalized psychotherapies. Buddhist mindfulness practices have been explicitly incorporated into a variety of psychological treatments.[77] More tangentially, psychotherapies dealing with cognitive restructuring share core principles with ancient Buddhist antidotes to personal suffering.
Mindfulness practices
Fromm [78] distinguishes between two types of meditative techniques that have been used in psychotherapy:
auto-suggestion used to induce relaxation;
meditation "to achieve a higher degree of non-attachment, of non-greed, and of non-illusion; briefly, those that serve to reach a higher level of being" (p. 50).
Fromm attributes techniques associated with the latter to Buddhist mindfulness practices.[l]
Two increasingly popular therapeutic practices using Buddhist mindfulness techniques are Jon Kabat-Zinn's Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Marsha M. Linehan's Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT). Other prominent therapies that use mindfulness include Steven C. Hayes' Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Adaptation Practice founded in 1978 by the British psychiatrist and Zen Buddhist Clive Sherlock and, based on MBSR, Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) (Segal et al., 2002).
Clinical researchers have found Buddhist mindfulness practices to help alleviate anxiety, depression and certain personality disorders.
Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
Kabat-Zinn developed the eight-week MBSR program over a ten-year period with over four thousand patients at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center.[79] Describing the MBSR program, Kabat-Zinn writes:
This 'work' involves above all the regular, disciplined practice of moment-to-moment awareness or mindfulness, the complete 'owning' of each moment of your experience, good, bad, or ugly. This is the essence of full catastrophe living.[80]
According to Kabat-Zinn, a one-time Zen practitioner,[m]
Although at this time mindfulness meditation is most commonly taught and practiced within the context of Buddhism, its essence is universal.... Yet it is no accident that mindfulness comes out of Buddhism, which has as its overriding concerns the relief of suffering and the dispelling of illusions.[81]
It would be based on relatively intensive training in Buddhist meditation without the Buddhism (as I liked to put it), and yoga.[82]
Kabat-Zinn describes the MBSR program, as well as its scientific basis and the evidence for its clinical effectiveness, in his 1990 book Full Catastrophe Living, which was revised and reissued in 2013.[83]
Mindfulness-based pain management
Mindfulness-based pain management (MBPM) is a mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) providing specific applications for people living with chronic pain and illness.[84][85] Adapting the core concepts and practices of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), MBPM includes a distinctive emphasis on the practice of 'loving-kindness', and has been seen as sensitive to concerns about removing mindfulness teaching from its original ethical framework within Buddhism.[84][86] It was developed by Vidyamala Burch and is delivered through the programs of Breathworks.[84][85] It has been subject to a range of clinical studies demonstrating its effectiveness.[87][88][89][90][91][92][93][84]
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
In writing about DBT, Zen practitioner[n] Linehan [94] states:
As its name suggests, its overriding characteristic is an emphasis on 'dialectics' – that is, the reconciliation of opposites in a continual process of synthesis.... This emphasis on acceptance as a balance to change flows directly from the integration of a perspective drawn from Eastern (Zen) practice with Western psychological practice.[o]
Similarly, Linehan [95] writes:
Mindfulness skills are central to DBT.... They are the first skills taught and are [reviewed] ... every week.... The skills are psychological and behavioral versions of meditation practices from Eastern spiritual training. I have drawn most heavily from the practice of Zen
Controlled clinical studies have demonstrated DBT's effectiveness for people with borderline personality disorder.[p]
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
ACT did not explicitly emerge from Buddhism, but its concepts often parallel ideas from Buddhist and mystical traditions.[96][97] ACT has been defined by its originators as a method that "uses acceptance and mindfulness processes, and commitment and behavioral activation processes to produce psychological flexibility.".[98]
Mindfulness in ACT is defined to be a combination of four aspects of the psychological flexibility model, which is ACT's applied theory:
Acceptance (openness to and engagement with present experience);
Cognitive defusion (attending to the ongoing process of thought instead of automatically interacting with events as structured by prediction, judgment, and interpretation);
Contact with the present moment (attention to the present external and internal world in a manner that is flexible, fluid, and voluntary);
A transcendent sense of self or "self as context" (an interconnected sense of consciousness that maintains contact with the "I/Here/Nowness" of awareness and its interconnection with "You/There/Then").[98]
These four aspects of mindfulness in ACT are argued to stem from Relational Frame Theory, the research program on language and cognition that underlies ACT at the basic level. For example, "self as context" is argued to emerge from deictic verbal relations such as I/You, or Here/There, which RFT laboratories have shown to help establish perspective taking skills and interconnection with others.[99][100]
Most ACT self-help books (e.g.,[101]) and many tested ACT protocols teach formal contemplative practice skills, but by this definition of mindfulness, such defusion skills as word repetition (taking a difficult thought, distilling it to a single word, and saying it repeatedly out loud for 30 seconds) are also viewed as mindfulness methods.
Adaptation Practice
The British psychiatrist Clive Sherlock, who trained in the traditional Rinzai School of Zen, developed Adaptation Practice (Ap), the foundation of mindfulness, in 1977 based on the profound mindfulness/awareness training of Zen daily-life practice and meditation. Adaptation Practice is used for long-term relief of depression, anxiety, anger, stress and other emotional problems.
Cognitive restructuring
Dr. Albert Ellis, considered the "grandfather of cognitive-behavioral therapy" (CBT), has written:
Many of the principles incorporated in the theory of rational-emotive psychotherapy are not new; some of them, in fact, were originally stated several thousands of years ago, especially by the Greek and Roman Stoic philosophers (such as Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius) and by some of the ancient Taoist and Buddhist thinkers (see Suzuki, 1956, and Watts, 1959, 1960).[102][q]
To give but one example, Buddhism identifies anger and ill-will as basic hindrances to spiritual development (see, for instance, the Five Hindrances, Ten Fetters and kilesas). A common Buddhist antidote for anger is the use of active contemplation of loving thoughts (see, for instance, metta). This is similar to using a CBT technique known as "emotional training" which Ellis [103] describes in the following manner:
Think of an intensely pleasant experience you have had with the person with whom you now feel angry. When you have fantasized such a pleasant experience and have actually given yourself unusually good, intensely warm feelings toward that person as a result of this remembrance, continue the process. Recall pleasant experiences and good feelings, and try to make these feelings paramount over your feelings of hostility.[r]
Reaction from Buddhist traditionalists
Some traditional Buddhist practitioners have expressed concern that attempts to view Buddhism through the lens of psychology diminishes the Buddha's liberating message.
Patrick Kearney has written that the effort to integrate the teachings of the Buddha by interpreting it through the view of psychologies has led to "a growing confusion about the nature of Buddhist teachings and a willingness to distort and dilute these teachings".[104] He is critical of Jack Kornfield and Mark Epstein for holding that psychological techniques are a necessity for some Buddhists and of Jeffrey Rubin for writing that enlightenment might not be possible. Kearney writes:
Epstein and Rubin want to rewrite Buddhism on their own terms, taking the ocean of the Buddha’s wisdom and reducing it to a puddle small enough to accommodate the views of Freud and his successors.[104]
Romantic /
humanistic
psychology early
Buddhism
spiritual
illness divided self clinging
ultimate
experience feeling of
oneness knowledge of
Awakening
cure on-going
personal
integration Awakening
American Theravada monk Thanissaro Bhikkhu[105] has also criticized the interpretation of Buddhism through Psychology, which has different values and goals, derived from roots such as European Romanticism and Protestant Christianity. He also identifies broad commonalities between "Romantic/humanistic psychology" and early Buddhism: beliefs in human (versus divine) intervention with an approach that is experiential, pragmatic and therapeutic. Thanissaro Bhikkhu traces the roots of modern spiritual ideals from German Romantic Era philosopher Immanuel Kant through American psychologist and philosopher William James, Jung and humanistic psychologist Abraham Maslow.[106] Thanissaro sees their view as centered on the idea of healing the 'divided self', an idea which is alien to Buddhism.[106] Thanissaro asserts that there are also core differences between Romantic/humanistic psychology and Buddhism. These are summarized in the adjacent table. Thanissaro implicitly deems those who impose Romantic/humanistic goals on the Buddha's message as "Buddhist Romantics."
The same similarities have been recognized by David McMahan when describing Buddhist modernism.[107]
Recognizing the widespread alienation and social fragmentation of modern life, Thanissaro Bhikkhu writes:
When Buddhist Romanticism speaks to these needs, it opens the gate to areas of dharma [the Buddha's teachings] that can help many people find the solace they’re looking for. In doing so, it augments the work of psychotherapy [...] However, Buddhist Romanticism also helps close the gate to areas of the dharma that would challenge people in their hope for an ultimate happiness based on interconnectedness. Traditional dharma calls for renunciation and sacrifice, on the grounds that all interconnectedness is essentially unstable, and any happiness based on this instability is an invitation to suffering. True happiness has to go beyond interdependence and interconnectedness to the unconditioned [...] [T]he gate [of Buddhist Romanticism] closes off radical areas of the dharma designed to address levels of suffering remaining even when a sense of wholeness has been mastered."[105]
Another Theravada monk, Bhikkhu Bodhi has also criticized the presentation of certain Buddhist teachings mixed with psychological and Humanistic views as being authentic Buddhism. This risks losing the essence of the liberating and radical message of the Buddha, which is focused on attaining nirvana:
What I am concerned about is the trend, common among present-day Buddhist teachers, of recasting the core principles of the Buddha's teachings into largely psychological terms and then saying, "This is Dhamma." When this is done we may never get to see that the real purpose of the teaching, in its own framework, is not to induce "healing" or "wholeness" or "self-acceptance," but to propel the mind in the direction of deliverance – and to do so by attenuating, and finally extricating, all those mental factors responsible for our bondage and suffering. We should remember that the Buddha did not teach the Dhamma as an "art of living" – though it includes that – but above all as a path to deliverance, a path to final liberation and enlightenment. And what the Buddha means by enlightenment is not a celebration of the limitations of the human condition, not a passive submission to our frailties, but an overcoming of those limitations by making a radical, revolutionary breakthrough to an altogether different dimension of being.[108]
Popular psychology and spirituality
Mainstream teachers and popularizers
In 1961, philosopher and professor Alan Watts wrote:
If we look deeply into such ways of life as Buddhism and Taoism, Vedanta and Yoga, we do not find either philosophy or religion as these are understood in the West. We find something more nearly resembling psychotherapy.... The main resemblance between these Eastern ways of life and Psychotherapy is in the concern of both with bringing about changes of consciousness, changes in our ways of feeling our own existence and our relation to human society and the natural world. The psychotherapist has, for the most part, been interested in changing the consciousness of peculiarly disturbed individuals. The disciplines of Buddhism and Taoism are, however, concerned with changing the consciousness of normal, socially adjusted people.[109]
Since Watts's early observations and musings, there have been many other important contributors to the contemporary popularization of the integration of Buddhist meditation with psychology including Kornfield (1993), Joseph Goldstein, Tara Brach, Epstein (1995) and Nhat Hanh (1998).
Education and research
Researchers interested in studying the intersection of Buddhism and psychology in North America have had to either fit themselves into Eastern Studies programs, psychology programs or engage in a program of private study. North American programs at accredited institutions dedicated to Buddhism and psychology are few. There is a minor (soon to be major) program at the University of Toronto called Buddhism and Mental Health.[110]
As for clinical training, there is an accredited Master's program in Contemplative Psychotherapy offered at Naropa University in Boulder, CO. The curriculum is a hybrid of Buddhist psychology and psychotherapeutic approaches, and incorporates several group retreats and ongoing meditation practice. The program, which was founded in 1978, is designed to prepare for licensure as a professional counselor.[111]
See also
Abhidhamma
Bhavacakra
Buddhism and science
Buddhism and Western Philosophy
Buddhist philosophy
Compassion focused therapy
Eastern philosophy and clinical psychology
Health applications and clinical studies of meditation
Indian psychology
Kleshas (Buddhism)
Three poisons (Buddhism)
Mindfulness-based stress reduction
Mindfulness-based pain management
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy
Notes
Buddhist doctrine was first articulated by the Buddha (traditionally ca. 563 BCE to ca. 483 BCE; historically probably ca. 480 BCE to ca. 400 BCE [cf. Bechert, 2004]). The establishment of a self-conscious field of psychology as the empirical assessment of human mental activities and behavior is often identified with the work of Wilhelm Wundt (August 16, 1832 – August 31, 1920).
The notion that consciousness is a sequence of states, like cells in a film strip, while not explicitly contrary to notions of consciousness found in the Pali nikayas, is found explicitly in the Pali Abhidhamma (see Bodhi, 2000, p. 29).
Fromm et al., (1960), back cover. Explicitly, in regards to the book associated with the 1957 Cuernavaca, Mexico conference mentioned below, Humphries wrote: "This is the first major attempt to bring together two of the most powerful forces operating in the Western mind today."
Both Fromm (1960) and Ellis (1962) cite this text as influential.
In particular, Jung quotes Rudolf Otto's stating, "Zen is neither psychology nor philosophy" (Suzuki & Jung, 1948, p. 11, n. 1).
To support this statement, Fromm (1960, p. 78, n. 1) refers to Jung's foreword to Suzuki (1949), Benoit (1955), and Sato (1958). Fromm et al.. (1960, p. 78) also refers to Karen Horney who "was intensely interested in Zen Buddhism during the last years of her life."
Fromm et al.. (1960, p. vii). Selected presentations from this conference are included in Fromm et al. (1960). Fromm's interest in Buddhism extended to multiple Buddhist schools as evidenced by his writing the foreword for Nyanaponika et al. (1986).
Cited in Goleman, 2004, p. 72. Goleman, who was teaching psychology at Harvard University at the time, goes on to write: "The very idea that Buddhism had anything to do with psychology was at the time for most of us in the field patently absurd. But that attitude reflected more our own naivete than anything to do with Buddhism. It was news that Buddhism — like many of the world's great spiritual traditions — harbored a theory of mind and its workings" (p. 72).
Naropa University has also been a training ground and meeting place for many of today's most prolific popularizers of a Buddhism-informed psychology such as Jack Kornfield and a psychologically savvy Buddhism such as Joseph Goldstein
Books that have documented these meetings include Begley (2007), Davidson & Harrington (2002), Goleman (1997), Goleman (2004), Harrington & Zajonc (2006), Haywood & Varela (2001), Houshmand et al.. (1999), Varela (1997), and Zajonc & Houshmand (2004).
For instance, ninth-century Chinese Patriarch Zongmi referred to non-Buddhist uses of Buddhist meditation practices as bonpu meditation. For more information, see Zongmi's "Five Types of Zen"
For an authoritative source regarding Buddhist mindfulness meditation, Fromm (2002) references Nyanaponika (1996). Fromm (2002, pp. 52-53) goes on to write:
[T]here are two core doctrines acceptable to many who, like myself, are not Buddhists, yet are deeply impressed by the core of Buddhist teaching. I refer first of all to the doctrine that the goal of life is to overcome greed, hate, and ignorance. In this respect Buddhism does not basically differ from Jewish and Christian ethical norms. More important, and different from the Jewish and Christian tradition, is another element of Buddhist thinking: the demand for optimal awareness of the processes inside and outside oneself.
For an overview of Buddhist mindfulness practices, see Buddhist meditation and Satipatthana Sutta.
In Kabat-Zinn (2005, p. 26), for instance, he writes:
"Because I practice and teach mindfulness, I have the recurring experience that people frequently make the assumption that I am a Buddhist. When asked, I usually respond that I am not a Buddhist (although there was a period in my life when I did think of myself in that way, and trained and continue to train in and have huge respect and love for different Buddhist traditions and practices), but I am a student of Buddhist meditation, and a devoted one, not because I am devoted to Buddhism per se, but because I have found its teachings and its practices to be so profound and so universally applicable, revealing and healing."
He goes on to write:
According to Kabat-Zinn (2005, p. 431): "Marsha [Linehan] herself is a long-time practitioner of Zen, and DBT incorporates the spirit and principles of mindfulness and whatever degree of formal practice is possible."
The parenthetical "(Zen)" is included in Linehan's actual text.
Regarding DBT's empirical effectiveness, Linehan (1993b, p. 1) cites Linehan et al.. (1991), Linehan & Heard (1993), and Linehan et al.. (in press). Clinical experience has shown DBT to be effective for people with borderline personality disorder as well as other Axis II Cluster B disorders.
Elsewhere in Ellis (1991, pp. 336-37), in response to concerns voiced by Watts (1960) regarding overly rationalistic psychotherapy, Ellis expresses a caveat specifically regarding Zen-like spiritual pursuits. Ellis notes that "perhaps the main goal" of a patient of rational-emotive therapy "is that of commitment, risk-taking, joy of being; and sensory experiencing, as long as it does not merely consist of short-range self-defeating hedonism of a childish variety...."
Ellis then adds:
"Even some of the Zen Buddhist strivings after extreme sensation, or satori, would not be thoroughly incompatible with some of the goals a devotee of rational-emotive living might seek for himself — as long as he did not seek this mode of sensing as an escape from facing some of his fundamental anxieties or hostilities."
In the example cited from Ellis (1997), a person attempts to replace their hostile feelings with pleasant feelings associated with the same individual. In general, with Buddhist metta practice, one elicits feelings of loving kindness by contemplating on a benefactor and one then uses these self-elicited warm feelings to then permeate the experiencing of a perceived "enemy." Moreover, Buddhist metta practice directs loving kindness towards all beings, near or far, kind or brutal, human or non-human.
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Shenk, C., Masuda, A., Bunting, K., & Hayes, S. C. (2006). The psychological processes underlying mindfulness: Exploring the link between Buddhism and modern contextual behavioral psychology. In D. K. Nauriyal (Ed.), Buddhist thought and applied psychology: Transcending the boundaries (pp. 431-451). London: Routledge-Curzon.
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Vilardaga, R., Estévez, A., Levin, M. E., & Hayes, S. C. (in press). Deictic relational responding, empathy and experiential avoidance as predictors of social anhedonia: Further contributions from relational frame theory. 'The Psychological Record.'
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Ellis 1997, pp. 86–87
Kearney, Patrick, Still Crazy after all these Years: Why Meditation isn’t Psychotherapy
Thanissaro Bikkhu (2012)
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Climbing to the Top of the Mountain, An interview with Bhikkhu Bodhi; Reprinted with permission from Insight Journal, Barre Center for Buddhist Studies Volume 19, Fall 2002; http://obo.genaud.net/backmatter/gallery/bhk_bodhi.htm
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Related texts
Fryba, Mirko (1995). The Practice of Happiness: Exercises & Techniques for Developing Mindfulness, Wisdom, and Joy. Boston: Shambhala. ISBN 1-57062-123-3.
Segal, Zindel V., J. Mark G. Williams, & John D. Teasdale (2002). Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression. NY: Guilford. ISBN 978-1-57230-706-3.
External links
Early scholarship
Rowell Havens, Teresina (1964). "Mrs. Rhys Davids' Dialogue with Psychology (1893-1924)," in Philosophy East & West. V. 14 (1964) pp. 51–58, University of Hawaii Press.
Sarunya Prasopchingchana & Dana Sugu, 'Distinctiveness of the Unseen Buddhist Identity' (International Journal of Humanistic Ideology, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, vol. 4, 2010)
Mainstream teachers and popularizers
Burns, Douglas (undated). "Buddhist Meditation and Depth Psychology"
Caveats and criticisms
"Buddhist Romanticism," talk by Thanissaro Bhikkhu (03/25/02)
"Buddhist Romanticism Discussion," follow-up to Thanissaro Bhikkhu talk by Gil Fronsdal (04/01/02)
Psychotherapy and Buddhism
Kohut
Lorne Ladner, Positive Psychology & the Buddhist Path of Compassion
Paul C. Cooper, Attention & Inattention in Zen and Psychoanalysis
Gleig, Ann (9 May 2009). "The Culture of Narcissism Revisited: Transformations of Narcissism in Contemporary Psychospirituality". Pastoral Psychology. 59 (1): 79–91. doi:10.1007/s11089-009-0207-9. S2CID 3765882.
Jakob Håkansson, Exploring the phenomenon of empathy
Winnicott
Linda A. Nockler, The Spiritual and the Psychological Meet: Lessons from for Students of Awareness Practices
Daniel G. Radter, A Buddhist reinterpretation of Winnicott
FREDRIK FALKENSTRÖM, A Buddhist contribution to the psychoanalytic psychology of self
Janice Priddy, Psychotherapy and Buddhism: An Unfolding Dialogue. The Four Noble Truths in Buddhism
Bhante Kovida
Bhante Kovida An Inquiring Mind's Journey
vte
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