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Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
includes an analysis of human psychology, emotion,
cognition Cognition refers to "the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses". It encompasses all aspects of intellectual functions and processes such as: perception, attention, thought, ...
, behavior and
motivation Motivation is the reason for which humans and other animals initiate, continue, or terminate a behavior at a given time. Motivational states are commonly understood as forces acting within the agent that create a disposition to engage in goal-dire ...
along with
therapeutic A therapy or medical treatment (often abbreviated tx, Tx, or Tx) is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a medical diagnosis. As a rule, each therapy has indications and contraindications. There are many different ...
practices. Buddhist psychology is embedded within the greater Buddhist ethical and
philosophical system A philosophical theory or philosophical position''Dictionary of Theories'', Jennifer Bothamley is a view that attempts to explain or account for a particular problem in philosophy. The use of the term "theory" is a statement of colloquial English ...
, and its psychological terminology is colored by ethical overtones.De Silva, Padmasiri; An Introduction to Buddhist Psychology, 4th edition, Palgrave Macmillan Buddhist psychology has two therapeutic goals: the healthy and virtuous life of a householder (''samacariya'', "harmonious living") and the ultimate goal of
nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...
, the total cessation of dissatisfaction and suffering ( dukkha). Buddhism and the modern discipline of
psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
have multiple parallels and points of overlap. This includes a descriptive
phenomenology Phenomenology may refer to: Art * Phenomenology (architecture), based on the experience of building materials and their sensory properties Philosophy * Phenomenology (philosophy), a branch of philosophy which studies subjective experiences and a ...
of mental states, emotions and behaviors as well as theories of
perception Perception () is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the presented information or environment. All perception involves signals that go through the nervous system ...
and
unconscious Unconscious may refer to: Physiology * Unconsciousness, the lack of consciousness or responsiveness to people and other environmental stimuli Psychology * Unconscious mind, the mind operating well outside the attention of the conscious mind a ...
mental factors. Psychotherapists such as
Erich Fromm Erich Seligmann Fromm (; ; March 23, 1900 – March 18, 1980) was a German social psychologist, psychoanalyst, sociologist, humanistic philosopher, and democratic socialist. He was a German Jew who fled the Nazi regime and settled in the U ...
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 Jon Kabat-Zinn (born Jon Kabat, June 5, 1944) is an American professor emeritus of medicine and the creator of the Stress Reduction Clinic and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medi ...
find ancient Buddhist practices (such as the development of
mindfulness Mindfulness is the practice of purposely bringing one's attention to the present-moment experience without evaluation, a skill one develops through meditation or other training. Mindfulness derives from ''sati'', a significant element of Hind ...
) of empirically therapeutic value, while Buddhist teachers such as
Jack Kornfield Jack Kornfield (born 1945) is an American writer and teacher in the Vipassana movement in American Theravada Buddhism. He trained as a Buddhist monk in Thailand, Burma and India, first as a student of the Thai forest master Ajahn Chah and Maha ...
see Western psychology as providing complementary practices for Buddhists.


Interaction

The establishment of
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
predates the field of
psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
by over two millennia; thus, any assessment of Buddhism in terms of psychology is necessarily a modern invention. One of the first such assessments occurred when British Indologists started translating Buddhist texts from
Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...
and
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
. The modern growth of
Buddhism in the West Buddhism in the West (or more narrowly Western Buddhism) broadly encompasses the knowledge and practice of Buddhism outside of Asia in the Western world. Occasional intersections between Western civilization and the Buddhist world have been occu ...
and particularly the development of
Buddhist modernism Buddhist modernism (also referred to as modern Buddhism, modernist Buddhism, and Neo-Buddhism are new movements based on modern era reinterpretations of Buddhism. David McMahan states that modernism in Buddhism is similar to those found in other ...
worldwide has led to the comparing and contrasting of European psychology and psychiatry with Buddhist theory and practice. According to Austrian psychologist Gerald Virtbauer, the contact of Buddhism and European Psychology has generally followed three main approaches: #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 Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is an approach to psychotherapy that uses cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) methods in collaboration with mindfulness meditative practices and similar psychological strategies. The origins to its concept ...
and in
acceptance and commitment therapy Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT, typically pronounced as the word "act") is a form of psychotherapy, as well as a branch of clinical behavior analysis. It is an empirically based psychological intervention that uses acceptance and mindfu ...
). #Buddhist integration of Western psychological and social science knowledge into the Buddhist system (e.g.,
Buddhist modernism Buddhist modernism (also referred to as modern Buddhism, modernist Buddhism, and Neo-Buddhism are new movements based on modern era reinterpretations of Buddhism. David McMahan states that modernism in Buddhism is similar to those found in other ...
,
Vipassana movement The Vipassanā movement, also called (in the United States) the Insight Meditation Movement and American vipassana movement, refers to a branch of modern Burmese Theravāda Buddhism that promotes "bare insight" (''sukha-vipassana'') to attain s ...
)


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 In its most common sense, methodology is the study of research methods. However, the term can also refer to the methods themselves or to the philosophical discussion of associated background assumptions. A method is a structured procedure for bri ...
which is based on personal experience through
introspection Introspection is the examination of one's own conscious thoughts and feelings. In psychology, the process of introspection relies on the observation of one's mental state, while in a spiritual context it may refer to the examination of one's s ...
and phenomenological self observation. 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.


Perception and the self

The early Buddhist texts outline a theory of
perception Perception () is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the presented information or environment. All perception involves signals that go through the nervous system ...
and
cognition Cognition refers to "the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses". It encompasses all aspects of intellectual functions and processes such as: perception, attention, thought, ...
based on the ayatanas (sense bases, sense media, sense spheres) which are categorized into
sense organs A sense is a biological system used by an organism for sensation, the process of gathering information about the world through the detection of stimuli. (For example, in the human body, the brain which is part of the central nervous system rec ...
, 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." The usual process of sense cognition is entangled with what the Buddha terms "
papañca In Buddhism, conceptual proliferation (Pāli: ; Sanskrit: ; zh, s=戏论, t=戲論, p=xìlùn; ja, 戯論) or, alternatively, mental proliferation or conceptual elaboration, refers to conceptualization of the world through language and concepts w ...
" (conceptual proliferation), a distortion and elaboration in the cognitive process of the raw sensation or feeling ('' vedana''). This process of
confabulation In psychology, confabulation is a memory error defined as the production of fabricated, distorted, or misinterpreted memories about oneself or the world. It is generally associated with certain types of brain damage (especially aneurysm in the a ...
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. 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 The self is an individual as the object of that individual’s own reflective consciousness. Since the ''self'' is a reference by a subject to the same subject, this reference is necessarily subjective. The sense of having a self—or ''selfhood ...
or 'pure ego'. This is because in early Buddhist psychology, there is no fixed self (atta; Sanskrit
atman Atman or Ātman may refer to: Film * ''Ātman'' (1975 film), a Japanese experimental short film directed by Toshio Matsumoto * ''Atman'' (1997 film), a documentary film directed by Pirjo Honkasalo People * Pavel Atman (born 1987), Russian hand ...
) but the delusion of self and clinging to a self concept affects all one's behaviors and leads to suffering. 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 (Sanskrit) or ( Pāḷi) means "heaps, aggregates, collections, groupings". In Buddhism, it refers to the five aggregates of clinging (), the five material and mental factors that take part in the rise of craving and clinging. They are als ...
(heaps, aggregates), which includes the
stream of consciousness In literary criticism, stream of consciousness is a narrative mode or method that attempts "to depict the multitudinous thoughts and feelings which pass through the mind" of a narrator. The term was coined by Daniel Oliver (physician), Daniel Ol ...
(
Vijñāna ''Vijñāna'' ( sa, विज्ञान) or ''viññāa'' ( pi, विञ्ञाण)As is standard in WP articles, the Pali term ''viññāa'' will be used when discussing the Pali literature, and the Sanskrit word ''vijñāna'' will be used ...
-sotam). False belief and attachment to an abiding ego-entity is at the root of most negative emotions. The psychologist
Daniel Goleman Daniel Goleman (born March 7, 1946) is an author, psychologist, and science journalist. For twelve years, he wrote for ''The New York Times'', reporting on the brain and behavioral sciences. His 1995 book ''Emotional Intelligence'' was on ''Th ...
states: The Buddha saw the human mind as a psycho-physical complex, a dynamic continuum called
namarupa Nāmarūpa ( sa, नामरूप) is used in Buddhism to refer to the constituents of a living being: ''nāma'' is typically considered to refer to the mental component of the person, while ''rūpa'' refers to the physical. ''Nāmarūpa'' is ...
. 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."


Motivation and emotion

Buddha's theory of human
motivation Motivation is the reason for which humans and other animals initiate, continue, or terminate a behavior at a given time. Motivational states are commonly understood as forces acting within the agent that create a disposition to engage in goal-dire ...
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: *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 These three basic drives have been compared to the Freudian
drive theory In psychology, a drive theory, theory of drives or drive doctrine is a theory that attempts to analyze, classify or define the psychological drives. A drive is an instinctual need that has the power of driving the behavior of an individual; an " ...
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 Valence, or hedonic tone, is the affective quality referring to the intrinsic attractiveness/"good"-ness (positive valence) or averseness/"bad"-ness (negative valence) of an event, object, or situation. The term also characterizes and categor ...
. 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). 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. 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 Emotions are mental states brought on by neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or displeasure. There is currently no scientific consensus on a definition. ...
, 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."


The Unconscious

The early Buddhist texts such as the
Pali Canon The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the Tamrashatiya school. During th ...
present a theory about latent mental tendencies (''Anusaya'', "latent bias", "predisposition", "latent disposition") which are pre-conscious or non-conscious These habitual patterns are later termed "
Vāsanā Vāsanā (Sanskrit; Devanagari: वासना) is a behavioural tendency or karmic imprint which influences the present behaviour of a person. It is a technical term in Indian philosophy, particularly Yoga, as well as Buddhist philosophy and Adva ...
" (impression) by the later Yogacara Buddhists and were held to reside in an unconscious mental layer. The term "
fetter Legcuffs are physical restraints used on the ankles of a person to allow walking only with a restricted stride and to prevent running and effective physical resistance. Frequently used alternative terms are leg cuffs, (leg/ankle) shackles, foot ...
" is also associated with the latent tendencies. A later Theravada text, the
Abhidhammattha-sangaha The ''Abhidhammattha-saṅgaha'' (The Compendium of Things contained in the Abhidhamma) is a Pali Buddhist instructional manual or compendium of the Abhidhamma of the Theravāda tradition. It was written by the Sri Lankan monk Ācariya Anuruddha s ...
(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). The Theravada school also holds that there is a subconscious stream of awareness termed the
Bhavanga Bhavaṅga (Pali, "ground of becoming", "condition for existence"), also bhavanga-sota and bhavanga-citta is a passive mode of intentional consciousness (''citta'') described in the Abhidhamma of Theravada Buddhism. It is also a mental process wh ...
. Another set of unconscious mental factors responsible for influencing one's behavior include the
asava Āsava is a Pali term (Sanskrit: Āsrava) that is used in Buddhist scripture, philosophy, and psychology, meaning "influx, canker." It refers to the mental defilements of sensual pleasures, craving for existence, and ignorance, which perpetuate ...
s (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. The
Yogacara Yogachara ( sa, योगाचार, IAST: '; literally "yoga practice"; "one whose practice is yoga") is an influential tradition of Buddhist philosophy and psychology emphasizing the study of cognition, perception, and consciousness through t ...
school of
Mahayana Buddhism ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing bra ...
(starting from the 3rd to 5th century CE) extended these ideas into what has been called a Buddhist theory of the
Unconscious mind The unconscious mind (or the unconscious) consists of the processes in the mind which occur automatically and are not available to introspection and include thought processes, memories, interests, and motivations. Even though these processes exis ...
. 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 The Eight Consciousnesses (Skt. ''aṣṭa vijñānakāyāḥ'') is a classification developed in the tradition of the Yogācāra school of Mahayana Buddhism. They enumerate the five sense consciousnesses, supplemented by the mental consciousne ...
and is also held in
Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...
.


Self development and cognitive behavioral practices

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." Silva argues that the Buddha saw each person responsible for their own personal development and considers this as being similar to the
humanistic Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humani ...
approach to psychology. Humanistic psychotherapy places much emphasis on helping the client achieve self-actualization and personal growth (e.g. Maslow). 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 Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for '' ...
).
Personal development Personal development or self improvement consists of activities that develop a person's capabilities and potential, build human capital, facilitate employability, and enhance quality of life and the realization of dreams and aspirations. Persona ...
in Buddhism is based upon the noble
eightfold path The Noble Eightfold Path (Pali: ; Sanskrit: ) is an early summary of the path of Buddhist practices leading to liberation from samsara, the painful cycle of rebirth, in the form of nirvana. The Eightfold Path consists of eight practices: ...
which integrates
ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns m ...
, wisdom or understanding ( pañña) and psychological practices such as
meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally cal ...
(
bhavana ''Bhāvanā'' (Pali;Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), p. 503, entry for "Bhāvanā," retrieved 9 December 2008 from "U. Chicago" a Sanskrit: भावना, also ''bhāvanā''Monier-Williams (1899), p. 755, see "Bhāvana" and "Bhāvanā", retriev ...
, cultivation, development).
Self-actualization Self-actualization, in Maslow's hierarchy of needs, is the highest level of psychological development, where personal potential is fully realized after basic bodily and ego needs have been fulfilled. Self-actualization was coined by the organism ...
in traditional Buddhism is based on the ideas of
Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...
and
Buddhahood In Buddhism, Buddha (; Pali, Sanskrit: 𑀩𑀼𑀤𑁆𑀥, बुद्ध), "awakened one", is a title for those who are awake, and have attained nirvana and Buddhahood through their own efforts and insight, without a teacher to point out ...
. The highest state a human can achieve (an
Arahant In Buddhism, an ''arhat'' (Sanskrit: अर्हत्) or ''arahant'' (Pali: अरहन्त्, 𑀅𑀭𑀳𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved ''Nirvana'' and liberated ...
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 Compassion motivates people to go out of their way to relieve the physical, mental or emotional pains of others and themselves. Compassion is often regarded as being sensitive to the emotional aspects of the suffering of others. When based on n ...
and
loving-kindness Loving-kindness may refer to: * an English translation of Chesed ( he, חֶסֶד, also Romanized: ) is a Hebrew word that means 'kindness or love between people', specifically of the devotional piety of people towards God as well as of love o ...
present. Buddhist meditation is of two main types:
Samatha ''Samatha'' (Pāli; sa, शमथ ''śamatha''; ), "calm," "serenity," "tranquillity of awareness," and ''vipassanā'' (Pāli; Sanskrit ''vipaśyanā''), literally "special, super (''vi-''), seeing (''-passanā'')", are two qualities of the ...
is meant to calm and relax the mind, as well as develop focus and concentration by training
attention Attention is the behavioral and cognitive process of selectively concentrating on a discrete aspect of information, whether considered subjective or objective, while ignoring other perceivable information. William James (1890) wrote that "Atte ...
on a single object;
Vipassana ''Samatha'' (Pāli; sa, शमथ ''śamatha''; ), "calm," "serenity," "tranquillity of awareness," and ''vipassanā'' (Pāli; Sanskrit ''vipaśyanā''), literally "special, super (''vi-''), seeing (''-passanā'')", are two qualities of the ...
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 Mindfulness is the practice of purposely bringing one's attention to the present-moment experience without evaluation, a skill one develops through meditation or other training. Mindfulness derives from ''sati'', a significant element of Hind ...
and comprehension (
Sampajañña ''Sampajañña'' (Pāli; Skt.: '' saṃprajanya,'' Tib: ''shes bzhin'') is a term of central importance for meditative practice in all Buddhist traditions. It refers to "The mental process by which one continuously monitors one's own body and ...
). Though the ultimate goal of these practices are
nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...
, the Buddha stated that they also bring mundane benefits such as relaxation, good sleep and pain reduction. Buddhist texts also contain mental strategies of thought modification which are similar to
cognitive behavioral therapy Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a psycho-social intervention that aims to reduce symptoms of various mental health conditions, primarily depression and anxiety disorders. CBT focuses on challenging and changing cognitive distortions (suc ...
techniques. A comparison of these systems of cognitive behavioral modification has been discussed by professor William Mikulas and Padmal de Silva. 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." 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 An intrusive thought is an unwelcome, involuntary thought, image, or unpleasant idea that may become an obsession, is upsetting or distressing, and can feel difficult to manage or eliminate. When such thoughts are associated with obsessive-compu ...
, 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 The Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya 10: ''The Discourse on the Establishing of Mindfulness''), and the subsequently created Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta (Dīgha Nikāya 22: ''The Great Discourse on the Establishing of Mindfulness''), are ...
, which outlines the practice of
mindfulness Mindfulness is the practice of purposely bringing one's attention to the present-moment experience without evaluation, a skill one develops through meditation or other training. Mindfulness derives from ''sati'', a significant element of Hind ...
, 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 Habituation is a form of non-associative learning in which an innate (non-reinforced) response to a stimulus decreases after repeated or prolonged presentations of that stimulus. Responses that habituate include those that involve the intact org ...
and exposure, the intensity and unpleasantness of such thoughts will disappear. Buddhist texts also promote the training of positive emotions such as
loving-kindness Loving-kindness may refer to: * an English translation of Chesed ( he, חֶסֶד, also Romanized: ) is a Hebrew word that means 'kindness or love between people', specifically of the devotional piety of people towards God as well as of love o ...
,
compassion Compassion motivates people to go out of their way to relieve the physical, mental or emotional pains of others and themselves. Compassion is often regarded as being sensitive to the emotional aspects of the suffering of others. When based on n ...
, empathetic joy and
equanimity Equanimity (Latin: ''æquanimitas'', having an even mind; ''aequus'' even; ''animus'' mind/soul) is a state of inner peace, psychological stability and composure which is undisturbed by experience of or exposure to emotions, pain, or other phenom ...
.


Abnormal psychology

The
Pali Canon The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the Tamrashatiya school. During th ...
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 The three poisons (Sanskrit: ''triviṣa''; Tibetan: ''dug gsum'') or the three unwholesome roots (Sanskrit: ''akuśala-mūla''; Pāli: ''akusala-mūla''), in Buddhism, refer to the three root kleshas: '' Moha'' (delusion, confusion), ''Raga'' ...
) of greed, hatred and confusion. 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." Another set of negative qualities outlined by the Buddha are the
five hindrances In the Buddhist tradition, the five hindrances ( Sinhala: ''පඤ්ච නීවරණ pañca nīvaraṇa''; Pali: ') are identified as mental factors that hinder progress in meditation and in our daily lives. In the Theravada tradition, thes ...
, 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 A psychogenic effect is one that originates from the brain instead of other physical organs (i.e. the cause is psychological rather than physiological) and may refer to: *Psychogenic pain *Psychogenic disease *Psychogenic amnesia *Psychogenic cou ...
in nature (rooted mainly in "environmental stress and inappropriate learning").Pio, Edwina (1988). Buddhist Psychology: A Modern Perspective. The Pali canon also describes Buddhist monks (epitomized by the monk Gagga) with symptoms of what would today be called
mental illness A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...
. 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'') 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. There are also stories of lay folk who show abnormal behavior due to the loss of their loved ones. Other Buddhist sources such as the
Milinda Panha The ''Milinda Pañha'' () is a Buddhist text which dates from sometime between 100 BC and 200 AD. It purports to record a dialogue between the Indian Buddhist sage Nāgasena, and the 2nd century BC Indo-Greek king Menander I (Pali: ''Milinda'') ...
echo the theory that madness is caused mainly by personal and environmental circumstances. Other abnormal behaviors described by the early sources include
Intellectual disability Intellectual disability (ID), also known as general learning disability in the United Kingdom and formerly mental retardation,Rosa's Law, Pub. L. 111-256124 Stat. 2643(2010). is a generalized neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by signifi ...
,
epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrical ...
,
alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...
, and
suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...
. Buddhagosa posits that the cause of suicide is mental illness based on factors such as loss of personal relations and physical illness.


Abhidhamma psychology

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 ''Citta'' (Pali and Sanskrit: चित्त; pronounced ''chitta''; IAST: ''citta)'' is one of three overlapping terms used in the '' nikaya'' to refer to the mind, the others being '' manas'' and '' viññāṇa''. Each is sometimes used in ...
(''awareness''),
Cetasika Mental factors ( sa, चैतसिक, caitasika or ''chitta samskara'' ; pi, cetasika; Tibetan: སེམས་བྱུང ''sems byung''), in Buddhism, are identified within the teachings of the Abhidhamma (Buddhist psychology). They are d ...
(''mental factors''),
Rūpa Rūpa () means "form". As it relates to any kind of basic object, it has more specific meanings in the context of Indic religions. Definition According to the Monier-Williams Dictionary (2006), rūpa is defined as: :* ... any outward appearance ...
(''physical occurrences, material form'') and
Nibbāna Nirvana (Sanskrit: निर्वाण, '; Pali: ') is "blowing out" or "quenching" of the activities of the worldly mind and its related suffering. Nirvana is the goal of the Hinayana and Theravada Buddhist paths, and marks the soteriologica ...
(''cessation''). 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 Emotions are mental states brought on by neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or displeasure. There is currently no scientific consensus on a definition. ...
, a theory of
personality types In psychology, personality type refers to the psychological classification of different types of individuals. Personality types are sometimes distinguished from personality traits, with the latter embodying a smaller grouping of behavioral tendenc ...
, and a psychology of ethical behavior. Ven.
Bhikkhu Bodhi Bhikkhu Bodhi (born December 10, 1944), born Jeffrey Block, is an American Theravada Buddhist monk, ordained in Sri Lanka and currently teaching in the New York and New Jersey area. He was appointed the second president of the Buddhist Publica ...
, president of the
Buddhist Publication Society The Buddhist Publication Society (BPS) is a publishing house with charitable status whose objective is to disseminate the teaching of Gautama Buddha. It was founded in Kandy, Sri Lanka in 1958 by two Sri Lankan lay Buddhists, A.S. Karunaratna and ...
, has synopsized the Abhidhamma as follows:


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 have found in Buddhist teachings a detailed introspective phenomenological psychology (particularly in the '' Abhidhamma'' which outlines various traits, emotions and
personality types In psychology, personality type refers to the psychological classification of different types of individuals. Personality types are sometimes distinguished from personality traits, with the latter embodying a smaller grouping of behavioral tendenc ...
). * psychotherapeutic meaning:
humanistic Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humani ...
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 Piaget's theory of cognitive development is a comprehensive theory about the nature and development of human intelligence. It was originated by the Swiss developmental psychologist Jean Piaget (1896–1980). The theory deals with the nature of kn ...
introducing the process of initiation. * clinical utility: some contemporary mental-health practitioners increasingly find ancient Buddhist practices (such as the development of
mindfulness Mindfulness is the practice of purposely bringing one's attention to the present-moment experience without evaluation, a skill one develops through meditation or other training. Mindfulness derives from ''sati'', a significant element of Hind ...
) of empirically proven therapeutic value. * popular psychology and spirituality: psychology has been popularized, and has become blended with
spirituality The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape o ...
in some forms of modern spirituality. Buddhist notions form an important ingredient of this modern mix.


Psychology

The contact between Buddhism and Psychology began with the work of the
Pali Text Society The Pali Text Society is a text publication society founded in 1881 by Thomas William Rhys Davids "to foster and promote the study of Pāli texts". Pāli is the language in which the texts of the Theravada school of Buddhism are preserved. The Pā ...
scholars, whose main work was translating the Buddhist
Pali Canon The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the Tamrashatiya school. During th ...
. In 1900, Indologist Caroline A. F. Rhys Davids published through the Pali Text Society a translation of the
Theravada ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...
Abhidhamma's first book, the Dhamma Sangani, and entitled the translation, "Buddhist Manual of Psychological Ethics". 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.). 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 William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an American philosopher, historian, and psychologist, and the first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States. James is considered to be a leading thinker of the lat ...
invited the Sri Lankan Buddhist
Anagarika Dharmapala Anagārika Dharmapāla (Pali: ''Anagārika'', ; Sinhala: Anagārika, lit., si, අනගාරික ධර්මපාල; 17 September 1864 – 29 April 1933) was a Sri Lankan Buddhist revivalist and a writer. Anagarika Dharmapāla is not ...
to lecture in his classes at
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
in December 1903. After Dharmapala lectured on Buddhism, James remarked, "This is the psychology everybody will be studying 25 years from now." Later scholars such as
David Kalupahana David J. Kalupahana (1936–2014) was a Buddhist scholar from Sri Lanka. He was a student of the late K.N. Jayatilleke, who was a student of Wittgenstein. He wrote mainly about epistemology, theory of language, and compared later Buddhist philoso ...
(The principles of Buddhist psychology, 1987), Padmal de Silva (Buddhism and behaviour modification, 1984), Edwina Pio 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 Transpersonal psychology, or spiritual psychology, is a sub-field or school of psychology that integrates the spiritual and transcendent aspects of the human experience with the framework of modern psychology. The '' transpersonal'' is defined ...
(which deals with
religious experience A religious experience (sometimes known as a spiritual experience, sacred experience, or mystical experience) is a subjective experience which is interpreted within a religious framework. The concept originated in the 19th century, as a defens ...
,
altered states of consciousness An altered state of consciousness (ASC), also called altered state of mind or mind alteration, is any condition which is significantly different from a normal waking state. By 1892, the expression was in use in relation to hypnosis, though there ...
and similar topics) such as
Ken Wilber Kenneth Earl Wilber II (born January 31, 1949) is an American philosopher and writer on transpersonal psychology and his own integral theory, a philosophy which suggests the synthesis of all human knowledge and experience. Life and career Wilbe ...
also integrated Buddhist thought and practice into their work. The 1960s and 1970s saw the rapid growth of Western Buddhism, especially in the United States. In the 1970s, psychotherapeutic techniques using "mindfulness" were developed such as
Hakomi The Hakomi Method is a form of mindfulness-centered somatic psychotherapy developed by Ron Kurtz in the 1970s. Approach and method The Hakomi Method is an experiential psychotherapy modality, wherein present, felt experience is used as an acce ...
therapy by Ron Kurtz (1934–2011), possibly the first mindfulness based therapy.
Jon Kabat-Zinn Jon Kabat-Zinn (born Jon Kabat, June 5, 1944) is an American professor emeritus of medicine and the creator of the Stress Reduction Clinic and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medi ...
's
mindfulness-based stress reduction Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is an eight-week evidence-based program that offers secular, intensive mindfulness training to assist people with stress, anxiety, depression and pain. Developed at the University of Massachusetts Medica ...
(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 Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is an approach to psychotherapy that uses cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) methods in collaboration with mindfulness meditative practices and similar psychological strategies. The origins to its concept ...
(MBCT) in 1987. In the early 2000s
Vidyamala Burch Prudence Margaret Burch (born 1959), known professionally as Vidyamala Burch, is a mindfulness teacher, writer, and co-founder of Breathworks, an international mindfulness organization known particularly for developing mindfulness-based pain ma ...
and her organization
Breathworks Breathworks CIC is an international mindfulness organization founded in the United Kingdom, which offers mindfulness-based approaches to living well with pain, stress, and illness. It is known particularly for developing the approach of mindfuln ...
developed
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. Adapting the core concepts and practices of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MB ...
(MBPM). 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 Jon Kabat-Zinn (born Jon Kabat, June 5, 1944) is an American professor emeritus of medicine and the creator of the Stress Reduction Clinic and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medi ...
,
Daniel Goleman Daniel Goleman (born March 7, 1946) is an author, psychologist, and science journalist. For twelve years, he wrote for ''The New York Times'', reporting on the brain and behavioral sciences. His 1995 book ''Emotional Intelligence'' was on ''Th ...
) 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 Jack Kornfield (born 1945) is an American writer and teacher in the Vipassana movement in American Theravada Buddhism. He trained as a Buddhist monk in Thailand, Burma and India, first as a student of the Thai forest master Ajahn Chah and Maha ...
and
Tara Brach Tara Brach (born May 17, 1953) is an American psychologist, author, and proponent of Buddhist meditation. She is a guiding teacher and founder of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington, D.C. (IMCW). Her colleagues in the Vipassanā, or ...
have academic degrees in
psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
. Applying the tools of modern
neuropsychology Neuropsychology is a branch of psychology concerned with how a person's cognition and behavior are related to the brain and the rest of the nervous system. Professionals in this branch of psychology often focus on how injuries or illnesses of t ...
(EEG, fMRI) to study
Buddhist meditation Buddhist meditation is the practice of meditation in Buddhism. The closest words for meditation in the classical languages of Buddhism are '' bhāvanā'' ("mental development") and '' jhāna/dhyāna'' (mental training resulting in a calm and ...
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 ''Zen and the Brain: Toward an Understanding of Meditation and Consciousness'' is a 1998 book by neurologist and Zen practitioner James H. Austin, in which the author attempts to establish links between the neurology, neurological workings of the h ...
'' (1998). Others who have studied and written about this type of research include
Richard Davidson Richard J. Davidson (born December 12, 1951) is professor of psychology and psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin–Madison as well as founder and chair of the Center for Healthy Minds and the affiliated non-profit Healthy Minds Innovations. ...
,
B. Alan Wallace Bruce Alan Wallace (born 1950) is an American author and expert on Tibetan Buddhism. His books discuss Eastern and Western scientific, philosophical, and contemplative modes of inquiry, often focusing on the relationships between science and Buddh ...
, Rick Hanson (Buddha's Brain, 2009) and Zoran Josipovic. A recent review of the literature on the
Neural mechanisms of mindfulness meditation Mindfulness has been defined in modern psychological terms as "paying attention to relevant aspects of experience in a nonjudgmental manner", and maintaining attention on present moment experience with an attitude of openness and acceptance. Medit ...
concludes that the practice "exerts beneficial effects on physical and mental health, and cognitive performance" but that "the underlying neural mechanisms remain unclear."


Japanese psychology

In
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, a different strand of comparative thought developed, beginning with the publication, "Psychology of Zen Sect" (1893) and "Buddhist psychology" (1897), by
Inoue Enryō was a Japanese philosopher, Shin Buddhism, Shin Buddhist priest and reformer, educator, and royalist. A key figure in the reception of Western philosophy, the emergence of modern Buddhism, and the permeation of the imperial ideology during the s ...
(1858–1919). 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. In the field of psychotherapy, Morita therapy was developed by
Shoma Morita , also read as Shōma Morita, was a contemporary of Sigmund Freud and the founder of Morita therapy, a branch of clinical psychology strongly influenced by Zen Buddhism. In his capacity as the head of psychiatry for a large Tokyo hospital, Morita ...
(1874-1938) who was influenced by
Zen Buddhism Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...
. 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 Electroencephalography (EEG) is a method to record an electrogram of the spontaneous electrical activity of the brain. The biosignals detected by EEG have been shown to represent the postsynaptic potentials of pyramidal neurons in the neocortex ...
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 The , also known as MEXT or Monka-shō, is one of the eleven Ministries of Japan that composes part of the executive branch of the Government of Japan. Its goal is to improve the development of Japan in relation with the international community. ...
which were carried out in various laboratories. 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. In Japan, a popular psychotherapy based on Buddhism is
Naikan Naikan (Japanese: 内観, ) is a structured method of self-reflection developed by Yoshimoto Ishin (1916–1988) in the 1940s. The practice is based around asking oneself three questions about a person in one's life: * What did I receive fr ...
therapy, developed from
Jōdo Shinshū , also known as Shin Buddhism or True Pure Land Buddhism, is a school of Pure Land Buddhism. It was founded by the former Tendai Japanese monk Shinran. Shin Buddhism is the most widely practiced branch of Buddhism in Japan. History Shinran ( ...
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.


Buddhism and psychoanalysis

Buddhism has some views which are comparable to
psychoanalytic theory Psychoanalytic theory is the theory of personality organization and the dynamics of personality development that guides psychoanalysis, a clinical method for treating psychopathology. First laid out by Sigmund Freud in the late 19th century, psyc ...
. These include a view of the
unconscious mind The unconscious mind (or the unconscious) consists of the processes in the mind which occur automatically and are not available to introspection and include thought processes, memories, interests, and motivations. Even though these processes exis ...
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 , self-rendered in 1894 as "Daisetz", was a Japanese-American Buddhist monk, essayist, philosopher, religious scholar, translator, and writer. He was a scholar and author of books and essays on Buddhism, Zen and Shin that were instrumental in s ...
,
Carl Jung Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology. Jung's work has been influential in the fields of psychiatry, anthropology, archaeology, literature, philo ...
,
Erich Fromm Erich Seligmann Fromm (; ; March 23, 1900 – March 18, 1980) was a German social psychologist, psychoanalyst, sociologist, humanistic philosopher, and democratic socialist. He was a German Jew who fled the Nazi regime and settled in the U ...
,
Alan Watts Alan Wilson Watts (6 January 1915 – 16 November 1973) was an English writer, speaker and self-styled "philosophical entertainer", known for interpreting and popularising Japanese, Chinese and Indian traditions of Buddhist, Taoist, and Hindu ...
,
Tara Brach Tara Brach (born May 17, 1953) is an American psychologist, author, and proponent of Buddhist meditation. She is a guiding teacher and founder of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington, D.C. (IMCW). Her colleagues in the Vipassanā, or ...
,
Jack Kornfield Jack Kornfield (born 1945) is an American writer and teacher in the Vipassana movement in American Theravada Buddhism. He trained as a Buddhist monk in Thailand, Burma and India, first as a student of the Thai forest master Ajahn Chah and Maha ...
and
Sharon Salzberg Sharon Salzberg (born August 5, 1952) is a ''New York Times'' bestselling author and teacher of Buddhist meditation practices in the West. In 1974, she co-founded the Insight Meditation Society at Barre, Massachusetts, with Jack Kornfield and Jos ...
have attempted to bridge and integrate psycho-analysis and Buddhism. British barrister
Christmas Humphreys Travers Christmas Humphreys, QC (15 February 1901 – 13 April 1983) was a British barrister who prosecuted several controversial cases in the 1940s and 1950s, and who later became a judge at the Old Bailey. He also wrote a number of works on M ...
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."


D.T. Suzuki's influence

One of the most important influences on the spread of Buddhism in the west was
Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...
scholar
D.T. Suzuki , self-rendered in 1894 as "Daisetz", was a Japanese-American Buddhist monk, essayist, philosopher, religious scholar, translator, and writer. He was a scholar and author of books and essays on Buddhism, Zen and Shin that were instrumental in s ...
. He collaborated with psycho-analysts
Carl Jung Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology. Jung's work has been influential in the fields of psychiatry, anthropology, archaeology, literature, philo ...
,
Karen Horney Karen Horney (; ; 16 September 1885 – 4 December 1952) was a German psychoanalyst who practised in the United States during her later career. Her theories questioned some traditional Freudian views. This was particularly true of her theories of ...
and
Erich Fromm Erich Seligmann Fromm (; ; March 23, 1900 – March 18, 1980) was a German social psychologist, psychoanalyst, sociologist, humanistic philosopher, and democratic socialist. He was a German Jew who fled the Nazi regime and settled in the U ...
.
Carl Jung Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology. Jung's work has been influential in the fields of psychiatry, anthropology, archaeology, literature, philo ...
wrote the foreword to Suzuki's ''Introduction to Zen Buddhism'', first published together in 1948. In his foreword, Jung highlights the enlightenment experience of ''
satori is a Japanese Buddhist term for awakening, "comprehension; understanding". It is derived from the Japanese verb satoru. In the Zen Buddhist tradition, ''satori'' refers to a deep experience of '' kenshō'', "seeing into one's true nature ...
'' as the "unsurpassed transformation to wholeness" for Zen practitioners. And while acknowledging the inadequacy of Psychologist attempts to comprehend ''
satori is a Japanese Buddhist term for awakening, "comprehension; understanding". It is derived from the Japanese verb satoru. In the Zen Buddhist tradition, ''satori'' refers to a deep experience of '' kenshō'', "seeing into one's true nature ...
'' through the lens of intellectualism, 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 or such enlightenmentis psychotherapy." Referencing Jung and Suzuki's collaboration as well as the efforts of others, humanistic philosopher and
psychoanalyst PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: + . is a set of Theory, theories and Therapy, therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a bo ...
Erich Fromm Erich Seligmann Fromm (; ; March 23, 1900 – March 18, 1980) was a German social psychologist, psychoanalyst, sociologist, humanistic philosopher, and democratic socialist. He was a German Jew who fled the Nazi regime and settled in the U ...
noted that: "There is an unmistakable and increasing interest in Zen Buddhism among psychoanalysts". One influential psychoanalyst who explored Zen was
Karen Horney Karen Horney (; ; 16 September 1885 – 4 December 1952) was a German psychoanalyst who practised in the United States during her later career. Her theories questioned some traditional Freudian views. This was particularly true of her theories of ...
, 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". Suzuki, Fromm and other psychoanalysts collaborated at a 1957 workshop on "Zen Buddhism and Psychoanalysis" in Cuernavaca, Mexico. 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". Paraphrasing Suzuki broadly, Fromm continues:


Buddhist psychoanalytic dialogue and integration

The dialogue between Buddhism and psychoanalysis has continued with the work of psychiatrists such as Mark Epstein,
Nina Coltart Nina Coltart (21 November 1927 – 24 June 1997), a British psychoanalyst, psychotherapist, and essayist, was born in Shortlands, Kent, England. Her father was a medical doctor and her mother, a housewife. In 1940 she and her younger sister Gill w ...
, Jack Engler, Axel Hoffer, Jeremy D. Safran, David Brazier, and Jeffrey B. Rubin.
Nina Coltart Nina Coltart (21 November 1927 – 24 June 1997), a British psychoanalyst, psychotherapist, and essayist, was born in Shortlands, Kent, England. Her father was a medical doctor and her mother, a housewife. In 1940 she and her younger sister Gill w ...
(1927-1997) was the Director of the London Clinic of Psychoanalysis, a
neo-Freudian Neo-Freudianism is a Psychoanalytic theory, psychoanalytic approach derived from the influence of Sigmund Freud but extending his theories towards typically social or cultural aspects of psychoanalysis over the biological. The neo-Freudian School ...
and a
Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
. She theorized that there are distinct similarities in the transformation of the self that occurs in both
psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might b ...
and
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
. 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 Chah Subhaddo ( th, ชา สุภัทโท, known in English as Ajahn Chah, occasionally with honorific titles ''Luang Por'' and ''Phra'') also known by his honorific name "Phra Bodhiñāṇathera" ( th, พระโพธิญาณเถ ...
and has since written several books on psychoanalysis and Buddhism (''Thoughts Without a Thinker'' 1995, ''Psychotherapy Without the Self'', 2008). Epstein relates the Buddhist Four Noble Truths to ''primary
narcissism Narcissism is a self-centered personality style characterized as having an excessive interest in one's physical appearance or image and an excessive preoccupation with one's own needs, often at the expense of others. Narcissism exists on a co ...
'' as described by
Donald Winnicott Donald Woods Winnicott (7 April 1896 – 25 January 1971) was an English paediatrician and psychoanalyst who was especially influential in the field of object relations theory and developmental psychology. He was a leading member of the Br ...
in his theory on the
true self and false self The true self (also known as real self, authentic self, original self and vulnerable self) and the false self (also known as fake self, idealized self, superficial self and pseudo self) are a psychological dualism conceptualized by English psychoa ...
. 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. 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."Rubin, Jeffrey B. (1996). Psychotherapy and Buddhism, Toward an Integration 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. 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. 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." Olendzki also argues that for the Buddhist, the psychoanalytic focus on linguistic narrativity distracts us from immediate experience.


David Brazier

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 In Buddhism, the Four Noble Truths (Sanskrit: ; pi, cattāri ariyasaccāni; "The four Arya satyas") are "the truths of the Noble Ones", the truths or realities for the "spiritually worthy ones".
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_do_not_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_ 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_do_not_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_Noble_Eightfold_Path">Eightfold_Path_ The_Noble_Eightfold_Path_(Pali:_;__Sanskrit:_)_is_an_early_summary_of_the_path_of_Buddhist_practices_leading_to_liberation_from__samsara,_the_painful_cycle_of__rebirth,_in_the_form_of_nirvana. The_Eightfold_Path_consists_of_eight_practices:__...
. In_this_translation,_''samudhaya''_means_that_the_uneasiness_that_is_inherent_to_life_Pratītyasamutpāda.html" ;"title="Noble_Eightfold_Path.html" "title="Four Noble Truths: BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY Encycl ...
, 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 gives a different interpretation to the Four Noble Truths. # ''Dukkha'': existence is imperfect, it is like a wheel that is 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 do not 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 Noble Eightfold Path">Eightfold Path The Noble Eightfold Path (Pali: ; Sanskrit: ) is an early summary of the path of Buddhist practices leading to liberation from samsara, the painful cycle of rebirth, in the form of nirvana. The Eightfold Path consists of eight practices: ...
. In this translation, ''samudhaya'' means that the uneasiness that is inherent to life Pratītyasamutpāda">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.


Gestalt therapy

Gestalt Therapy, an approach created by Fritz Perls, was based on phenomenology, existentialism and also
Zen Buddhism Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...
and Taoism.Crocker, S. F. (2005). Phenomenology, Existentialism, and Eastern thought in Gestalt Therapy. In Woldt & Toman (Eds), Gestalt Therapy (pp. 65-80). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. Perls spent some time in Japanese Zen monasteries and his therapeutic techniques include mindfulness practices and focusing on the present moment. 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. Other authors in Gestalt Therapy who were influenced by Buddhism are
Barry Stevens (therapist) Barry Stevens (1902–1985) was a writer and Gestalt therapist. She developed her own form of Gestalt therapy body work, based on the awareness of body processes. For the Human Potential Movement of the 1970s, she became a kind of "star", but she ...
and
Dick Price Richard Price (October 12, 1930 – November 25, 1985) was co-founder of the Esalen Institute in 1962 and a veteran of the Beat Generation. He ran Esalen in Big Sur for many years, sometimes virtually single-handed."Dick's life in the late 1960s ...
(who developed
Gestalt Practice Gestalt Practice is a contemporary form of personal exploration and integration developed by Dick Price at the Esalen Institute. The objective of the practice is to become more fully aware of the process of living within a unified field of body, m ...
by including
Buddhist meditation Buddhist meditation is the practice of meditation in Buddhism. The closest words for meditation in the classical languages of Buddhism are '' bhāvanā'' ("mental development") and '' jhāna/dhyāna'' (mental training resulting in a calm and ...
). 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'". More recently,
Claudio Naranjo Claudio Benjamín Naranjo Cohen (24 November 1932 – 12 July 2019) was a Chilean-born psychiatrist who is considered a pioneer in integrating psychotherapy and the spiritual traditions. He was one of the three successors named by Fritz Perls ( ...
has written about the practice of Gestalt and Tibetan Buddhism.


Existential and Humanistic psychology

Both
existential Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and valu ...
and
humanistic Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humani ...
models of human psychology stress the importance of personal responsibility and freedom of choice, ideas which are central to
Buddhist ethics Buddhist ethics are traditionally based on what Buddhists view as the enlightened perspective of the Buddha. The term for ethics or morality used in Buddhism is ''Śīla'' or ''sīla'' (Pāli). ''Śīla'' in Buddhism is one of three sections of ...
and psychology. Humanistic psychology's focus on developing the 'fully functioning person' (Carl Rogers) and
self actualization Self-actualization, in Maslow's hierarchy of needs, is the highest level of psychological development, where personal potential is fully realized after basic bodily and ego needs have been fulfilled. Self-actualization was coined by the organism ...
(Maslow) is similar to the Buddhist attitude of self development as an ultimate human end. The idea of
person-centered therapy Person-centered therapy, also known as person-centered psychotherapy, person-centered counseling, client-centered therapy and Rogerian psychotherapy, is a form of psychotherapy developed by psychologist Carl Rogers beginning in the 1940s and ...
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".
Carl Rogers Carl Ransom Rogers (January 8, 1902 – February 4, 1987) was an American psychologist and among the founders of the humanistic approach (and client-centered approach) in psychology. Rogers is widely considered one of the founding fathers of ps ...
's idea of "unconditional positive regard" and his stress on the importance of
empathy Empathy is the capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within their frame of reference, that is, the capacity to place oneself in another's position. Definitions of empathy encompass a broad range of social, co ...
has been compared to Buddhist conceptions of compassion (
Karuṇā ' () is generally translated as compassion or mercy and sometimes as self-compassion or spiritual longing. It is a significant spiritual concept in the Indic religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism. Buddhism is important in all ...
).
Mindfulness Mindfulness is the practice of purposely bringing one's attention to the present-moment experience without evaluation, a skill one develops through meditation or other training. Mindfulness derives from ''sati'', a significant element of Hind ...
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."Buzzano, Manu; The Buddha as a fully functioning person: toward a person-centered perspective on mindfulness, New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling, London 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. A comparison has also been made between Marshall Rosenberg's Nonviolent Communication and
Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
ideals of
right speech The Noble Eightfold Path (Pali: ; Sanskrit: ) is an early summary of the path of Buddhist practices leading to liberation from samsara, the painful cycle of rebirth, in the form of nirvana. The Eightfold Path consists of eight practices: ri ...
, both in theory and in manifesting Buddhist ideals in practice. 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. 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 Edward Conze, born Eberhard Julius Dietrich Conze (1904–1979) was a scholar of Marxism and Buddhism, known primarily for his commentaries and translations of the Prajñāpāramitā literature. Biography Conze's parents, Dr. Ernst Conze (1872 ...
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."


Positive psychology

The growing field of
positive psychology Positive psychology is the scientific study of what makes life most worth living, focusing on both individual and societal well-being. It studies "positive subjective experience, positive individual traits, and positive institutions...it aims t ...
shares with Buddhism a focus on developing a positive emotions and personal strengths and virtues with the goal of improving human
well-being Well-being, or wellbeing, also known as wellness, prudential value or quality of life, refers to what is intrinsically valuable relative ''to'' someone. So the well-being of a person is what is ultimately good ''for'' this person, what is in th ...
. Positive psychology also describes the futility of the "
hedonic treadmill The hedonic treadmill, also known as hedonic adaptation, is the observed tendency of humans to quickly return to a relatively stable level of happiness despite major positive or negative events or life changes. According to this theory, as a perso ...
", 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. 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 The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
have developed a 15-item "Mindful attention awareness scale" to measure dispositional mindfulness. The concept of Flow studied by
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi Mihaly Robert Csikszentmihalyi (, hu, Csíkszentmihályi Mihály Róbert, ; 29 September 1934 – 20 October 2021) was a Hungarian-American psychologist. He recognized and named the psychological concept of "flow", a highly focused mental ...
has been compared to Buddhist meditative states such as
samadhi ''Samadhi'' (Pali and sa, समाधि), in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditative consciousness. In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ashtanga Yoga ...
and mindfulness. Ronald Siegel describes flow as "mindfulness while accomplishing something." 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. 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 Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...
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." 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."Thanissaro Bhikkhu, The Karma of Happiness A Buddhist Monk Looks at Positive Psychology, http://www.dhammatalks.org/Archive/Writings/CrossIndexed/Uncollected/MiscEssays/The%20Karma%20of%20Happiness.pdf Thanissaro argues that Positive psychology should also look into the ethical dimensions of the good life. Regarding the example of flow states he writes: 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

In his introduction to his 1975 book, ''Glimpses of the Abhidharma'', Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche wrote: 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 (Sanskrit) or (Pāḷi) means "heaps, aggregates, collections, groupings". In Buddhism, it refers to the five aggregates of clinging (), the five material and mental factors that take part in the rise of craving and clinging. They are also ...
". In 1974, Trungpa Rinpoche founded the Naropa Institute, now called
Naropa University Naropa University is a private university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1974 by Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chögyam Trungpa, it is named for the 11th-century Indian Buddhist sage Naropa, an abbot of Nalanda. The university describes itself as B ...
. Since 1975, this accredited university has offered degrees in "contemplative psychology".


Mind and life institute

Every two years, since 1987, the
Dalai Lama Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dal ...
has convened "Mind and Life" gatherings of Buddhists and scientists. Reflecting on one Mind and Life session in March 2000, psychologist
Daniel Goleman Daniel Goleman (born March 7, 1946) is an author, psychologist, and science journalist. For twelve years, he wrote for ''The New York Times'', reporting on the brain and behavioral sciences. His 1995 book ''Emotional Intelligence'' was on ''Th ...
notes:


Buddhist techniques in clinical settings

For over a millennium, throughout the world, Buddhist practices have been used for non-Buddhist ends. More recently, clinical psychologists, theorists and researchers have incorporated Buddhist practices in widespread formalized psychotherapies. Buddhist
mindfulness Mindfulness is the practice of purposely bringing one's attention to the present-moment experience without evaluation, a skill one develops through meditation or other training. Mindfulness derives from ''sati'', a significant element of Hind ...
practices have been explicitly incorporated into a variety of psychological treatments. More tangentially, psychotherapies dealing with
cognitive restructuring Cognitive restructuring (CR) is a psychotherapeutic process of learning to identify and dispute irrational or maladaptive thoughts known as cognitive distortions,Gladding, Samuel. Counseling: A Comprehensive Review. 6th. Columbus: Pearson Educatio ...
share core principles with ancient Buddhist antidotes to personal suffering.


Mindfulness practices

Fromm 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. Two increasingly popular therapeutic practices using Buddhist mindfulness techniques are
Jon Kabat-Zinn Jon Kabat-Zinn (born Jon Kabat, June 5, 1944) is an American professor emeritus of medicine and the creator of the Stress Reduction Clinic and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medi ...
's
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is an eight-week evidence-based program that offers secular, intensive mindfulness training to assist people with stress, anxiety, depression and pain. Developed at the University of Massachusetts Medica ...
(MBSR) and Marsha M. Linehan's dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT). Other prominent therapies that use mindfulness include Steven C. Hayes'
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT, typically pronounced as the word "act") is a form of psychotherapy, as well as a branch of clinical behavior analysis. It is an empirically based psychological intervention that uses acceptance and mindfu ...
(ACT), Adaptation Practice founded in 1978 by the British psychiatrist and Zen Buddhist
Clive Sherlock Clive Sherlock is a British doctor who trained in cognitive behavioural therapy and Jungian psychoanalysis during postgraduate studies at Oxford. He saw limitations in the theories and uses of psychotherapy, cognitive behavioural therapy and ps ...
and, based on MBSR,
Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is an approach to psychotherapy that uses cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) methods in collaboration with mindfulness meditative practices and similar psychological strategies. The origins to its concept ...
(MBCT) (Segal ''et al''., 2002).


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. Describing the MBSR program, Kabat-Zinn writes: According to Kabat-Zinn, a one-time
Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...
practitioner, 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 ''Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness'' is a book by Jon Kabat-Zinn, first published in 1990, revised in 2013, which describes the mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program de ...
'', which was revised and reissued in 2013.


Mindfulness-based pain management

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. Adapting the core concepts and practices of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MB ...
(MBPM) is a mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) providing specific applications for people living with chronic pain and illness. Adapting the core concepts and practices of
mindfulness-based stress reduction Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is an eight-week evidence-based program that offers secular, intensive mindfulness training to assist people with stress, anxiety, depression and pain. Developed at the University of Massachusetts Medica ...
(MBSR) and
mindfulness-based cognitive therapy Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is an approach to psychotherapy that uses cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) methods in collaboration with mindfulness meditative practices and similar psychological strategies. The origins to its concept ...
(MBCT), MBPM includes a distinctive emphasis on the practice of '
loving-kindness Loving-kindness may refer to: * an English translation of Chesed ( he, חֶסֶד, also Romanized: ) is a Hebrew word that means 'kindness or love between people', specifically of the devotional piety of people towards God as well as of love o ...
', and has been seen as sensitive to concerns about removing mindfulness teaching from its original ethical framework within
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
. It was developed by
Vidyamala Burch Prudence Margaret Burch (born 1959), known professionally as Vidyamala Burch, is a mindfulness teacher, writer, and co-founder of Breathworks, an international mindfulness organization known particularly for developing mindfulness-based pain ma ...
and is delivered through the programs of
Breathworks Breathworks CIC is an international mindfulness organization founded in the United Kingdom, which offers mindfulness-based approaches to living well with pain, stress, and illness. It is known particularly for developing the approach of mindfuln ...
. It has been subject to a range of clinical studies demonstrating its effectiveness.


Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)

In writing about DBT, Zen practitioner Linehan states: Similarly, Linehan writes: Controlled clinical studies have demonstrated DBT's effectiveness for people with
borderline personality disorder Borderline personality disorder (BPD), also known as emotionally unstable personality disorder (EUPD), is a personality disorder characterized by a long-term pattern of unstable interpersonal relationships, distorted sense of self, and strong ...
.


Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

ACT did not explicitly emerge from Buddhism, but its concepts often parallel ideas from Buddhist and mystical traditions. 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."Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K., & Wilson, K. G. (2011). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: The process and practice of mindful change (2nd edition). New York: Guilford Press. 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"). These four aspects of mindfulness in ACT are argued to stem from
Relational Frame Theory Relational frame theory (RFT) is a psychological theory of human language, cognition, and behaviour. It was developed originally by Steven C. Hayes of University of Nevada, Reno and has been extended in research, notably by Dermot Barnes-Holmes ...
, 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. Most ACT self-help books (e.g.,) 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 Clive Sherlock is a British doctor who trained in cognitive behavioural therapy and Jungian psychoanalysis during postgraduate studies at Oxford. He saw limitations in the theories and uses of psychotherapy, cognitive behavioural therapy and ps ...
, who trained in the traditional Rinzai School of
Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...
, developed Adaptation Practice, 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 Albert Ellis (September 27, 1913 – July 24, 2007) was an American psychologist and psychotherapist who founded rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT). He held MA and PhD degrees in clinical psychology from Columbia University, and was certi ...
, considered the "grandfather of
cognitive-behavioral therapy Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a psycho-social intervention that aims to reduce symptoms of various mental health conditions, primarily depression and anxiety disorders. CBT focuses on challenging and changing cognitive distortions (suc ...
" (CBT), has written: To give but one example, Buddhism identifies anger and ill-will as basic hindrances to spiritual development (see, for instance, the
Five Hindrances In the Buddhist tradition, the five hindrances ( Sinhala: ''පඤ්ච නීවරණ pañca nīvaraṇa''; Pali: ') are identified as mental factors that hinder progress in meditation and in our daily lives. In the Theravada tradition, thes ...
, Ten Fetters and ''
kilesa Kleshas ( sa, क्लेश, kleśa; pi, किलेस ''kilesa''; bo, ཉོན་མོངས། ''nyon mongs''), in Buddhism, are mental states that cloud the mind and manifest in unwholesome actions. ''Kleshas'' include states of mind su ...
s''). A common Buddhist
antidote An antidote is a substance that can counteract a form of poisoning. The term ultimately derives from the Greek term φάρμακον ἀντίδοτον ''(pharmakon) antidoton'', "(medicine) given as a remedy". Antidotes for anticoagulants are s ...
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 describes in the following manner:


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".Kearney, Patrick, Still Crazy after all these Years:Why Meditation isn't Psychotherapy 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: American
Theravada ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...
monk Thanissaro BhikkhuThanissaro Bikkhu (2012) has also criticized the interpretation of Buddhism through Psychology, which has different values and goals, derived from roots such as European
Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
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 Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and ...
through American psychologist and philosopher
William James William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an American philosopher, historian, and psychologist, and the first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States. James is considered to be a leading thinker of the lat ...
, Jung and humanistic psychologist
Abraham Maslow Abraham Harold Maslow (; April 1, 1908 – June 8, 1970) was an American psychologist who was best known for creating Maslow's hierarchy of needs, a theory of psychological health predicated on fulfilling innate human needs in priority, cul ...
.Thanissaro Bhikkhu, The Roots of Buddhist Romanticism Thanissaro sees their view as centered on the idea of healing the 'divided self', an idea which is alien to Buddhism. 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 Buddhist modernism (also referred to as modern Buddhism, modernist Buddhism, and Neo-Buddhism are new movements based on modern era reinterpretations of Buddhism. David McMahan states that modernism in Buddhism is similar to those found in other ...
. Recognizing the widespread alienation and social fragmentation of modern life, Thanissaro Bhikkhu writes: Another Theravada monk,
Bhikkhu Bodhi Bhikkhu Bodhi (born December 10, 1944), born Jeffrey Block, is an American Theravada Buddhist monk, ordained in Sri Lanka and currently teaching in the New York and New Jersey area. He was appointed the second president of the Buddhist Publica ...
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 ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...
:


Popular psychology and spirituality


Mainstream teachers and popularizers

In 1961, philosopher and professor
Alan Watts Alan Wilson Watts (6 January 1915 – 16 November 1973) was an English writer, speaker and self-styled "philosophical entertainer", known for interpreting and popularising Japanese, Chinese and Indian traditions of Buddhist, Taoist, and Hindu ...
wrote: Since Watts's early observations and musings, there have been many other important contributors to the contemporary popularization of the integration of
Buddhist meditation Buddhist meditation is the practice of meditation in Buddhism. The closest words for meditation in the classical languages of Buddhism are '' bhāvanā'' ("mental development") and '' jhāna/dhyāna'' (mental training resulting in a calm and ...
with psychology including Kornfield (1993), Joseph Goldstein,
Tara Brach Tara Brach (born May 17, 1953) is an American psychologist, author, and proponent of Buddhist meditation. She is a guiding teacher and founder of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington, D.C. (IMCW). Her colleagues in the Vipassanā, or ...
,
Epstein The surname Epstein ( yi, עפּשטײן, Epshteyn) is one of the oldest Ashkenazi Jewish family names. It is probably derived from the German town of Eppstein, in Hesse; the place-name was probably derived from Gaulish ''apa'' ("water", in the sen ...
(1995) and Nhat Hanh (1998).


See also

*
Bhavacakra The bhavacakra (Sanskrit: भवचक्र; Pāli: ''bhavacakka''; Tibetan: སྲིད་པའི་འཁོར་ལོ, Wylie: ''srid pa'i 'khor lo'') is a symbolic representation of saṃsāra (or cyclic existence). It is found on the ...
*
Buddhism and science The relationship between Buddhism and science is a subject of contemporary discussion and debate among Buddhists, scientists and scholars of Buddhism. Historically, Buddhism encompasses many types of beliefs, traditions and practices, so it is di ...
* Buddhism and Western Philosophy *
Buddhist philosophy Buddhist philosophy refers to the philosophical investigations and systems of inquiry that developed among various schools of Buddhism in India following the parinirvana of The Buddha and later spread throughout Asia. The Buddhist path combi ...
* Compassion focused therapy * Eastern philosophy and clinical psychology *
Health applications and clinical studies of meditation The psychological and physiological effects of meditation have been studied. In recent years, studies of meditation have increasingly involved the use of modern instruments, such as fMRI and EEG, which are able to observe brain physiology and n ...
*
Indian psychology Indian psychology refers to an emerging scholarly and scientific subfield of psychology. Psychologists working in this field are retrieving the psychological ideas embedded in indigenous Indian religious and spiritual traditions and philosophies, an ...
*
Naropa University Naropa University is a private university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1974 by Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chögyam Trungpa, it is named for the 11th-century Indian Buddhist sage Naropa, an abbot of Nalanda. The university describes itself as B ...


Notes


References


Sources and bibliography

*
American Psychiatric Association The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychiatrists and trainee psychiatrists in the United States, and the largest psychiatric organization in the world. It has more than 37,000 members are involve ...
(1994). ''
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders The ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders'' (DSM; latest edition: DSM-5-TR, published in March 2022) is a publication by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) for the classification of mental disorders using a common langua ...
: DSM-IV — 4th ed''. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association. . * * Benoit, Hubert (1955, 1995). ''The Supreme Doctrine''. Portland, OR: Sussex Academic Press. Cited in Fromm ''et al''. (1960). . * * Berman, A. E., & Stevens, L. (2015). EEG manifestations of nondual experiences in meditators. Consciousness and Cognition, 31, 1–11. * Bodhi, Bhikkhu (ed.) (2000). ''A Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma: The Abhidhammattha Sangaha of Ācariya Anuruddha''. Seattle, WA: BPS Pariyatti Editions. . - also online: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bodhi/abhiman.html * * Curtis, C. (2016). The Experience of Self/No-Self in Aikido. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 23(1-2), 58–68. * Davidson, Richard J. & Anne Harrington (eds.) (2002). ''Visions of Compassion: Western Scientists and Tibetan Buddhists Examine Human Nature''. NY: Oxford University Press. . * Dockett, K. H., Dudley-Grant, G. R., & Bankart, C. P. (2003). Psychology and Buddhism: From individual to global community: Springer Science & Business Media. * Ellis, Albert (1962, 1991). ''Reason and Emotion in Psychotherapy''. NY: Carol Publishing Group. . * Ellis, Albert (1977, 1997). ''Anger: How to Live with and without It''. Secaucus, NJ: Carol Publishing Group. . * * Epstein, Mark (1995). ''Thoughts without a Thinker: Psychotherapy from a Buddhist Perspective''. NY: Basic Books. . * Fromm, Erich,
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& Richard De Martino (1960). ''Zen Buddhism and Psychoanalysis''. NY: Harper & Row. . * Fromm, Erich (1989, 2002). ''The Art of Being''. NY: Continuum. . * Gaskins, R. W. (1999). " Adding legs to a snake": A reanalysis of motivation and the pursuit of happiness from a Zen Buddhist perspective. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91(2), 204–215. * Goleman, D., & Thurman, Robert A. F (Eds.) (1991). MindScience: An East-West dialogue : proceedings of a symposium sponsored by the Mind/Body Medical Institute of Harvard Medical School & New England Deaconess Hospital and Tibet House New York. Boston: Wisdom Publications. * Goleman, Daniel (ed.) (1997). ''Healing Emotions: Conversations With the Dalai Lama on Mindfulness, Emotions, and Health''. Boston: Shambhala Publications. . * Goleman, Daniel (2004). ''Destructive Emotions: A Scientific Dialogue with the Dalai Lama''. NY: Bantam Dell. . * Gopnik, A. (2009). Could David Hume Have Known about Buddhism?: Charles François Dolu, the Royal College of La Flèche, and the Global Jesuit Intellectual Network. Hume Studies, 35(1), 5–28. * Grabovac, A. D., Lau, M. A., & Willett, B. R. (2011). Mechanisms of mindfulness: A Buddhist psychological model. Mindfulness, 2(3), 154–166. * Gyatso, Geshe Kelsang (2nd. ed., 1997) ''Understanding the Mind: The Nature and Power of the Mind''.
Tharpa Publications Tharpa Publications (Sanskrit for "liberation" and pronounced "Tar-pa") is a New York-based "major international and multilingual publisher of Buddhist books" by the Buddhist author and scholar Geshe Kelsang Gyatso. These include basic Buddhist me ...
. * Harrington, Anne & Arthur Zajonc (2006). ''The Dalai Lama at MIT''. Harvard University Press. . * Hayward, Jeremy W. & Francisco J. Varela (eds.) (1992, 2001). ''Gentle Bridges: Conversations with the Dalai Lama on the Sciences of Mind''. Boston: Shambhala Publications. . * Houshmand, Zara, Robert B. Livingston & B. Alan Wallace (eds.) (1999). ''Consciousness at the Crossroads: Conversations with the Dalai Lama on Brain Science and Buddhism''. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications. . * Josipovic, Z. (2010). Duality and nonduality in meditation research. Consciousness and Cognition, 19(4), 1119–1121. * * * Kalupahana, David J. (1992), The Principles of Buddhist Psychology, Delhi: Sri Satguru Publications. * Kang, C., & Whittingham, K. (2010). Mindfulness: A dialogue between Buddhism and clinical psychology. Mindfulness, 1(3), 161–173. * Kornfield, Jack (1993). ''A Path with Heart: A Guide through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life''. NY: Bantam Books. . * Kudesia, R. S., & Nyima, V. T. (2015). Mindfulness contextualized: An integration of Buddhist and neuropsychological approaches to cognition. Mindfulness, 6(4), 910–925. * Linehan, Marsha M. (1993a). ''Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder''. NY: Guilford Press. . * Linehan, Marsha M. (1993b). ''Skills Training Manual for Treating Borderline Personality Disorder''. NY: Guilford Press. . * Linehan, M. M., H. E. Armstrong, A. Suarez, D. Allmon & H. L. Heard (1991). "Cognitive-behavioral treatment of chronically parasuicidal borderline patients." ''Archives of General Psychiatry, 48,'' 100–1064. Cited in Linehan (1993b). * Linehan, M. M., & H. L. Heard (1993). "Impact of treatment accessibility on clinical course of parasuicidal patients." In reply to R.E. Hoffman
etter to the editor Etter is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Albert Etter (born 1872), American horticulturist *Bill Etter (born 1950), American football quarterback *Bob Etter (born 1945), American football placekicker, bridge player, and profess ...
''Archives of General Psychiatry, 50,'' 157–158. Cited in Linehan (1993b). * Linehan, M. M., H. L. Heard, & H. E. Armstrong (in press). "Naturalistic follow-up of a behavioral treatment for chronically suicidal borderline patients. ''Archives of General Psychiatry''. Cited in Linehan (1993b). * * Ñanamoli Thera (trans.) (1993). ''Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta: Setting Rolling the Wheel of Truth'' ( SN 56.11). Available on-line at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn56/sn56.011.nymo.html. * Nhat Hanh, Thich (1998). ''Mindfulness and Psychotherapy'' (audio). Louisville, CO:
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. . *
Nyanaponika Thera Nyanaponika Thera or Nyanaponika Mahathera (July 21, 1901 – 19 October 1994) was a German-born Theravada Buddhist monk and scholar who, after ordaining in Sri Lanka, later became the co-founder of the Buddhist Publication Society and autho ...
(1954, 1996). ''The Heart of Buddhist Meditation: A Handbook of Mental Training based on the Buddha's Way of Mindfulness''. York Beach, ME: Samuel Weiser. . * Nyanaponika Thera, Bhikkhu Bodhi (ed.) & Erich Fromm (fwd.) (1986). ''Visions of Dhamma: Buddhist Writings of Nyanaponika Thera.'' York Beach, ME: Weiser Books. . * Rhys Davids, Caroline A. F. (
900 __NOTOC__ Year 900 ( CM) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Abbasid Caliphate * Spring – Forces under the Transoxianian emir Isma'il ibn Ahmad are ...
2003).
Manual of Psychological Ethics, of the Fourth Century B.C.
being a Translation, now made for the First Time, from the Original Pāli, of the First Book of the Abhidhamma-Piaka, entitled Dhamma-Sagai (Compendium of States or Phenomena)''. Whitefish, MT: Kessinger Publishing. . * Rhys Davids, Caroline A. F. (1914)
''Buddhist Psychology: An Inquiry into the Analysis and Theory of Mind in Pali Literature''
London: Bell and sons. * Rhys Davids, Caroline A. F. (1936). ''Birth of Indian Psychology and its Development in Buddhism''. * Sato, Koji (1958). "Psychotherapeutic Implications of Zen" in ''Psychologia, An International Journal of Psychology in the Orient''. Vol. I, No. 4 (1958). Cited in Fromm ''et al''. (1960). * Schwartz, Tony (1996). ''What Really Matters: Searching for Wisdom in America''. NY: Bantam Books. . * Segal, Zindel V., J. Mark G. Williams, & John D. Teasdale (2002). ''Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression: A New Approach to Preventing Relapse''. NY: Guilford Press. . * Suzuki, D.T. &
Carl G. Jung Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology. Jung's work has been influential in the fields of psychiatry, anthropology, archaeology, literature, philo ...
(fwd.) (1948, 1964, 1991). ''An Introduction to Zen Buddhism''. NY: Grove Press. . * Suzuki, D.T. (1949, 1956). ''Zen Buddhism''. NY: Doubleday Anchor Books. Cited in Ellis (1991) and Fromm (1960). * Thanissaro Bhikkhu (2012).
The Roots of Buddhist Romanticism
'. * Varela, F. J., Thompson, E., & Rosch, E. (1991). The embodied mind: Cognitive science and human experience. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press. * Varela, Francisco J. (ed.) (1997). ''Sleeping, Dreaming, and Dying: An Exploration of Consciousness with the Dalai Lama''. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications. . * * * Wallace, B. A., & Shapiro, S. L. (2006). Mental balance and well-being: building bridges between Buddhism and Western psychology. American psychologist, 61(7), 690. * Watts, Alan W. (1959). ''The Way of Zen''. NY: New American Library. Cited in Ellis (1991). * Watts, Alan W. (1960). ''Nature, Man and Sex''. NY: New American Library. Cited in Ellis (1991). * Watts, Alan W. (1961, 1975). ''Psychotherapy East and West''. NY: Random House. . * Zajonc, Arthur (ed.) with Zara Houshmand (2004). ''The New Physics and Cosmology: Dialogues with the Dalai Lama''. NY: Oxford University Press. .


Related texts

* Fryba, Mirko (1995). ''The Practice of Happiness: Exercises & Techniques for Developing Mindfulness, Wisdom, and Joy''. Boston: Shambhala. . * Segal, Zindel V.,
J. Mark G. Williams J. Mark G. Williams, is Emeritus Professor of Clinical Psychology and Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the University of Oxford Department of Psychiatry. He held previous posts at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, the Medical Research Coun ...
, & John D. Teasdale (2002). ''Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression''. NY: Guilford. .


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




Caveats and criticisms



a treatise by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu
"Buddhist Romanticism"
talk by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu (03/25/02)
"Buddhist Romanticism Discussion", follow-up to Thanissaro Bhikkhu talk
by
Gil Fronsdal Gil Fronsdal (born 1954) is a Norwegian-born, American Buddhist teacher, writer and scholar based in Redwood City, California. He has been practicing Buddhism of the Sōtō Zen and Vipassanā sects since 1975, and is currently teaching the pract ...
(04/01/02)


Psychotherapy and Buddhism

Kohut
Lorne Ladner, ''Positive Psychology & the Buddhist Path of Compassion''


* * ttp://www.emotionalcompetency.com/papers/empathydissertation.pdf Jakob Håkansson, ''Exploring the phenomenon of empathy''Winnicott
Linda A. Nockler, ''The Spiritual and the Psychological Meet: Lessons from for Students of Awareness Practices''


* ttp://journalpsyche.org/articles/0xabcf.pdf 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''
{{Buddhism topics Psychological theories Psychology of religion
Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
Mindfulness (psychology)