Let
us now examine Buddhism in relation to modern psychotherapeutic concepts to find
out whether this claim is true. When I examine the history of the evolution of
modern psychotherapeutic concepts, I find that all modern theories and practices
are centred around one important problem which is understandable in terms of the
structural hypothesis presented by Sigmund Freud (in 1923). Almost all modern
therapeutic systems could be described in terms of this structural hypothesis.
These different systems could be broadly classified into two groups. Those therapies
that are mainly concerned with the Id and its expressions and those that are mainly
concerned with the Ego and its functions. The Id psychologies can also be seen
as affective therapies and Ego psychologies seen as cognitive therapies. It is
not possible to discuss in detail these different therapies within the limits
of this half hour presentation, and it is also unnecessary since it was already
dealt with by a speaker who is much more learned than I am in this field. However
I wish to draw your attention to this all important psychological problem revealed
through the structural hypothesis of Freud. The reason for my drawing your attention
to these important assumptions of modern psychotherapeutic thinking is to facilitate
the introduction of the Buddhist concepts that underlie the Buddhist therapeutic
technique. I would not be able to do justice to this subject within the limited
time allowed for my talk. Though there are many aspects of the therapeutic technique
of the Buddha, I can summarize the teachings of the Buddha to make you aware of
the basic principles on which this Buddhist psychotherapy stands. I see no better
way to introduce these basic principles than to discuss the contents of the first
sermon of the Buddha called the Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta, translated by me as
"The Revolution Of The Wheel Of Experience", which appears in the Samyutta
Nikaya.
The first point elaborated in the Sutta is that there are two extreme
modes of living to be avoided. One is the pursuit of sensual pleasure which is
bipolarized as seeking sensual pleasure and avoiding sensual pain (Kamsukallikanuyoga).
The other extreme is self exhaustion through self- denial and asceticism (Attakilamatanuyoga).
Avoiding these two extremes, the Buddha teaches a third, medial mode of living
(Majjima patipada) called the Sublime Eight-Fold Way (Ariya Attangika Magga).
This third medial way consists of an awareness of reality, and is accompanied
by thinking, speaking, acting, and living in harmony with it.
This teaching
of the Buddha could easily be understood in terms of the structural hypothesis
of Freud. The pursuit of sensual pleasure is nothing but the activity of the Id.
The special emphasis in Buddhism is on the fact that gratification of the Id,
through seeking sensual pleasures does not lead either to mental health or happiness.
This concept is not entirely in conflict with Freudian thinking because Freud
recognized that emotional maturity is gained through the overcoming of the pleasure
principle by the reality principle. Some modern psychologists still believe that
gratification of the Id in some way is necessary for mental health. This of course
is not completely denied in Buddhism as we shall see subsequently.
Self exhaustion
through self denial is again obviously the activity of the Super Ego. Being guided
entirely by the Super Ego is not conducive to mental health according to Buddhism.
This too is acceptable to psychoanalytic thinking as according to Freud a complete
repression of the Id in this way leads to the utilization of the full psychic
energy available to the Ego in this task of repression and therefore leaves the
Ego ineffectual for dealing with external reality.
The healthy medial mode
of living recommended by the Buddha, which is to align one's thinking and living
in harmony with reality, is undoubtedly the activity of the Ego, from a Freudian
stand standpoint. Since, according to Freud, maturity consists in being dominated
by the reality principle, this medial way of the Buddha falls In line with the
Freudian concept of mental health, which is also the generally accepted view of
all modern psychotherapists.
It is also recognized generally in modern psychotherapy
that an adequate sense of reality or the ability to distinguish between the outer
world and the inner world of wishes and impulses is an important indication of
mental health. In severe mental illness, this ability is considerably impaired
or totally lost. This sense of reality is present to a greater degree in the neurotic
than in the psychotic. However modern psychologists admit that even the normal
person is not perfect in this ability to distinguish reality, thus agreeing with
the Buddhist position. An important aspect of the development of the sense of
reality, is the ability to distinguish between 'self' and 'not self', or what
is under one's control, and what is, not under one's control. Freud recognized
(in 1911) that frustration of the Id due to the impermanence of external objects
is the most significant factor in the development of the concept of self in the
infant and the demarcation of the ego boundaries or the line that separates the
'self' from the 'not self'.
The Buddhist psychotherapist, it must be pointed
out, does not play the role of a doctor in his therapeutic practice. His role
is that of a teacher. His technique of therapy is a process of education. In Freudian
terms, his task is the strengthening of the Ego through education. We might even
go so far as to say that Buddhism is a form of Ego therapy or cognitive therapy.
Through
education, the patient's sense of reality is improved. The conflict between the
Id and the Super Ego as well as that between the Id and reality is resolved through
education of the Ego. This education is done first through verbal communication
by the use of reason and secondly through the practice of meditation where the
patient, or more correctly, the student, is helped to become aware of his experience
within, which is observed as physical movements and tensions, feelings and emotions,
and as mental images and concepts.
The first thing the student learns is that
goodness and happiness are not opposed to each other, for goodness is happiness.
To put it in Freudian terms, the pleasure seeking of the Id is not wrong or evil
but true pleasure is not the pleasant sensation but inner happiness. This inner
happiness is achieved through relaxation and calm rather than through stimulation
of the senses, excitement, tension and release of tension. Happiness is gained
through the relaxation response. In other words the student is enlightened about
the need to pursue the goal of calm in order to satisfy all three parts of the
personality, namely the Id, the Super Ego and the Ego. The Id is satisfied because
calmness is the way to happiness. The Super Ego, which seeks to do what is good
and right, is satisfied because calmness is the way to be good. The Ego is satisfied
because calmness is the realistic way to be happy and good and therefore calmness
is realistic. Calmness also helps the student to get in touch with reality without
interference from the wishes and impulses. This way the Ego, which seeks to be
realistic, is satisfied.
The pursuit of this harmonizing goal of calmness which
resolves the conflict within and without is called the Sublime Pursuit (Ariya
Pariyesana) and this way of life is called the Sublime Way (Ariya Magga) or the
Harmonious Way (Samma Magga). It is also the way of mental health (Arogya). This
explanation of the Buddha's-teaching in terms of modern psychological concepts
is not done with a view to obtain support for the Buddhist position from modern
psychology but to make the Buddhist position intelligible to the modern mind acquainted
with modern psychological concepts, and to show that the Buddhist psychotherapeutic
technique is not only relevant in the modern world but also a constructive contribution
to modern psychotherapeutic thought.
The first sermon of the Buddha, which
we are in the process of discussing, introduces the subject in the foregoing way,
and proceeds further to discuss the basic problem of anxiety called Dukkha. This
anxiety, according to the Buddha, is experienced in relation to seven basic situations:
1) birth; 2) old age; 3) disease; 4) death; 5) meeting unpleasant people and circumstances;
6) parting from pleasant people and circumstances; 7) frustration of desire. The
entirety of anxiety is also presented as an aggregate (khanda) or body (kaya).
It is the sum total of all experienced phenomena analysed into five aggregates
which are personalized, to form the experience of "a self-in-the-world."
This five-fold aggregate of personalized phenomena is called Pancupadanakkhanda.
It is also sometimes called Sakkhaya, which means "personal body." This
may be compared to the concept of "a self image" or "self-concept"
that is found in modern psychology. This "self image" which is the result
of the personalization of phenomena is seen as a bundle of anxiety by the Buddha
and this anxiety is bundled up through the process of personalization which results
in the concept of "being as a self" (Bhava). All worries, anxieties,
fears and feelings of insecurity, which are basic to life, are the result of this
process of personalization (Upadana). This process of personalization is associated
with the feeling of power over what is personalized. Therefore, personalization
is also seen as the wielding of power (vasavatti). From this standpoint, in order
to remove the basic anxiety that underlies human existence, it is necessary to
depersonalize (Upadana nirodha) the five-fold aggregate of phenomena and remove
the "self concept" according to Buddhism. Therefore the ultimate purpose
of Buddhism is to produce an individual who is free from the experience of self
within. This is the one who is perfect in mental health and who is called Arahant,
the worthy one. Though this ultimate state is rarely reached, the mental health
of an individual is measured according to the degree to which the individual has
lost his experience of self.
The question seems to be a matter of self-boundary
or Ego boundary from a Freudian standpoint. This is the extent to which a person
identifies the things of the world as belonging to himself or as a part of himself.
The abnormal person's self boundary is greater in circumference than that of the
normal one. The normal person's self-boundary is greater in circumference than
that of the supernormal one. The supernormal person's self-boundary is greater
in circumference than that of the sublime one. Buddha therefore recognizes two
levels of being above the normal level; the supernormal (uttari manussa) and the
sublime (Ariya).
The personalization process is dependant on what is called
Tanha, which in literal translation is thirst, which is similar to the Freudian
urge. This thirst, or Tanha, is three-fold: The thirst for pleasure, the thirst
for existence and the thirst for non-existence. It is interesting to note that
the Freudian concept of drives which included the sexual and the self-preservative
drives at first, and later proposed as the life and death drives, seems to coincide
with this Buddhist concept of Tanha. It seem that psychologists are rediscovering
what the Buddha discovered nearly 25 centuries ago. Yet the aim of Buddhism goes
beyond the aim of modern psychology in that a complete disappearance of Tanha
is aimed at. According to Buddhism, perfect mental health is not achieved until
this thirst has been completely rooted out. Although modern psychology seems to
rest satisfied by making an abnormal person normal, Buddhism aims at removing
even normal mental discomfort and unhappiness by bringing about perfection of
mental health. It is interesting to note that the Buddha recognizes nine levels
of mental health experienced at nine stages of development of the mind above the
normal state. This is discussed in detail in a Sutta in the Anguttara Nikaya (A
IV 44). Of the nine supernormal (uttari manussa) levels of mental health, the
ninth one which is called the sublime level (Ariya bhumi) is further analysed
into four levels of personality: 1) the Stream entrant (Sotapanna); 2) the Once
returner (Sakadagami); 3) the Non-returner (Anagami); and 4) the Worthy One (Arahant).
Modern psychology, of course, does not seem to think that it is possible to remove
this thirst or urge altogether. Yet Erich Fromm points out that Freud's ultimate
aim was to remove the Id entirely and he quotes Freud as saying, "in place
of the Id there shall be the Ego." This seems to support the Buddhist position.
The
first sermon of the Buddha that we are discussing goes on to explain further the
technique by which this thirst is removed. This technique is called the Sublime
Eight-Fold Way which we discussed earlier as the medial mode of living that avoids
the two extremes: the pursuit of sensual pleasures, and self exhaustion through
"self denial." This Eight-Fold Way begins with what is called Samma
Ditti, which is awareness of reality by understanding three important facts of
life: 1) instability (Anicca), 2) discomfort or anxiety (Dukkha), 3) Impersonality
(Anatta). Anicca, or instability, is the transitory nature of all experienced
phenomena to which we become attached and personalize, thinking "this is
mine," "this is I," "this is me or myself." Dukkha or
anxiety is what is experienced due to the experiencing of the instability of what
has been personalized. This anxiety is the result of a clash between the wish
for permanence and the reality of instability. Here we begin to distinguish between
the wish for permanence and the fact that we do not wield any power over anything
because we cannot make permanent what is impermanent. It is the recognition of
the fact that we do not have power not only over external objects but also over
what is within the body which is identified as self. In other words, if ownership
is seen as lordship or wielding of power over what is owned, we own nothing in
the world, not even what we call "ourself." Therefore, there is no basis
for the concept "mine" or "myself." In other words, the "self
concept" is also seen as made up of our wishes or impulses. This is, in Freudian
terms, reality testing or distinguishing between reality and a wish. This way
we acquire the healthy sense of reality, which removes all anxiety. This view
is called the Samma Ditthi or the harmonious perspective because it is in harmony
with reality. This understanding results in an emotional state of calmness, happiness,
and kindness. Such an emotional state leads to good external behaviour, verbal
and physical, which is regarded as good socially. A life based on this perspective
and this emotional state and behaviour is a harmonious life. And this harmonious
life has to be maintained and perfected by means of the harmonious practice.
In
discussing the harmonious practice we come to another aspect of Buddhist therapy
which is in line with a different kind of psychological technique from what we
have just discussed. The modern psychological technique that falls in line with
this practice comes under what is called the Behaviour Therapies. This practice
could be described by using terms like desensitization, operant conditioning,
and also the learning theory. Buddha regards even mental processes as habits of
thought which have been learned and which could be unlearned by consciously stopping
their repetition, and constantly practising wholesome thoughts. What are regarded
as wholesome thoughts are those thoughts that are calming. Those that excite the
mind and produce tension are regarded as unwholesome.
Buddhism also recognizes
that affective mental processes or emotional excitements are rooted in cognitive
mental processes, such as the formation of concepts or interpretation of experiences.
According to how you interpret the situation, you become emotionally excited or
become calm and relaxed. These interpretations that produce excitement are always
associated with a "self-concept" or "self image." If we carry
bad self images habitually, we become habitually unhappy individuals. By practising
good thoughts we begin to eliminate these bad self images and cultivate images
of calm. The calm mind is able to observe the subjective experience objectively
and this brings us to the next step, which is the harmonious awareness. In the
harmonious awareness, one becomes aware of the subjective experience objectively
and by the constant practice of this awareness, one begins to depersonalize the
subjective experience. This way the personality perspective (Sakkaya Ditthi) is
gradually removed followed by further gradual removal of all thoughts of "I"
and "mine." This gradual depersonalizing process calms the mind further
and leads to the experiencing of progressively deeper levels of tranquillity and
happiness, leading to the perfection of mental health with the complete eradication
of the experience of self within and the rooting out of thirst, and the disappearance
of all anxiety for good. This ultimate state of mental health is rarely attained
in modern Buddhist practice, but this is the final goal of the Buddhist as taught
25 centuries ago.
These principles of Buddhist psychology could be used in
the modern world and could be constructively used by modern psychotherapists.
I do not have the time to discuss in detail the various cases where the Buddha
has used these principles in his time. Nor do I have time to discuss some of the
cases in my own experience where I have used these principles. Most important
of all is the use of these principles on myself. Though I have no time to discuss
this too in detail, I would like to state that I have tested in my own experience
the validity of these principles.
In discussing the First Sermon of the Buddha
called the Revolution Of The Wheel of Experience in this way, as the process of
transformation of an individual's personality from an unhealthy one to one of
health, I might appear to have strayed away from the Orthodox Theravada, Mahayana
or any other Buddhist tradition. But as I pointed out earlier, I am not discussing
any form of modern Buddhist standpoint or practice. I am discussing the Original
Teaching and Practice of the Buddha as found in the earliest sources recognized
by all scholars which do no not belong to any modern school of thought. I hope
this effort will kindle your interest, ladies and gentlemen, in exploring further
the early teachings of the Buddha. I believe that if modern psychologists make
a serious study of these early teachings of the Buddha, it would become a significant
turning point and a breakthrough in modern psychotherapeutic thought and practice.