Buddhist Psychology Course

Module One: Affliction and the Creation of Identity

This is the first module of the course on Buddhist psychology which underpins the
therapeutic model of Other-Centred Approach. It concerns itself with the very core of the
Buddha’s message. It will ask these questions, and through them will elaborate a perspective
which has been informing people’s religious practice for centuries and has been influencing
their ways of seeing the world.

Buddhism is often seen to be the most psychological of all the world religions. It has a great
deal to say about how the mind works and about the nature of what we now think of as
psychological process. This view does not, however, need to diminish its religious nature.
Psychology and religion are not opposites, but complementary paths. Both are concerned
with the foundations of our lives.

This module introduces the core concepts on which Buddhist psychology is based. Drawing
on the key teachings of Buddhism it shows how the Buddha understood mental process to be
inextricably linked with our sense of meaning and our existential struggles with affliction and
our place in the world. Buddhist psychology teaches us that our day to day mind states are
influenced by our bigger hopes and fear and the anxieties and insecurities which are driven
by them. Through our knowledge of mortality and inpermanence we tend to cling and build
mind states on habitual tracks and we mistake these for something permanent, namely our
selves.

The module is made up of three units which go right to the core of these teachings, putting
them both in the context  of traditional interpretations and of a more psychological
understanding which will be used in later modules to explain the Other-Centred and other
therapeutic approaches.

The teachings of this unit are central to Buddhism and understood by all Buddhist schools.
There will be differences of interpretation, but in this we encourage you to remain open to the
controversies and at the same time gain an understanding of the particular interpretations on
which this approach is predicated.

Unit One: The Core of Buddhism

 A Truth for Noble Ones 

 The Four Noble Truths: Etymology and a new interpretation 
 Dependence
 Buddhism on a post card  

Unit Two: Relating to the Other

 The nature of self 

 Object-related identity and the mirror mind
 Otherness 
 Object Related Therapy

Unit Three: Mindfulness and Attachment

 Attachment and clinging

  Western attachment theory and the need to love
 Contact and sense attachments
 Mindfulness and Other-Centred Approach

 Module Two: The Constructed Self

In Buddhist psychology, the self is thought of something which is constructed and therefore
insubstantial. It is built on our craving for security in the face of knowing that life is uncertain
and will ultimately end in disappointments, deteriorating health and death.

In Module One we saw how this process of self construction rested upon avoidance of
dukkha (the first noble truth of affliction) and how it happened on the basis of attachment and
clinging. By this process the mind becomes structured by habit energies and reflections of the
self-world which we create around ourselves; the world of rupa (the perceived objects which
hold power for us.) 
This unit will unpack in greater detail the processes of self building and also the various
Buddhist models of the mind. The last module focused primarily of the Four Noble Truths.
This module will focus on those teachings which elaborate the Buddhist understanding of
conditioned nature. It will look in detail at other key Buddhist teachings which were
mentioned in Module One, The Skandhas and Dependent Origination.

Unit One: The Compulsive of Self

 The Skandhas
 Rupa
 Vedana and root relations
 Buddhist psychology as a theory of addiction and compulsion

Unit Two: The Unconscious Self

 Samjna, Samskara 
 The alaya & the theory of karmic seeds
 Unconscious processes and intentionality
 Dreams and appearances

Unit Three: Models of Mind and Mental Transformation

 Mind models 
 The twelve links of Dependant Origination
 Transformation of the skandhas
 The Ant Hill Sutta
 Working with Other Centred Approach
 This module introduces and explains the core theory of Other-Centred
Approach.  This approach, grounded in Buddhist psychology, places particular
emphasis on the clients' world and their view of it.
 Perception is conditioned and because the senses tend to grasp at objects which
support our sense of identity, the quality of our perception is a reflection of teh sense
of self. Changing perception thus changes the mentality in fundamental ways, but the
change is experienced as less personally threatening and so is less resisted.
 Other-centred approach relies upon both an investigation into the nature of
conditioning and a route to challenging assumptions and finding a fresh, more
 authentic relationship to others, whether human or material. It is a common sense
method, based on conversation and shared investigation, in which therapist and client
become travelling companions in an exciting journey into the unknown. It is about
encounter with the mysterious as well as about seeing the familiar in new ways.

Module 3 Ethics and Society

Therapy takes place in a context and that context is highly influential upon the mentality of
the client, and for that matter the therapist. Ethics have long been seen as important to the
therapeutic professions and have been considered essential to providing a safe environment
for psychological work as well as maintainng the integrity of the profession.

Other-centred theory emphasises the conditioning effect of those things to which we are
exposed. It brings to awareness the way in which our contact with 'others' shapes our thinking
and behaviour. This means that maintaining a wholesome atmosphere in therapy is not just
significant in terms of basic protection, but also as a positive therapeutic influence.

From an other-centred point of view, maintaining an ethical framework is not only about
excluding those influences and behaviours likely to cause hard, but also creating positive
conditions. This unit explores such conditions and asks how ethical practice can become the
central tool of therapeutic process.

The unit, however, goes beyond the ethical framework of the therapeutic setting to locate
therapy in the wider context of society. It examines the way that ethical thinking can be
applied to the whole purpose of the profession with its emphasis on individual change and
personal actualisation. How far could therapy cater to the needs of minorities or those in
disadvantaged groups, or is simply for the wealthy West? What values does it advocate, and
how do these influence the policies and actions of our age?

Core texts for this module

Bond, T 1993 Standards and Ethics for Counselling in Action, Sage, London
Furedi, F, 2004 Therapy Culture Routledge, London
Harvey, P 2000 An Introduction to Buddhist Ethics  Cambridge University Press, UK
and the BACP  and  IBAP codes of ethics

 Unit One: An Ethical Profession

 Ethical codes and good practice

 Buddhist ethics
 Ideal types and role models: the ethics of inspiration
 Ethical dilemmas 

Unit Two: Power, Difference and Good Practice

 Power in therapy relationships 

 Difference and equality
 Issues of power: tranference, directiveness and influence
 Leadership, facilitation and hierarchical process 

Unit Three: Society and Context

 Therapy Culture
  Group process and social forces
 Therapy in a time of global crisis: war and environmentalism
 New directions and challenges to practice

Other-Centred Counselling stage one

 Grounding and embodiment

 Gisho Saiko, Refuge and Faith
 Empathy and fellow feeling
 Counselling and society 
 LEARNING UNIT ONE ASSIGNMENT

Listening to others is a great privilege. Counselling is about giving special attention, which is
as near as possible to clean. When you start to learn counselling skills, it can be all too easy
to get caught up in worrying about what you should be doing, and trying to remember bits of
theory which you have half learned. This unit s to encourage you to forget all that and just
listen.

Be grounded: an important concept in other-centred work is grounding. This is about

offering the client a solid presence. If you have a meditation practice, this may naturally give
you a solidity and calm which others may find supportive, but developing the ability to
ground yourself probably helps you to connect better. Whilst meditation can be grounding,
sometimes it takes you inwards in your attention. Grounding makes you more aware of what
is outside yourself, and particularly the foundations on which your existance stands. (the two
are not separate because this solidity is an important precursor to most meditation.) When
you re grounded, your clients will sense this solidity. Section two of this unit brings in Gisho
Saiko's work which offers a way to understand how groundedness, or in Buddhist terms,
refuge, is transmitted in therapy. 

Be curious: Interest in the client's story is primary. If you are curious you will naturally
engage. You will naturally help the client to investigate their account and go beyond the
assumptions which are dominating their life.  You will invite attention to detail and tone. You
will hear the nuances in what is said and ask questions which clarify. Curiosity is based in not
knowing and not knowing takes us out of the dead space of habitual thought into fresh
ground.

Be clean: Try to put aside your own agendas. We call this 'bracketing'. Try to hear with
interest which is not listening for particular lines. When a theory starts to for in your mind,
gently put it aside. If it persists you may share it lightly with your client, but dont get into
building a dossier to support your diagnosis.

Be caring: Caring cannot really be manufactured. We care when we listen. We care when we

understand. We care when we are less attached to views or to being a particular way. Caring
in Buddhism is the Bodhisattva way, the embodiment of compassion, but it is a gift. Invite
caring, but practice curiosity and cleanness.

This unit is designed to help you prepare for your placement. It will give you some areas to
think about and help you to orientate yourself to the professional setting.

This unit covers:

 Your First Client: Assessment and Allocation of Clients

  Contracts and Boundaries
 Using Supervision 
 Professional Settings, Team Playing and Recording
 Unit Assignment

Most of this unit can be done at any stage prior to starting your placement, but some
questions help you reflect on the process of counselling as you prepare for, engage with and
evaluate your first session. You should therefore have made some progress with the unit prior
to starting you placement but should finish it in the first week or two of seeing clients.

What is counselling?

Counselling is an activity which has been around ever since people began to talk to one
another, but as a profession, it is relatively new, having developed over the second half of the
twentieth century. Although the terms counselling and psychotherapy are often used
interchangeably and do not have clearly defined, distinct, meanings from one another at
present, psychotherapy is generally seen as more 'in depth' and holistic. As you start your
placement, you are probably therefore offering something which is more in the area of
counselling. 

Counselling provides space to clients in which they can explore life issues in a contained,
reflective way, with the support of a person who is trained to set aside their own agendas and
listen deeply to the nuances and implications of what is said as well as the words themselves. 

As a Buddhist counsellor, you will bring to your work an appreciation of the value of stillness
and presence, and an interest in how others perceive things through their own conditioned
view. You will want to hear their version of the world, knowing that all of us see things in
our own unique ways. You will be interested in helping them to be less frightened of the dark
spaces in their lives and be willing to stand alongside them in looking more honestly beyond
the surface gloss which the mind creates. In short you will offer empathic presence.

Counselling of all types is widely used in agencies, organisations and the NHS. You will find
plenty of information about general counselling services on the internet. Here are a few links
which may give you a picture of the range of current thinking and opportunities in the field.
They will give you an idea of how different agencies define counselling, and what the
priorities are in what they offer:

http://www.bacp.co.uk/

RIGHT PRACTICE: A BUDDHIST APPROACH TO PROFESSIONAL STUDIES

SECTION 1: THE PRINCIPLES OF COUNSELLING PSYCHOTHERAPY AND THE

DEVELOPMENT OF BUDDHIST PSYCHOLOGY

SECTION 2: SIGNIFICANCE OF ETHICS 

SECTION 3: THERAPEUTIC PRACTICE IN WIDER SOCIAL CONTEXT

SECTION 4: BUDDHIST PSYCHOLOGY AND UNDERSTANDING SEVERE MENTAL

DYSFUNCTION
SECTION 5: MEDICAL PSYCHIATRIC TREATMENTS AND THE INFLUENCE OF
NON PRESCRIPTION DRUGS

SECTION 6: THE PROFESSIONAL CONTEXT: OTHER PROFESSIONALS AND

SERVICES

In this module we shall provide information that has a bearing on a range of important
professional subjects and make apparent the Buddhist Psychology perspective, enumerated
and embodied across the other units in the programme, as it relates to the wider context in
which practice takes place. 

Here priority is given to generic considerations - to those principles that apply to all
psychotherapy, not just to Buddhist Psychology, when conducted in a Western and
particularly British setting. 

You will, therefore, find here much that will enable you to work effectively in the counselling
and psychotherapy profession as it has developed in the UK. Along the way we will also look
at what is distinctive to a Buddhist Psychology approach in this context. 

Section one begins with a brief overview of the history and development of ideas that form
the basis of counselling and psychotherapy as we now understand it. In this overview the
main strands of thinking and practice are outlined in light of the influence they have had on
the profession in the UK. This then establishes the background from which the fundamental
principles of psychotherapy can be outlined.

Also in this section you will find a history of how the distinct idea of a Buddhist Psychology
developed with its initial roots in the teachings of the Buddha, the later distillation of ideas
that formed the basis of the Abhidharma and the interface between these ideas and Western
psychotherapy.

Section Two explores the ethical basis of practice, particularly as it relates to professional

‘codes of practice‘, including the potential sanctions that such codes contain; ethical dilemnas
and professional support, such as supervision, that can help resolve the difficulties that arise
in the therapeutic relationship; the links between mental health and moral conduct, and; the
bearing that the foregoing has on the relationship between the clients development of trust in
the therapist and the boundaries of the therapeutic contract.

In Section Three the wider context in which therapy takes place is explored in terms of the
social, political and legistitive factors that increasingly have an influence on the nature of the
way therapy and counselling is approached. This includes specific reference to laws
governing the safeguarding of vulnerable groups and equality legislation that aims to protect
the rights of all UK citizens.

Section Four provides a view of how 'mental dysfuntion' can be understood within the
framework of ideas and paradigms of applied Buddhist Psychology. Included in this section
are detailed explanations of what in the West are categorised as major psychiatric illnesses
within the language of medical diagnosis and how the symptoms and genesis of such
conditions are understood from a Buddhist perspective.

In Section Five there is a overview of some of the main treatments that are available in the
UK for the treatment of psychological illness and mental distress. This is followed by
information about non-medical drugs (or non-presription drugs) which broadly are ‘mind
altering’ in nature, and often exacerbate, and lead to further,  mental health problems for the
person using them.

Finally Section Six looks in brief at the ‘Professional Context’, and includes sub-sections on

the following:

The administration of ones own practice

Other professionals that as a therapist one might encounter
The place of evidence-based practice, audit and research in the therapeutic professions.

This learning unit provides an introduction to Western philosophy and will give you an
overview of some of the influential thinkers who have contributed to our ideas about
psychological process. The unit will take you through the history of philosophy from its
origins in classical thought to the twentieth century developments which can be seen to have
influenced and been influenced by parallel ideas in the development of psychological theory.
In particular, this unit gives insight into some of the Western ideas on alterity, or 'otherness'
which offer an important counter-point to the Buddhist ideas which underpin other-centred
approach.

 SECTION 1: WORDS, MEANING & STORY; IDEAS OF THE SELF

 SECTION 2: TRADITIONAL WESTERN PHILOSOPHY
 SECTION 3: PHENOMENOLOGY & EXISTENTIALISM
 SECTION 4: ALTERITY
 ASSIGNMENT
 READING LIST

This unit introduces different ways of understanding psychotic process and the different
therapeutic approaches which have been experimented with over the years. This unit consists
of four sections:

 Section One: Historical Perspectives and Definitions of Psychosis

 Section Two: Psychosis: Western Models of Madness
 Section Three: Alternative Approaches, Therapeutic Communities and the
Antipsychiatry Movement
 Section Four: Buddhist Perspectives and Other-Centred Approaches to Working With
Psychosis
 Unit Assignment

INTRODUCTION

In this unit we shall examine psychosis, perhaps the most debilitating and frightening mental
affliction of all. The term psychotic is familiar to everyone and as a common expression for
madness it stands with other, more colloquial and insulting synonyms such as “crazy”,
“loony”, “insane” and “nuts”, to name only a few. What all these terms convey is an
apparently total loss of ego functioning, a profound alienation from others and an acute
inability to make sense of one’s experience. It is, in short, a personal catastrophe in virtually
all respects.

Horrifying as psychosis may be to the sufferer, it also frequently provokes suspicion,

bewilderment and even terror for those who witness it. As empathic practitioners in the field
of mental health we would refrain from using the more obviously pejorative terms for
psychosis. Yet, we still might use a scientific term such as schizophrenia, even though it
retains all the suspicion and dread of madness and brings us no closer to understanding what
psychosis is as a human experience. In this unit we will examine psychosis from the
perspective of a number of different theoretical models, including those for which we hold
the greatest doubts. The multitude of different explanatory models indicates the complexity
and uncertainty which characterises this most severe form of mental illness. Our main
interests as therapists and counsellors, however, is to treat psychosis, no matter how it is
interpreted, as a human experience for which empathy and understanding have an essential
place. We shall also see that a Buddhist perspectives on personality and experience have
much to offer in helping us understand how people suffer from psychosis. Nevertheless, there
are no easy answers and we do not claim to have any magic solutions ourselves. 

Psychosis is actually an umbrella term that covers two types of disorders which may not be
causally linked. Schizophrenia is the most severe type of psychosis whose symptoms include
hallucinations (auditory, visual or tactile), delusions (fixed, irrational beliefs often involving
fantasies of persecution or grandiosity), and disordered thought processes. Schizophrenics are
also likely to suffer from anhedonia, which is the inability to experience pleasure, as well as
flatness of affect, which is a severely limited ability to express emotion. The other main type
of psychosis is bipolar disorder, which is also known as manic-depression. The main
symptoms in this form of psychosis are wild oscillations of mood from extreme depression to
mania. Such manic-depressive mood swings are often accompanied by delusions of grandeur
and disordered thinking. It is important to note that while these designations for psychosis
may be valid as far as they go, they do not reveal much about the self experience of the
psychotic. It is one thing to say that someone is deluded, that is to say irrational and mistaken
in his or her beliefs; it is quite another to understand what a particular delusion may mean to
the person who believes in it. Even such bizarre symptoms as hallucinations may not
necessarily indicate that the person who experiences them has lost touch with reality.
Hallucinations may remain subjectively meaningful to the person who experiences them even
though they distort perception of the external world. This is not to deny that most, if not the
vast majority of people who show the symptoms of psychosis experience them as terrible
afflictions from which they long to be freed. The point is simply that a merely external,
symptomatic understanding of psychosis is insufficient for understanding what an experience
of psychosis is for a person who suffers from it. Later, we shall argue that theoretical models
that ignore the experiential dimension of psychosis are both conceptually and practically
flawed and often aggravate the suffering of people diagnosed as psychotic.

In the following section we shall take a brief overview of the how the various conceptions of
psychosis arose within the historical development of Western psychiatry, psychology and
psychotherapy. We shall see that while madness has always been observed as a feature of
human experience, a great variety of ways have been used to look at and treat it. The first
section will be primarily concerned with the history of the treatment of madness in the West,
which eventually gave rise to both the general concept of mental illness and psychosis as a
specific category of mental illness. In later sections we shall look at other ways of
understanding and dealing with psychosis in order to demonstrate that any concept of
madness always reflects certain normative values in its psychological judgements of personal
experience. Finally, we shall examine some key Buddhist ideas of self formation and
experience and explain how these insights figure in the Other Centred Therapy understanding
of psychosis.  

Tibetan Buddhist Psychology

Intro. to Tibetan Buddhist Psychology/ Theories of Consciousness / East/West Psychology
Meditation and Mandalas / Birth, Death, & Intermediate States/ Selected Topics in
Tibetan /Buddhist Psychology/Introduction to Tibetan Healing Approaches/East/West
Medical Dialogue /Advanced Methods in Tibetan Healing/Independent Study in Tibetan
Buddhist Psychology

The Buddhism, Psychology and Mental Health Program allows students to choose from a
wide range of courses on mind, consciousness, cognitive science, psychology of religion,
health psychology, and sociological analyses of physical and mental health to acquire an
understanding of the contributions of Buddhism to the modern understanding of
consciousness, mental health and illness, and determinants of physical health.

Sutras Related to the Buddhist Psychology

MN 7: Vatthupama Sutta — The Simile of the Cloth. With a simple simile the Buddha
illustrates the difference between a defiled mind and a pure mind.

MN 18: Madhupindika Sutta — The Ball of Honey. A man looking to pick a fight asks the
Buddha to explain his doctrine. The Buddha’s answer mystifies not only the man, but also a
number of monks. Ven. Maha Kaccana finally provides an explanation, and in the course of
doing so explains what is needed to bring the psychological sources of conflict to an end.

SN 1.18: Hiri Sutta — Conscience .A lovely short teaching on the rarity and value of
conscientiousness.

MN 2: Sabbasava Sutta — All the Fermentations/Discourse on All Āsavas. The Buddha

teaches seven methods for eliminating from the mind the deeply rooted defilements
(sensuality, becoming, views, and ignorance) that obstruct the realization of Awakening

MN 131: Bhaddekaratta Sutta — The Discourse on the Ideal Lover of Solitude/An

Auspicious Day – In this stirring discourse the Buddha underscores the vital urgency of
keeping one’s attention firmly rooted in the present moment. After all, the past is gone, the
future isn’t here; this present moment is all we have.

MN 20: Vitakkasanthana Sutta — The Removal of Distracting Thoughts/The

Relaxation of Thoughts. The Buddha offers five practical methods of responding wisely to
unskillful thoughts (thoughts connected with desire, aversion, or delusion).

SN 22.59: Pañcavaggi Sutta/Anatta-lakkhana Sutta — Five Brethren/The Discourse on

the Not-self.  The Buddha’s second discourse in which he discusses the principle of anatta
(not-self) with the group of five ascetics. By means of a question-and-answer dialogue with
his audience, the Buddha demonstrates that there can be no abiding self in any of the five
aggregates that we tend to identify as “self.”

MN 75: Magandiya Sutta — To Magandiya. In this passage, the Buddha teaches a member
of a hedonist sect about the nature of true pleasure and true health.

MN 122: Maha-suññata Sutta — The Greater Discourse on Emptiness. The Buddha

instructs Ananda on several practical aspects of the meditative dwelling in emptiness, a mode
of awareness that can ultimately bring the meditator to the threshold of Awakening.
MN 137: Salayatana-vibhanga Sutta — An Analysis of the Six Sense-media. A
discussion of the emotions: where they come from, how they function in the path of practice,
and how they manifest in an awakened person who is fit to teach others.

SN 11.3: Dhajagga Sutta — Banner Protection/The Top of the Standard. Are you ever
overcome by fear? The Buddha offers an antidote.

SN 11.4: Vepacitti Sutta — Calm in the Face of Anger. Sakka, king of the devas, explains
to a skeptic how forbearance is the best response to another’s anger.

SN 12.2: Paticca-samuppada-vibhanga Sutta — Analysis of Dependent Co-arising. A

summary of the causal chain of dependent co-arising.

SN 12.52: Upadana Sutta — Clinging. The Buddha uses a marvelous fire simile to describe
the nature of clinging.

SN 20.5: Satti Sutta — The Spear. Two suttas on the extraordinary power of metta
(goodwill).

SN 22.36: Bhikkhu Sutta — The Monk. How we define ourselves in terms of the
aggregates, and how we don’t have to do so

SN 22.48: Khandha Sutta — Aggregates.  The Buddha gives a summary of the teaching on
the five aggregates.

SN 45.165: Dukkhata Sutta — Suffering. The three kinds of suffering.

AN 4.183: Suta Sutta — On What is Heard. Why the principle of truthfulness does not
imply total frankness or openness.

AN 4.199: Tanha Sutta — Craving. The Buddha enumerates the many kinds of tangled
thoughts experienced by a mind not yet free of craving. Sound familiar?

AN 4.200: Pema Sutta — Affection. The opinions of our friends and enemies often
influence our own thoughts and feelings about others. This kind of thinking is rooted in
craving, and the Buddha offers a cure.

AN 5.162: Aghatavinaya Sutta — Subduing Hatred (2).  Sariputta describes five skillful
ways of dealing with feelings of hatred toward others.

AN 5.198: Vaca Sutta — A Statement. The secret to blameless speech.

AN 7.60: Kodhana Sutta — The Wretchedness of Anger. Seven dangers of giving in to

anger.