Eastern Thought

Eastern psychology can be recognized by three general characteristics

(Needleman, 1970, cited in Engler, 1996) that differentiate it from the common
thought pattern in the West, these are: an emphasis on the self and the
practical, along with an emphasis on knowledge from experience.

The emphasis on the self: The self on which they focus differs starkly from the
self understood in the West, since the Eastern self is not a conscious self or
individual mind of Western psychology. In the East, the true self is conceived as
a deeper internal consciousness that identifies the individual with the universe
or cosmos. It is a call not to confuse oneself with the given social role, since this
identification is only maya (illusion) since in ultimate reality there is no self, an
individuality understood as something separate from the rest of the universe.

Emphasis on the practical: The truth we seek is not found in books, it

emerges in the course of life, and to allow it to emerge, a process must be
followed in the company of a teacher, since the practice of Eastern psychology
involves a systematic training of body and mind that allows us to perceive the
truth that lies within the inner being.

Emphasis on knowledge through experience: To understand the psychology

of Zen, it is not enough to read about it; it is essential to actually practice and
experience Zen training directly.

The introduction of Zen to the West is usually credited to Shunryu Susuki and
Danin Katagiri in the United States and Taisen Deshimaru in Europe, who in the
1960s and 1970s were responsible for spreading Zen Buddhism outside the
East.

Zen is a school of Buddhism that claims to represent the purest essence

of Buddha's teachings. Its origins date back to the story of Siddartha Gautama,
the Buddha, who was born around 563 BC. C. in northern India. The teachings
of this enlightened man were initially preserved by oral tradition, but it was
finally decided to write them down in three collections or "baskets" known as the
Tripitaka, their oldest version written in Pali (ancient Indian language)
constituting one of the two main branches. of Buddhism, called Hinayana, or
"little vehicle" and is currently represented by the Theravada school, dominant
in Southeast Asia. The second important branch is the Mahayana "great
vehicle", which mainly uses the Sanskrit version of the Tripitaka, predominant in
East Asia. The total number of Buddhist scriptures is over 85,000 copies. Zen
belongs to the Mahayana school, with roots in India, filtered through Taoism in
China, passing through Korea and Japan, to expand to the world. Mahayana
Buddhism accepts that enlightenment is possible for anyone to achieve, unlike
the Theravada tradition which postulates that it is necessary to be a monastic
sage to achieve it. The first emphasizes compassion, and the second wisdom
(Engler, 1996).

Buddha's teachings

What Buddha realized in his awakening is astonishingly simple and

obvious, yet very profound and difficult to understand. Firstly, he discovered a
middle point between the extreme philosophical-religious positions existing in
his time. For their part, the Vedas believed in a universal creator, or Brahma
and individual souls (atman), while others postulated that the only thing that
exists is the material substance perceptible by the senses, and that upon death
the individual became completely extinct. The intermediate position discovered
by Buddha is dependent origination , this is a law of causality that causally
connects the entire universe, since it implies that all phenomena come into
existence depending on causes and conditions without which they could not
exist. That is to say, nothing is independent of the rest; each existence contains
the infinite causes and components that gave rise to the origin of that existence.
General systems theory partly applies awareness of this interconnectivity
(Engler, 1996).

When Buddha referred to "rebirth" he was referring to this dependent

origination, since there is no soul or self that can continue forever, the process
to which we belong does, in the sense that the conditions that come together in
our Current existence represents a chain without beginning, and the
consequences of our actions become causal conditions whose effects will
continue after our death. There is no reincarnation in the sense of traveling
lamas, but rather, in that what we are lives in the effects we have on others and
on our world (Engler, 1996).

The three characteristics of existence

Anicca: or impermanence means that everything is constantly changing,

this is neither good nor bad, it just is. Understanding this and accepting it leads
us to avoid unrealistic expectations. There is nothing we can hold or keep
forever, therefore attachment and aversion do not lead us to anything positive.

Dukkha: or suffering refers to the dissatisfaction brought about by

attachment and aversion. Buddha's solution to this problem is recognized as
"the most important psychological discovery of all time" (Mosig, 1989, cited in
Engler, 1996, pp. 465) and applies the principle of dependent origination, if
suffering exists, it is because something caused it, if we eliminate what caused
it, suffering will also be eliminated. This solution is expressed in what is known
as the Four Noble Truths:

The first noble truth tells us that suffering exists and is inherent to human
beings.

The second noble truth indicates that suffering is caused by the desire for
things to be other than how they are. This presents itself as attachment
(including greed and possessive love) and as aversion (including anger,
resentment and hatred).

The third noble truth calls for ending longing to get rid of suffering. For
example, we cannot get rid of physical pain or illness, but we can get rid of the
anxiety we generate with our psychological processing.

The fourth noble truth is the solution to achieve the above. To end the
longing that generates suffering, Buddha calls to follow the Eightfold Path,
which consists of (Engler, 1996):

1. The right understanding (interconnectivity and impermanence)

2. Right thinking (selfless detachment, compassion and non-harm towards
all sentient beings)
 3. Speak correctly (refrain from lying, slander, insult, speaking only what is
positive and constructive, otherwise maintain a "noble silence")
4. Right action (benefit and not suffering to others and oneself)
5. Correct life (avoid exploitation of animals or people)
6. Right Effort (stopping unhealthy thoughts before they become actions
and nurturing healthy ones)
7. Correct attention (full awareness in the present and consequence of our
actions)
8. Right concentration (discipline, concentration and direction of the mind
through meditation)

Anatta: or non-being, is what separates Buddhism from any other conception,

whether philosophical, religious or psychological, of existence since it denies
the existence of a self, or a soul, cataloging the above as something illusory and
causing thoughts. harmful "me" and "mine" that are at the basis of attachments
and aversions. Everything that makes up the universe lacks individual reality
separate from the rest, because they only exist in terms of the interconnected
network of causal conditions that makes their existence possible. All things are
composed of parts and have no real existence other than the temporary
collections of the parts. There is no separate essence, being, or soul that can
exist by itself, apart from the component parts and conditions.

One of the components that make up the human being is Vijnana or

"consciousness" which is made up of eight layers including both conscious and
unconscious aspects. The first five correspond to the five basic sensory fields
(see, smell, hear, taste and touch) and share the level of depth. Deeper we find
manovijnana, which is the base that integrates the five sensory
consciousnesses, and its function is to evaluate, imagine, conceive and judge.
Then comes the manas (mind) which is responsible for the illusion of a
subjective "I" or "being" because it is aware of one's own consciousness giving
the impression of being a separate something that is conscious. Finally we find
the broad alayavijnana or "storage consciousness" place of knowledge and the
reserve of all previous impressions in the form of "seeds" that would become
what we know as cognitive schemes. The above consciousnesses must be
understood not as something separate, but rather as eight aspects of the same
consciousness.

The practice of Zen

It involves a systematized training of the disciple's mind that allows

creating a mental state that facilitates the realization of enlightenment. This
training is carried out through zazen (meditation) that requires a certain physical
posture that seeks balance, this is because in the East the mind-body unit is
considered intimately interconnected, therefore balance and body discipline
entail a balance. and mental discipline. Zazen achieves mind-body
harmonization generally through breathing that maintains awareness in the
present moment. Zazen is not a means to achieve enlightenment, but rather an
end in itself, the objective of which is simply to sit mind and body together here
and now (Engler, 1996).

Lightning
Known as satori, it cannot be explained in words, and basically consists
of being aware right here and now. Each activity is an end in itself.
Enlightenment is achieving flow in each activity of daily life and in each moment
living life fully, Zen is the art of eliminating the self (the self) in the flow of
autotelic activities. Enlightenment is not the end of Zen practice, since this
would be a selfish interest in possessing happiness and satisfaction. Zen
teaches that when one person becomes enlightened, all sentient beings
become enlightened at the same time (Engler, 1996).

Eastern thought and psychotherapy

Eastern psychotherapy does not only seek to restore healthy and

adaptive social functioning in the individual, but also points out that the anguish
of the person, whether healthy or sick, is due to a maya or illusion. The
Easterners postulate that the neurosis of humanity lies in the fact that the
description of culture is taken too literally and an identification with the social
role that is represented is generated. One must seek to recognize the relative
and impermanent nature of being while observing the absolute interconnected
reality. Eastern thought also emphasizes the importance of Western therapists
concerned with carrying out a personal healing process before attempting to
help others; they must develop inner peace and the capacity for compassionate
action.
Both the Japanese psychiatrist Shoma Morita in the early 1900s with Morita
therapy and Naikan with introspective therapy are examples of the introduction
of Eastern concepts and practices to Western psychological practice. Both are
within the so-called "silent therapies" since they mainly seek to motivate the
practice of variants of zazen in patients by encouraging meditation and
contemplation (Engler, 1996). A more modern practice that has emerged
around the year 2000 is called Mindfulness (full awareness), which has been
applied to stress reduction, in cognitive therapy, acceptance and commitment
therapy, and dialectical behavioral therapy, which has been shown to be
effective in the treatment of borderline personality disorder (Simon, 2006).
Mindfulness is basically paying attention to the here and now, stopping the
automatism with which our mind tends to wander. Scientifically defined it is
"maintaining attention focused on an object for a theoretically unlimited period
of time" (Lutz, Dunne and Davidson, 2007, cited in Simon, 2006. pp. 8). This
technique is the Western derivation, almost intact in its essence, of vipassana
meditation, which consists of zazen focused on breathing.

References

Engler, B. (1996). Introduction to the personality theories. Mexico: McGraw-Hill

Simon, V. M. (2006). Mindfulness and Neurobiology. Journal of
Psychotherapy , volume XVII (66/67), pp. 8