ThatsWhatHeSaid
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- May 11, 2007
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I found this awesome book yesterday hidden in my house-library Zen Buddhism and Psychoanalysis by Suzuki, Fromm, and De Martino. So far, the book is pretty awesome. The topic has fascinated me for a while and I think the parallels are pretty outstanding.
There's been some speculation that Zen will catch on in the West by assimilating with psychotherapy. There're already some intimations that this process has begun. Mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR), and the use of mindfulness as a way to address depression, anxiety, and other issues is one example, but I'm sure there are many more. The book talks about how in traditional psychoanalysis, the goal is to relieve the person of their neuroses/psychoses that frustrate their attempts to achieve "healthy social functioning," yet in Zen, the goal is to go beyond social integration and [do whatever it is Enlightenment does--connect man to himself, his nature]. I personally see this all existing along the same continuum that stretches from anxious to peaceful (or resistance to acceptance, or what have you). Thoughts?
What do you think Zen will look like in the West? Will it be formalized? Will we go to classes to learn how to meditate? Will we use therapists as our teachers? Will psychotherapy and the dharma merge, or stay separate?
There's been some speculation that Zen will catch on in the West by assimilating with psychotherapy. There're already some intimations that this process has begun. Mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR), and the use of mindfulness as a way to address depression, anxiety, and other issues is one example, but I'm sure there are many more. The book talks about how in traditional psychoanalysis, the goal is to relieve the person of their neuroses/psychoses that frustrate their attempts to achieve "healthy social functioning," yet in Zen, the goal is to go beyond social integration and [do whatever it is Enlightenment does--connect man to himself, his nature]. I personally see this all existing along the same continuum that stretches from anxious to peaceful (or resistance to acceptance, or what have you). Thoughts?
What do you think Zen will look like in the West? Will it be formalized? Will we go to classes to learn how to meditate? Will we use therapists as our teachers? Will psychotherapy and the dharma merge, or stay separate?