buddhist psychology, a theory of change processes: implications for counsellors

International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling22: 257–271, 2000.© 2000Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands.

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Buddhist psychology, a theory of change processes: Implicationsfor counsellors

ROSHNI DAYADepartment of Educational Psychology, Counselling Psychology Program, The University ofCalgary, 2500 University Dr. N.W., Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4 Canada

Abstract. As globalization increases the world becomes smaller and there is a need for coun-sellors and psychologists to be prepared for professional practices with clients from diversecultural backgrounds. Despite globalization, the distinction between eastern and westernpsychologies is in tact. To meet the goal of broadening ones frame of reference as a psycho-therapist it is necessary to review theories of psychology from multiple cultural traditions.This paper will present Buddhist psychology, emphasising the Buddhist views of humansuffering, self, health, and dis-ease. The essentials of Buddhist psychology will be presentedin a format that facilitates their application to psychotherapy. Finally, a case vignette illustratesthe author’s application of the Buddhist principles.

Introduction

Increased cultural diversity all over the world reflects the need for counsel-lors and psychologists to be prepared for professional practice with clientsfrom different cultural backgrounds (Arthur, 1998). Additionally, researchindicates cultural variations in theories of mind and psychology (Lillard,1998). Cultural diversity and variation in theories of psychology suggest thata competent therapist be flexible and well-versed in different theories of mind,mental states, and psychology such that he/she can work with any client. Mostpractices of psychotherapy across the world have been heavily influencedby Euro-north American approaches to understanding human functioning.To meet the goal of broadening ones frame of reference it is necessary toreview eastern perspectives in psychology. This paper will present the theoryof Buddhist Psychology. The basic tenets will be discussed, followed bythe Buddhist views of self, health, and dis-ease. The second part of thepaper will highlight the application of Buddhist principles to the practice ofpsychotherapy with particular emphasis on the change processes present inthe theory.

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Buddhist psychology

Buddhism was established as a unique and separate religious system whenSiddhartha, the prince of the Sakya clan in India sat under the Bo treeto resolve his human situation of suffering. Buddhism, like other theoriesof psychology, is the codification of one person’s insights about humanpsychology developed in the course of that person’s self-investigations(Rubin, 1996). In essence, Buddhist psychology is the study of human poten-tials as they now exist and how to develop them into the future (Guenther& Kawamura, 1975). Though Buddhism started out as one theory, it has notremained a single doctrine. Since its inception different theories and practiceshave developed from it (Ho, 1995). The Theravadin Buddhist tradition is theearliest and has been described as the most psychologically oriented school(Rubin, 1996), and will be the basis of this paper.

The four Noble Truths

Unlike Euro-north American theories, the central principles of Buddhistpsychology lie in the four Noble truths. The symptom, diagnosis, prognosis,and treatment plan for human suffering are addressed in these Noble Truths(Ramaswami & Sheikh, 1989).

The first Noble Truth.The first principle is that life consists of ‘dukkha’.The literal translation of this term is that the “wheel of life” does not runwell (Miyuki, 1994). The termdukkhais often translated as ‘suffering’. Thistranslation is misleading as it suggests that the experience is a subjective oneas opposed to a general condition of life that exists for each person (Miyuki,1994). The term ‘dis-ease’ would be more reflective of the true meaning as itbetter reflects a basic condition (L. S. Kawamura, personal communication,March 31, 1998). Thus, Buddha asserted that the basic human condition is‘dis-ease’. Dis-ease refers to the dissatisfactions present in human existence.Life is filled with a sense of dis-ease stemming from at least two sources(Claxton, 1986). First is the pain that inevitably occurs with life. Inevitabil-ities of life are old age, sickness, and death (Epstein, 1995). The pain thataccompanies aging, sickness, and death are necessarily encountered throughthe inescapability of the events.

Second, the individual’s own likes and dislikes cause dis-ease. Not toobtain what one desires causes dissatisfaction, being stuck with what onedoes not desire causes dissatisfaction, and being separate from that which ischerished causes dissatisfaction (Epstein, 1995).

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The second Noble Truth.The cause of suffering and dissatisfaction isaddressed by the second principle. The second principle is the Doctrine ofDependent Origination. An understanding of the second truth requires adiscussion of the nature of concepts and perception. Generally, an individualdivides an experience into small pieces and interprets those pieces asevidence supporting or denying the presence of a concept. Collins andQullian’s (1969), diagram of the concept ‘canary’ illustrates this point.

A canary cannot be seen as possessing attributes without at the same timebeing given the status of an entity. The evidence becomes circular in that animplicit decision has been made that the concept has its’ own existence beforea true discussion of it occurs.

The doctrine of dependent origination posits that concepts are simplyideas or labels. They are nothing other than a recurrent conglomeration ofexperiences, reactions, feelings, thoughts, descriptions, and impulses woventogether. Claxton (1987), states:

Any concept is irreducibly composed of, and dependent upon otherconcepts, and if we forget the seamlessness that underlies our notationsand allow that amnesia to percolate our perception, then we are apt toconfer on these notations and conventions an ontological status that theydo not deserve. (p. 28)

Simply put, each phenomenon does not exist alone and depends uponanother to exist (Bowman & Baylen, 1994). The second Noble Truth becomesmost meaningful when it is applied to the individual. Buddhism states thatthe doctrine of dependent origination applies to the concept of self. Thus,qualities and characteristics of self cannot be simultaneously used as evidencefor the existence of self.

The core of the second principle is that suffering is caused by the indi-vidual’s belief in a persistent, unchanging self. Just as other concepts orconstructs in the world do not hold a permanent identity, the individual toois impermanent. Dis-ease arises when the individual clings to ideas, things,people, and considers a single constant self as permanent (Rubin, 1996). Asmentioned, the fallacy of giving attributes to concepts reifies their existence.At a personal level, giving attributes to the self reifies the existence of a

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stable unchanging self. Misconceiving ones identity as stable and consistentcauses dis-ease. As stated by Claxton (1987), an individual, having identifiedhim/herself as separate and bounded, persisting in essence through space andtime, partially autonomous, has adopted a stance toward life which makesunintended, unanticipated change grave. Whatever a person has written intohis/her definition of self, he/she is thereby required to search for, cling to, ordefend.

In sum, the world as presented in a human situation is an interdependentlyoriginating process to which one can bring meaning, but in which meaning isnot inherent. The conceptualization process by which the individual concret-izes reality is the foundation on which pervasive unsatisfactoriness anddis-ease arise (Kawamura, 1990).

The third Noble Truth.The third Noble Truth is that release from the secondtype of dis-ease and serenity in the face of the first type is a real possib-ility (Claxton, 1986). It is seeing things as they really are or seeing ‘realityas-it-is’ that releases one from dis-ease (Kawamura, 1990). Seeing ‘reality-as-it-is’ requires that the person sees the divisions or boundaries placed aroundpeople, things, and ideas as being just that – placed there versus belonging tothose people, things, and ideas. What is important about the process of decon-structing boundaries, is that in truly doing so, the individual neither judges,evaluates, nor concretizes the perceptual process or the object of perceptionas holding a particular existence (Kawamura, 1990).

The fourth Noble Truth.The fourth Noble Truth is the path through which onecan alleviate pervasive unsatisfactoriness or dis-ease. This essentially occursby giving up one’s clinging to ideas and concepts as realities of experience.According to Buddha, it requires the alignment of eight specific factors:understanding, thought, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, andconcentration (Epstein, 1995). These factors comprise the eight-fold pathto enlightenment. Each of these factors of being can be developed so thatthe individual is following the ‘right’ path (i.e. the path to enlightenment).Much like the idea of self-actualization discussed by some western schoolsof psychology, the process of enlightenment is the developing of one’s poten-tials. Easwaran (1985), has translated and interpreted the eight-fold path asfollows: right understanding is seeing life as it is, this is the knowledge thatall things that come into being have to pass away. Right purpose means theability to think about life in a way that is consistent with the way life is,essentially, it is realizing that life is about learning to live. Right speech, rightaction, and right occupation mean living in harmony with the unity of life,speaking kindly, and earning livelihood in a way that is not harmful or at


the expense of others. The last three components deal with developing themind, right effort is the constant endeavour to train oneself in thought, wordand action (normally through meditative practices). Right attention meanskeeping the mind focused on the present so as to be mindful; right meditationis the means of training the mind.

At the root of these eight is mindfulness. Mindfulness is awarenesswithout judgment, attachment, or aversion to what is happening in the presentmoment (Rubin, 1996). The development of mindfulness is to happen infour areas: (i) bodily phenomena such as physical sensations; (ii) feelingswhich are not emotions, but rather reactions to things which we classifyas ‘pleasant’, ‘unpleasant’, or ‘neutral’; (iii) mental phenomena; and (iv) toobserve whether the mental state is wholesome or unwholesome (Khema,1987; Rubin, 1993). A discussion of wholesomeness of thought can be foundin the ‘health and dis-ease’ section of this paper. The development of mind-fulness requires the individual to be fully experiencing the present and tobegin to be free of illusions. It is clear and single-minded awareness ofwhat actually happens to and in the individual at successive moments ofperception. It requires the individual to attend without selection or judgmentto the experience of whatever mental or physical phenomena, for example,thoughts, feelings, sensations, or fantasies are predominant in his/her field ofawareness (Rubin, 1996).

Self

Buddhist theory states that a separate, permanent, and distinct self does notexist. This distinction is an illusion which gives rise to dissatisfaction (Parry& Jones, 1986). Interestingly, the illusion is one that each person experiences.The thesis of this section of this paper is to explain how the illusion of self isconstituted and how it functions.

The development of a psychophysical self is explained by theskhandaswhich are the physical and mental factors that compose the psychophysicalpersonality. There are fiveskhandasas follows:a) form – this includes the material body with its sense organs;b) feelings and sensations;c) perceptionsd) mental formations (or volitional attitudes) including habits and disposi-

tionse) consciousness (consciousness of the six senses-the five traditional ones

plus mental events)It is important to note that though these five components comprise the self

they do not constitute the self, their interaction is what creates the illusion ofself (Loy, 1992), through the arising mental states. Mental states in Buddhist

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psychology are only thoughts, emotions, memories, sensations, and percep-tions (Ramaswami & Sheikh, 1989). There is no self or ‘I’ behind them andwithout them there is no sense of self or sense of ‘I’. When the five skandasinteract a mental state arises. It is the rising of this mental state that givesrise to the feeling of a sense of self. The relationship between mental statesand the sense of self is where the illusion begins. The self regards mentalstates as objects that belong to it. This results in a division of mental contentsinto a subjective self and objective mental states. Consequently, the sense of apermanent and stable sense of self develops with only the mental states beingconsidered transient. This is the illusion, because the self is only a seriesof mental states (Ramaswami & Sheikh, 1989). Once the illusion of self iscreated, the individual begins to identify with this illusion. The self is illusivebecause, like everything else, it is a temporary, ever changing manifestationarising out of the interaction of the fiveskhandas, yet it feels separate from therest of the world. The basic difficulty is that insofar as the self feels separate,or autonomous, it also feels uncomfortable, because of the insecurity of anillusory separateness (Epstein, 1989). Ironically, the sense of self becomespre-occupied with trying to make itself self-existing. Often the result is thecreation of a boundary between ‘me’ and ‘not-me’ (Claxton, 1986). Such aboundary makes the individual vulnerable. Whatever the individual identifieswith as self, becomes a point of vulnerability for the self. For example, ifthe individual identifies with wealth, poverty is a threat. Buddhism statesthat the act of seeing oneself as separate (i.e. as this and not that), is whatcreates dis-ease (Claxton, 1986). When the individual sees the world as-it-is,and in doing so realizes that adaptations of self and strivings for security areworthless, he/she is moving away from dis-ease (Walley, 1986).

Health and dis-ease

Buddhist psychology states that physical illness is often the consequence ofor associated with unhealthy mental states (Ramaswami & Sheikh, 1989). Asmentioned, mental states refer to thoughts, emotions, memories, sensations,and perception. Integral to a healthy mental state is the wholesomeness ofones thoughts. The wholesomeness of ones thoughts is measured by the pres-ence or absence of the five hindrances (Kawamura, 1990). The five hindrancesrefer to five emotional states that make thoughts unwholesome. The fivehindrances prevent the individual from experiencing reality as-it-is. They are:i) Overexuberance and remorsebecause when overly excited or

remorseful the individual becomes further attached or identified withthe object;

ii) Vindictivenessas this deepens the illusion of self because this oftenstems from a perceived transgression against the self;


iii) Gloominessand drowsiness because this dulls the perceptual organs;iv) Attachmentbecause this is based purely on illusion;v) Indecisionbecause the mind is inescapable of seeing reality as-it-is

(Kawamura, 1990).Goldstein (1976, p.53) provided a simile to describe the impact of these

hindrances:

Imagine a pond of clear water. Sense desire [attachments] is like thewater becoming colored with pretty dyes. We become entranced with thebeauty and intricacy of the color and so do not penetrate to the depths.Anger, ill will, aversion, [vindictiveness], is like boiling water. Water thatis boiling is very turbulent. You can’t see the bottom. . . Sloth and torpor[gloominess and drowsiness] is the pond of water covered with algae,very dense. One cannot possibly penetrate to the bottom because youcan’t see through the algae. . . Restlessness and worry [overexuberanceand remorse] are like a pond when wind-swept. The surface is agitatedby strong winds . . . Doubt [indecision] is like the water when muddied;wisdom is obscured by murkiness and cloudiness.

By cultivating mindfulness, the five hinderances can be counteracted andthe three defining characteristics of reality, namely, that all is dis-ease, all istransitory, and all is nonsubstantive can be experienced (Kawamura, 1990).The practice of mindfulness, or refined nonjudgmental and nonselectiveawareness of whatever is coming leads to highly refined perceptual acuity andattentiveness, increased control of apparently voluntary processes, deepenedinsight into the nature of mental and physical processes, selfhood and reality,and the development of compassion (Rubin, 1996). Mindfulness strips awayillusion, and the individual who presently fears nothingness or emptinessbecause of his/her illusioned identity, is instead left with pure potentials. Purepotentials are no longer constricted by the boundaries created by illusion (L.S. Kawamura, personal communication, March 31, 1998). When the indi-vidual stops trying to be that which he/she has identified with, he/she canbecome no-thing and discovers that he/she is every-thing, or more precisely,that he/she can be anything (Loy, 1992).

Application to psychotherapy

The goal of theories of psychology is to explain how the human mindfunctions. Theories are most helpful to clinicians when abstract ways ofunderstanding people are brought to a concrete level. Thus it is importantfor each theory of psychotherapy to discuss applications to the practice of

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psychotherapy. This section will discuss the utility of Buddhist principles topsychotherapists.

First and second order change

The most recent trends in psychotherapy are focused on an inquiry into thenature of change (Lyddon, 1990). As part of this inquiry a distinction hasbeen made between first order change and second order change (Watzlawick,Weakland, & Fisch, 1974). First order change refers to a change that canoccur within a system which itself stays invariant (Bowman & Baylen, 1994).That is, the structure of the system remains intact despite a change that occurswithin it.

Second order change offers a framework for considering the relationshipbetween member and system. In second order change there is a breaking freefrom the system to another level (Bowman & Baylen, 1994). It is a type ofchange that when it occurs the fundamental structure of the system is altered.In the case of Buddhist psychology, the application of Buddhist principlesrequires a systematic examination of the hindrances to developing the whole-some states of mind, discussed earlier in the paper, such that the individualbegins to see the illusions of self that are socially and personally created. Themethod for alleviating suffering does not lie in helping clients better adapt totheir environment or become more adept at getting what they want as wouldbe the case with a system that implements first order change. In the caseof second order change described here, the individual gradually begins to seebeyond the illusions. Seeing beyond illusions alters the fundamental structureof the self-system as opposed to finding another way to function within thesystem. Buddhist philosophy emphasizing seeing through the illusions of self,and thereby changing the fundamental structure of the self-system, is a secondorder change system.

Meditation

Meditation is the careful and detailed non-judgmental observation of prox-imate dimensions of consciousness (Rubin, 1993). The purpose of meditationis acquisition of self-knowledge, which can only be accomplished by directself-study of the mind (Suzuki, 1960). Meditation yields self-knowledge byfocusing ones attention on the immediacy of experience. The meditator isinstructed to notice whatever he/she is experiencing at each moment.

Through the process of noticing, the meditator begins to develop theawareness that the mind is not still, but is, rather in a constant state of activity.Until the individual stops to observe the mind, he/she remains unaware of itsincessant activity.


Amazingly enough we can live a whole lifetime without recognizingthe fact that these perceptual processes continuously control, create, anddistort our reality as well as our ideas of who we are. As attention is turnedinward, the restlessness, agitated nature of the untrained mind rapidlybecomes apparent (Walsh & Vaughan, 1980, p. 36).

Effects of meditation.A major obstacle to achieving being in the present isthat people often assess a current situation on the basis of events that haveoccurred in the past (Epstein, 1998). Using the past as a frame of refer-ence makes it difficult for the individual to have a new and unanticipatedexperience. Through meditation, the individual is able to understand reac-tions as belonging to incidents of the past. Consequently, he/she enters thepresent; engages in moment-to-moment observation of thoughts. Enteringthe present by noticing ones thoughts is a process of de-automatization –the undoing of automated, habitual thought and action (Deikman, 1982).In cultivating perceptual acuity and attentiveness, meditation fosters aware-ness of and de-automatization from, previously habitual reactions (Rubin,1993).

In a similar vein, the practice of meditation diminishes the individual’sreactivity. The individual often automatically identifies with his/her reactions.Through meditation the individual develops a detached relationship to thereactions. Thus, the person is able to make space for the existence of thereaction, but does not completely identify with it because of the concomitantpresence of non-judgmental awareness (Epstein, 1995).

A detached relationship is not to be confused with a withdrawal or disen-gagement from life. The meditator is detached from agitation; he /she is notdetached from the activities of the world. Without the distraction of the rest-less mind, the individual is better able to participate in the world (Suzuki,1960).

The most profound effect of meditation is that the individual begins tofully experience. The restless mind is constantly reminding the individualof its separateness (illusory), and thereby preventing him/her from fullyconnecting with the world around him/her (Epstein, 1998). Buddha statedthat everything is always changing or transient. When a person feels lovetoward an object he/she hopes or expects to have that object forever. Incor-rectly believing in the permanence of objects and ones relationship with thempostpones the inevitable grief associated with the transience of oneself, thetransient feeling one holds toward the object, and the temporary existence ofthe object itself. The solution is not to deny attachment, but for the personto become more open to the temporary nature of experiences by removingthe demands of permanence that are often placed on experiences. Meditationhelps the person to have a relationship to transience that is not adversarial,

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in which the ability to embrace the moment takes precedence over fear of itspassing.

Meditation in psychotherapy

Meditation plays a central role in the alleviation of suffering. ThoughBuddha developed a complex system of meditation, the psychotherapist isleft wondering how it may be helpful to the practice of psychotherapy.Buddhist psychology is predominantly concerned with perception because itsobservation of the human condition is that much of the experience of the indi-vidual, while seeming very real, is actually quite inaccurate (Claxton, 1987).The Buddhist position asserts that perception is changeable. The practice ofmeditation effects the change. Epstein (1995) has outlined how meditationfacilitates remembering, repeating, and working through in psychotherapy.

Remembering.Very often in therapy, the client is asked to link the presentproblematic experience or feeling to a similar feeling or experience in thepast. The purpose of asking the client to do this is (a) to put the client intouch with what needs to be completed from the past; or (b) to understandthe root of the problem. Finding resolution in the past experience will helpresolve current troubles.

Buddhism too emphasizes remembering – a remembering of the present.From this perspective, the individual often loses him/herself in thoughts ofthe past or the future and thus cannot be in the immediate experience. Themeditative technique employed to this end is that of mindfulness, which isa continual returning of awareness to the here-and-now. Mindfulness of thepresent may be emphasized in the context of therapy. It may not be necessaryto require that the client practice meditation to make use of the practice ofmindfulness of the present.

Repeating.Many therapists view the therapeutic encounter as a micro-cosm of the client’s world (Yalom, 1985). That is, the client is likely torepeat his/her unhealthy, problematic interpersonal patterns with the ther-apist. Buddhist philosophy emphasizes fully experiencing the here-and-now.Though Buddhism posits that the best way to develop the ability to be inthe present is through meditative practices, the therapeutic enterprise may beaided by abstracting the here-and-now principle. In order to bring the clientinto the present, the therapist can help the client pay attention to and fullyexperience what he/she is repeating in the therapeutic encounter.

Working through.Working through can have different meanings to therapists.It may mean eliminating or learning to cope with that which is problematic,


or coming to terms with its inescapability. From the Buddhist perspective,a person is nothing but his/her experiences: to deny the subjective realityof these experiences is to further empower them as something fixed, havingpower over the person. When attention in meditation or therapy is placedon a difficult emotion, especially the bodily experience of that emotion, itgradually ceases to be experienced as a static entity and becomes instead aprocess in movement. The therapist may use that practice of attending to theexperience of a difficult emotion, as a means of working through it.

Though each of the three applications discussed above occur within thecontext of meditative practice, the therapist should be able to apply them inthe therapeutic encounter. This will be illustrated in the next section.

Process focus

Buddhist psychology is essentially a philosophy emphasizing impermanence,transience, orprocess.The Buddhist discussion of process may be its mostuseful contribution to therapeutic systems. As stated earlier, the most recenttrends in psychotherapy focus on the investigation into the nature of change(Lyddon, 1990). Buddhist psychology, a 2500-year-old system, focuses onchange. Through an extensive review of the literature the author has identifiedseven core process principles of Buddhist psychology that may be applied inpsychotherapy:1. Flexibility of self – The therapist facilitates the experience of a self

that is flexible This moves the client away from believing/feeling thathis/her sense of self is attached to specific aspects or personality traits.The therapist emphasizes that the client is in process and has unlimitedpotentials.

2. Being in the present – The therapist focuses on the present experienceand being fully in the moment. The therapist is bringing the client intothe present by focusing solely on the present moment.

3. Experiencing without evaluation – The therapist moves the client awayfrom intellectualizing and understanding and brings the client intoexperiencing. Experiencing encompasses emotions, thoughts, senses,physiology, etc. These interventions facilitate the client’s experiencewithout evaluation.

4. Compassion – The therapist either treats the client with compassionor facilitates the development of feelings of compassion in the client.Compassion in this sense is not feeling sorry for someone. It is basicwarmth. These interventions help the client feel of warmth, acceptance,humility, and humour towards oneself.

5. Openness – The therapist encourages the client to open him/herself up.This implicitly or explicitly encourages the client to let go of expectations

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that things be a certain way, fears, etc. The client places limits or bound-aries around his/her own experience. These interventions are a ‘lettinggo’ of those boundaries.

6. Interdependency – The therapist emphasizes that the client is in rela-tion to his/her surrounding. This is a systemic idea of everything beingconnected. The therapist encourages the client to look at connections tothe whole. This is a cognitive understanding of interconnections.

7. Sitting with suffering – The therapist demonstrates a level of comfortwith the clients’ suffering by being able to be present with it. This facil-itates the client’s own experience of comfort with suffering. Suffering inthis context can be fear, anger, anxiety, sadness, etc. This contrasts otherinterventions in which the therapist provides strategies for the client toward off suffering (e.g. thought stopping).

Below is a vignette illustrating how the author implemented the principlesin one particular case.

Laura is a 39 year old woman who has worked in a large corpor-ation for a number of years. Approximately one year ago Laura’scompany underwent a merger. Consequently the culture of the corpora-tion changed and Laura found herself with a new team leader. Laura andher team leader consistently had personality conflicts which was verystressful for Laura. After one large conflict, approximately six monthsafter the changes in the company began, Laura was unable to cope atwork and was given a stress leave.

Laura commenced therapy after three months of stress leave. Havingtried to work through her work related problems by reading books andtalking with family and friends nothing had improved. At the beginningof therapy Laura was anxious, became teary easily, had trouble sleepingand eating and had many other symptoms of depression.

Initially Laura was primarily focused on her team leaders’ beha-viour towards her and held an attitude of ‘How dare he do that to me’.The Buddhist principles of flexibility of self and openness were imple-mented. The therapist highlighted the client’s rigidly held belief that shewas “special” and though the team leader treated others in the sameway she should be treated differently. It was uncovered that Laura oftenencountered situations with the preconceived expectation that she betreated as if “special”. Therapist and client examined the impact of thisexpectation on the situation. The therapist then facilitated the sheddingof this expectation such that the client became more able to ‘open up’to the uniqueness of each situation and have a more flexible sense ofself. The client was encouraged to do this experientially both inside and


outside of therapy sessions so that her understanding of openness andflexibility of self would be more than a cognitive understanding.

Laura continued to blame her team leader for her depression andcurrent difficulties. She would then blame herself for not getting overher difficulties more quickly. In introducing the Buddhist principle ofcompassion, Laura was encouraged to forgive the team leader for hisrude and demeaning behaviour. On her own initiative Laura began toconsider the struggles of the team leader. This process resulted in Lauraconnecting her own sufferings with those of the team leader. Suddenlyshe was not alone in her suffering. Further, she was in touch with thesuffering of the person she blamed for her own pain. Though this didnot excuse the team leader’s behaviour, the introduction of compassionenabled Laura to let go of the blame. This was a powerful processfor Laura. The changes outlined above occurred in six sessions oftherapy.

Various Buddhist principles were implemented in treating Laura fordepression. As with all therapeutic interventions, it is important for the coun-sellor to believe that the idea, suggestion, or intervention being introducedwill be helpful to the client. As the counsellor’s level of comfort with theBuddhist principles increases the effectiveness of his/her interventions willalso increase.

Different types of counselling may use the Buddhist principles to greateror lesser degrees. For example, in the context of family and marital coun-selling ‘interdependency’ may be particularly important. Often families andcouples are interested in blaming one another for their current problems. Bystressing that everything is interdependent, the therapist can assist familymembers in examining how the problem is linked to each person and his/hersubsequent role in the changes. ‘Compassion’ may follow as family membersare encouraged to have compassion for the difficulties of one another inthe situation. As each family member begins to experience compassion forothers, he/she may discover a new part of him/herself and the therapist maythen introduce interventions to ‘open’ the family member up to a broader andmore ‘flexible sense of self’.

In the case of grief counselling, it may be more helpful to begin withinterventions that facilitate the client’s ability to ‘sit with his/her pain’ withoutevaluating it or trying to push it away. Next the counsellor may want tofacilitate the development of ‘compassion’ for the client. The client maybe struggling with questions of identity as a result of the recent loss. Thetherapist could introduce interventions that highlight that the client have a‘flexible’ nature. Coupling this with ideas of ‘openness’ that identify thelimits and boundaries the client places on him/herself may also be useful.

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The Buddhist principles are flexible and far-reaching. Their utility in thetherapeutic setting is more circular than linear. Since they are not hierarchical,any principle may be introduced at any time and revisited many times overthe course of counselling.

Summary

Buddhism is a deep psychological tradition that has roots in India. The found-ation of this theory can be found in the four noble truths that capture thesuffering of the human condition. The four noble truths are concerned withhow the individual causes his/her own suffering through creation and iden-tification with illusion, and the way to begin dissolving these illusions. Thebasic tenets of Buddhist psychology have been outlined with a discussionof the Buddhist view of self, health, and dis-ease. Attempts have been madeto concretize the philosophy so that it may have application in psychothera-peutic systems. As psychotherapy becomes more attentive to determiningwhat the processes of change are and how they may occur in psychotherapy,it may be helpful to look more closely at the suggestions made by Buddhistphilosophy.

Buddhist philosophy emphasizes certain features that may not be viewedas essential ingredients of the process of change in traditional therapeuticsystems. By using ones own culturally biased template to understand andemploy practices important to Buddhism, one commits the error of beingethnocentric. The challenge for therapists is to strive for ways to be opento hearing perspectives stemming from a foreign paradigm. When this isaccomplished, a true dialogue between perspectives will have begun.

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