Buddhist Thought And Applied Psychological Research

Written by leading scholars and including a foreword by the Dalai Lama, this book explores the interface between Buddhist studies and the uses of Buddhist principles and practices in psychotherapy and consciousness studies. The contributors present a compelling collection of articles that illustrate the potential of Buddhist informed social sciences in contemporary society, including new insights into the nature of human consciousness. The book examines the origins and expressions of Buddhist thought and how it is now being utilized by psychologists and social scientists, and also discusses the basic tenets of Buddhism and contemporary Buddhist-based empirical research in the psychological sciences. Further emphasis is placed on current trends in the areas of clinical and cognitive psychology, and on the Mahayana Buddhist understanding of consciousness with reference to certain developments in consciousness studies and physics. A welcome addition to the current literature, the works in this remarkable volume ably demonstrate how Buddhist principles can be used to develop a deeper understanding of the human condition and behaviours that lead to a balanced and fulfilling life.

This user-friendly guide to the basics of Buddhist psychology presents a roadmap specifically designed for cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) practitioners. It explains central Buddhist concepts and how they can be applied to clinical work, and features numerous experiential exercises and meditations. Downloadable audio recordings of the guided meditations are provided at the companion website. Essential topics include the relationship between suffering and psychopathology, the role of compassion in understanding and treating psychological problems, and how mindfulness fits into evidence-based psychotherapy practice. The book describes an innovative case conceptualization method, grounded in Buddhist thinking, that facilitates the targeted delivery of specific CBT interventions.

This book, now in its fifth edition, provides a comprehensive introduction to Buddhist psychology and counselling, exploring key concepts in psychology and practical applications in mindfulness-based counselling techniques using Buddhist philosophy of mind, psychology, ethics and contemplative methods.

This book explores a wide range of mindfulness and meditative practices and traditions across Buddhism. It deepens contemporary understanding of mindfulness by examining its relationship with key Buddhist teachings, such as the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eight-Fold Path. In addition, the volume explores how traditional mindfulness can be more meaningfully incorporated into current psychological research and clinical practice with individuals and groups (e.g., through the Buddhist Psychological Model). Key topics featured in this volume include: Ethics and mindfulness in Pāli Buddhism and their implications for secular mindfulness-based applications. Mindfulness of emptiness and the emptiness of mindfulness. Buddhist teachings that support the psychological principles in a mindfulness program. A practical contextualization and explanatory framework for mindfulness-based interventions. Mindfulness in an authentic, transformative, everyday Zen practice. Pristine mindfulness. Buddhist Foundations of Mindfulness is an indispensable resource for clinical psychologists, and affiliated medical and mental health professionals, including specialists in complementary and alternative medicine as well as social work as well as teachers of Buddhism and meditation.

Aura Glaser wrote this book to remedy a deficiency she discovered while engaged in psychological research–a nearly complete omission of the importance and cultivation of compassion. Other books exploring Buddhism and psychology have focused on what the Theravada school of Buddhism–which teaches personal liberation through enlightenment–can offer psychology. A Call to Compassion works with Mahayana Buddhism, in which practitioners commit to the liberation of all sentient beings, with compassion central to attaining that goal.In her fascinating and exceptionally clear and concise review of the work of Freud, Jung, and others, Glaser shows how psychology has been ambivalent about the subject of compassion and therefore has developed no methodology for helping individuals cultivate this essential quality in the service of helping others. Glaser introduces as a remedy the Buddhist practice of the lojong, expressed in the text of The Seven Points of Mind Training, for developing love and compassion. With modern-day life examples, she illustrates the four major points: compassion for self, compassion for others, exchanging self and others, and no self and no other–affirming that these points are indeed attainable. If we make the effort to contemplate, understand, and truly integrate these four essentials, we will have a sound basis for both psychological health and genuine transformation.“/DIV>

This book provides an interdisciplinary discussion of conflict studies, drawing on perspectives from psychology and Buddhist studies. The author combines current research in psychology, conflict and management studies, as well as moral narratives drawn from religious and cultural contexts, to offer useful guidance on dealing with conflict and dichotomies. Drawing on a vast corpus of Buddhist literature, this book examines complex teachings, ideas and doctrines to bring insight to how individuals and societies might lead peaceful and balanced lifestyles. In this ground-breaking study Padmasiri De Silva insists that the social studies need to develop dialectical methods and understanding in addition to the objective and analytical collection of facts. Chapters cover an array of subjects including economics, ecology, human wellbeing, prison reform, dialectical behaviour therapy, multiculturalism, and peace studies.

The decline of mechanism and positivism offers new opportunities to bring together Western and Buddhist views of the mind and its relationship to its surroundings. The purpose of this collection of readings is to present some contemporary views on this progressive integration.

Essay from the year 2011 in the subject Psychology - Consulting, Therapy, grade: 2.1, Churchill College, Cambridge (-), language: English, abstract: As a final research topic of exploration, I have chosen to explore the Inner Critic due to its clear prevalence in the lives of my clients, but also for its presence in my own personal life, which has often kept me from realizing a dream or finishing a project. For as long as I can remember I have heard friends and family say to me: "David, you are so hard on yourself " It wasn't until I began my own psychotherapeutic work that I was able to see the truth in these claims and to concern myself with how to dampen the Critic's voice. Of great surprise and interest to me was the discovery that at the root of healing Inner Critic wounding is critical compassion: the instrument of self-compassion. Taking a historical view of psychology it is possible to argue that the root of the concept of the Inner Critic lies in the work of Jung and is related, although not the same as Jung's concept of the Shadow. Young-Eisendrath and Dawson (2008, p.98) write of ... that unwelcome side of our nature that Jung calls the shadow. This is made up of all the tendencies, motives and characteristics that we have barred from consciousness, whether deliberately or not. The admission of the shadow is the sine qua non of individuation.

A modern introduction to traditional Buddhist psychology This practical overview of Buddhist psychology outlines step-by-step methods for examining the source of our habitual tendencies and hangups. In order to truly free ourselves from perpetuating patterns of suffering, the Buddha offered a clear system for understanding our psychological dispositions, processes, fixations, and challenges--a system known as the Abhidharma. This tradition has been studied by Buddhists for over two millennia. Professor Steven Goodman has taught on the Abhidharma in both universities and Buddhist retreats for over twenty years, making these traditional teachings accessible for a modern readership for the first time. Goodman explains how becoming aware of our mental patterns can liberate us from cycles of emotional pain and shows how the Abhidharma can be applied to meditation practice through exercises of observation and reflection. This is the go-to manual for anyone interested in the world of Buddhist psychology.

Mind is a problematic concept, sundry attempts have already been made from different viewpoints for a better understanding of the concept. However, in this book an endeavour was made to deal with the problem from Buddhist point of view. In this deliberation attempt was made not to show how Mind functions, rather an effort has been made to reveal what Mind is. Of course, Mind is not a material object, it is a stream of consciousness, a flow of thought and the body which rooms it, is according to Buddha an aggregate of four great elements. Mind and Mental Factors have been dealt with the materials available in the early Buddhist texts. Herein different plans of consciousness have been exposed, and also explained. In this connection a variety of views about Mind of different schools of Buddhist Philosophy have also been discussed. An exposition of 52 factors have either been done in conformity with theravada tradition. These factors are the properties or qualities of mind and also in a sense, psychic-atoms. Also an endeavour has been made to supply the reader with a critical study of views held by both Buddhist and Western psychologists about Mind and its factors. The way of consciousness in Buddhist Psychology is a journey from ethical maxims to psychological principles. Buddhist Psychology is also said to be a meeting point between ethics on the one hand and psychology on the other.