Zen Therapy
David Brazier
The Oxford Handbook of Meditation February 10, 2021 DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198808640.013.36 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Buddhism |
| Key points | Argues that the Buddhist master-disciple relationship can function as a medium for psychotherapy and that meditation amplifies the process of mental change. |
Abstract
Abstract This chapter explores the application of Buddhism as psychotherapy. Buddhism is primarily a religion or Dharma that has inspired the arts, social life, architecture, and foundational aspects of the cultures where it has become established. In considering it as psychotherapy, this chapter similarly applies principles and images springing from its religious root. Buddhism is also a transmitted living tradition, passing from master to disciple. This chapter examines that crucial mind-changing relationship, considering it as a medium of psychotherapy, and goes on to work through fundamental elements of Buddhist theory, substantially derived from meditation experience, showing their application to consoling, resolving, and liberating the troubled mind. It shows how meditation provides an amplifying and deepening dimension to this process of mental change.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on buddhism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mental balance and well-being: Building bridges between Buddhism and Western psychology. | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Buddhist Modernism and the Rhetoric of Meditative Experience | 1995 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Buddhist and Psychological Perspectives on Emotions and Well-Being | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Too Early to Tell: The Potential Impact and Challenges—Ethical and Otherwise—Inherent in the Mainstreaming of Dharma in an Increasingly Dystopian World | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From self to nonself: The Nonself Theory | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |