Empathy, Compassion, and Meditation: A Vision for a Buddhist Self Psychology
J. Riker
July 3, 2020 DOI: 10.1080/07351690.2020.1766323 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Intervention | Buddhist meditative practice |
| Topics | Buddhism Meditation |
| Key points | Argues that Buddhist meditative practice can enhance therapists' empathy by clearing distorting mental predispositions, and that empathy and compassion are distinct: empathy is a psychological capacity to know another's inner state, while compassion is an ontological mood of care for all beings subject to "perpetual perishing." Proposes that compassion should be included in Kohut's "mature narcissism," adding a metaphysical dimension that gives substance to "cosmic narcissism." |
Abstract
ABSTRACT In this article, I explore three important claims: (1) that Buddhist meditative practice is an important way in which therapists can enhance their abilities to be empathic by helping to clear the mind of incessant predispositions that both organize and distort perceptions; (2) that empathy and compassion are different and need to be carefully distinguished insofar as empathy is a psychological ability that allows us to know the inner state of another singular human being, while compassion, in its Buddhist formulation, is an ontological mood that extends care and concern to all creatures who participate in the endless “perpetual perishing” of all that exists. I develop the idea that compassion ought to be included in what Kohut calls “mature narcissism,” for it adds a metaphysical dimension to the social and psychological dimensions that generally concern modern persons. Because compassion brings together the acceptance of transience, wisdom about who we ultimately are as metaphysical beings, and care for the world beyond our small localities, it gives substance to what Kohut termed “cosmic narcissism.”
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 |