Working with a Buddhist Client. Under What Circumstances can Buddhism Compound Neuroses Rather than Healing Them?
Diana Taylor
Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 2007 DOI: 10.1080/14401614070410s10143 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Practical guide or manual Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Buddhism |
| Key points | The session aims to let participants experience the changing phenomena arising in the mind through unguided sitting and walking meditation, followed by group discussion. The authors propose that meditation ultimately trains the mind's metacognitive ability to perceive itself. |
Abstract
When we meditate for the first time, we may be surprised by the nature of our background thoughts, feelings and sensations and in particular by the mind’s incessant chatter as we attempt to perceive the space between thoughts and the nature of mind itself, which is the essence of meditation. In this experiential session, we will introduce the participants to some simple meditation techniques. This will involve a period of unguided sitting meditation followed by a short round of walking meditation. An open forum discussion will conclude the session exploring the experiences noted by the participants. We hope to demonstrate the diversity of the ever changing phenomena that may arise in the mind and in doing so allow participants to experience a brief taste of the nature of their own minds through the process of meditation which ultimately trains the metacognitive ability of the mind to perceive itself.