Books Reviewed!
Books have a load of value: but not if all you do is read them!
Epstein, Mark [MD]; Thoughts Without a Thinker; Psychotherapy from a Buddhist perspective. New York, NY; MJF Book; 1995; 1-56731-578-X.
Book Review; Magus Thomas Potter.
Thoughts Without a Thinker; Psychotherapy from a Buddhist perspective.
As I pursue an education for a career as an addiction counselor I find I am ever in pursuit of theories that will help me be as effective as I can be. Over time, I have become acutely aware of the dangers of transference (the client perceiving the counselor as some familial person from an earlier part of their life), and my own basic faults. Both could be tremendous assets, as well as sources of tremendous suffering.
Over the years of intense religious studies I have developed a formal relationship with Buddhism (you know, the relationship you have with someone only on formal occasions), and had some idea of what it represented. Yet a lot of that was from sources I have come to see as untrustworthy, and suspicious in everything it says about anything.
Based upon that relationship with Buddhism, I felt the notion of Non-attachment would be the best way to face the risks I foresaw as interfering with the therapeutic relationship, or more importantly, my health. I had the right idea for all the wrong reasons.
About the Book
The book is generally divided into four sections;
- A history of how the author came to his position;
- A review of the Buddhist paradigm, including Sangsara (the Wheel of Life) and the Four Noble Truths;
- An exposition on Buddhist meditation;
- An assimilation of Western and Buddhist psychological paradigms. In each section Dr. Epstein will make comparisons, especially between Freud and Siddhartha, and the way they saw the world of the psyche.
In short, Buddhist meditation coupled with western psychotherapy will help the westerner rise above the emptiness of our lives like a lotus from the muddy river. This is especially poignant because of psychological trash we have that the Easterner does not have. The Tibetan begins every relationship as if the other person were their mother. For many in the west that would be the end of that relationship. Dr. Epstein’s suggests
Both Buddhism and modern psychology focus on people feeling uncomfortable with themselves because they don’t know who they are. Psychologists have grown adept at describing the “narcissistic dilemma,” the sense of falseness or emptiness that propels people to either overvalue or undervalue themselves. But they have been less than successful at developing a treatment for it.
Buddhist thought takes this sense of identity confusion as one of its core assumptions about the nature of the human psyche. But it also offers a way to deal with it: Buddhist meditation. The goal of Buddhist meditation is to free oneself from narcissistic craving and the psychic agony and identity confusion it creates. [Inside jacket.]
The Buddhist paradigm, like any other systemic theory, provides a rational model to address a problem, in this case with the mind. It makes generalized statements about the human condition, and the causes of our suffering. It proposes that to live is to suffer, and that we add to that suffering with empty pursuits. Buddhism suggests that we accept our flaws and our native suffering, and then proposes a path to happiness and growth. Like any theory, this one is meant only as a guide. Buddhism is a Gnostic tradition, and expects a soul to find their own way to the light, with guidance permitted.
The part on meditation (from page 109) alone is worth the small price of this book. On the whole it is a masterpiece that would benefit psychotherapists and clients immensely. Still, like any mental discipline, having a teacher in the same room with you to guide your first few steps will help set you on the road correctly from the beginning. I give this book a resounding roar of approval.
Et lux in tenebris lucet; Ave Lucifur, rex lucet.
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