Buddhist Psychology

Proceedings of Papers presented at the 5th Conference of the Transnational Network for Physical, Psychological and Spiritual Well-being 'Qigong, Meditation and Hypnosis'. April 27-30, 1998 and at the International Symposium 'Psychotherapy and Eastern Thought' of the Asia Division of the World Council for Psychotherapy 1st AWCP Congress May 1st, 1998, Beijing, China.

Since approximately two decades academic societies have begun to show interest in meditation as a subject of study. It is quite interesting to find this same tendency all over the world, but the contents and purpose of practices of meditation in the Orient and the Occident seem to differ in some aspects by nature. Therefore, in this book, the authors will examine the current state of interest in meditation in the Orient and the Occident seperately.

Proceedings of the 6th Conference of the Transnational Network for the Study of Physical, Psychological & Spiritual Wellbeing, July 20th and 21st, 2000

The Eastern traditions, as in Zen, Yoga and Aikido for example, place considerable value on working from the body, and are less likely to use a rational "talking cure" approach. In fact, in mediation the role of language is entirely side-stepped and silence is seen as playing a central role in emotional healing and growth. These and other issues will be elaborated in the very stimulating papers in this book.

Psychology is known as a discipline arising from Western experimental method, but there is perhaps no society that does not have a psychology, a way of understanding and training the person, in accordance with particular social values and concepts. Some of these ‘other psychologies’ are known as the Wisdom traditions, which include Eastern and Christian meditation practices, but also the age-old knowledge of the soul of the American Indian and Australian Aboriginal peoples.