Buddhism &

Buddhist Psychology

Buddhism

Buddhism is a major religion that originated in modern-day India around the 5th-century BCE and has since traveled and adapted along the way into a rich diaspora of different schools and communities on a global scale.

While many Buddhist branches, cultural contexts, and historical accounts disagree, below are some important early, and often core, teachings.

The Four Noble Truths

  1. Suffering is a part of life.

  2. The cause of this suffering is attachment.

  3. But we can change this.

  4. And the way to change is the Noble Eightfold Path.

Noble Eightfold Path

  1. Right View: How you see the world affects what you do

  2. Right Intention: Making sure your actions are motivated by doing no harm and acting compassionately

  3. Right Speech: Communicating compassionately and kindly: without lying, abusive language, etc.

  4. Right Action: Acting in a way that benefits yourself and others

  5. Right Livelihood: Making a commitment to ethical livelihood: without deceiving, harming, or cheating

  6. Right Effort: Persevering in your commitment to doing no harm

  7. Right Mindfulness: Keeping a continual awareness of your thoughts, speech, and actions in all circumstances

  8. Right Concentration: Keeping a regular meditation practice

books on Buddhism

  • John Daido Loori, The True Dharma Eye: Zen Master Dogen's Three Hundred Koans

  • Bhante Gunaratana, Mindfulness in Plain English

  • Thich Nhat Hanh, No Death, No Fear: Comforting Wisdom for Life

  • Charles Johnson, Taming the Ox: Buddhist Stories and Reflections on Politics, Race, Culture, and Spiritual Practice

  • Jon Kabat-Zinn, Full Catastrophe Living (Revised Edition): Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness

  • Donald Mitchell, Buddhism: Introducing the Buddhist Experience

  • Guy Newland, Introduction to Emptiness: As Taught in Tsong-kha-pa's Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path

  • Joseph Parent, A Walk in the Wood: Meditations on Mindfulness with a Bear Named Pooh

  • Ronald Purser, McMindfulness: How Mindfulness Became the New Capitalist Spirituality

  • Santideva, A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life

  • Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice

  • Thanissara, Time to Stand Up: An Engaged Buddhist Manifesto for Our Earth -- The Buddha's Life and Message through Feminine Eyes (Sacred Activism)

  • Angel Kyodo Williams, Lama Rod Owens, Jasmine Syedullah, Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love, and Liberation

other material

https://wisdomexperience.org —Wisdom Publications is a non-profit organization dedicated to the dharma. Their website has access to books, movies, courses, and other materials related to Buddhism.

https://plumvillage.org — An international practice set up by the late Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh

Buddhist Psychology

Many aspects of Buddhism’s practices, values, and concepts align neatly with therapeutic models and theory, but Buddhist psychotherapy is more than just mindfulness, and it is important to not strip Buddhism of its historical and cultural contexts.

books on Buddhist psychotherapy

  • Mark Epstein, Psychotherapy without the Self: A Buddhist Perspective

  • Mark Epstein, Thoughts Without A Thinker: Psychotherapy from a Buddhist Perspective

  • Eva Gold, Buddhist Psychology & Gestalt Therapy Integrated: Psychotherapy for the 21st Century

  • Beth Jacobs, The Original Buddhist Psychology: What the Abhidharma Tells Us About How We Think, Feel, and Experience Life

  • Jack Kornfield, Roots of Buddhist Psychology

  • Dan Lusthaus, Buddhist Phenomenology: A Philosophical Investigation of Yogacara Buddhism and the Ch'eng Wei-shih Lun (Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism)

  • Jeffery Rubin, Psychotherapy and Buddhism: Toward an Integration (Issues in the Practice of Psychology)

  • Padmasiri De Silva, An Introduction to Buddhist Psychology and Counselling: Pathways of Mindfulness-Based Therapies

Other Materials

https://www.tarabrach.com — Dr. Tara Brach is an author, psychotherapist, and spiritual teacher who mixes western psychological thought with meditation. She has courses, retreats, books, and community resources. She also has a YouTube channel as well as podcasts.