The Ultimate Psychotherapy -Through Buddhism

"All the delightful things of the world--sweet sounds, lovely forms, all the pleasant tastes and touches and thoughts--these are all agreed to bring happiness if they are not grasped and possessed. But if you regard them merely as pleasures for your own use and satisfaction and do not see them as passing wonders, they will bring suffering." - Buddha, Sutta Nipata


Buddhist teachings can be regarded as the ultimate psychotherapy to the mind. Some people call Buddhism the "science of the mind". It is also a therapeutic means of getting answers to life's difficult problems. Buddhism gives you the blueprint on how to get rid of life's suffering for ever. This is called the "The Four Noble Truths". This is the final pathway to get rid of all the difficulties and sufferings we endure in daily life. Buddha very clearly showed the path to reach this goal, the freedom from all suffering, called the enlightenment. He gave us all the tools and very clear instructions on how to attain this state of mind, the ultimate happiness. In his own words Buddha called this "the supreme bliss of Nirvana". He emphasised that this can only be achieved with our own diligent effort. No other person, not even Buddha himself can do it for you. It is essentially a "do it yourself project".

Now let us examine how psychotherapy is related to the history of Buddhism. Theravada Buddhism is the oldest surviving school of Buddhism today. If you look up the origin of word "Thera", it says in 1846, "medical treatment of disease," from Mod.L. therapia, from Gk. therapeia "curing, healing," from therapeuein "to cure, treat." Therapist formed 1886; earlier therapeutist (1816), especially of psychotherapy practitioners from c.1930s. The word "Veda" means knowledge. Therefore Theravada may mean "Therapeutic-Knowledge". Theravada Buddhists are found over 100 million worldwide. In recent years Theravada has begun to take root in the West.

How does Buddhism become an effective psychotheraputic tool? Basically Buddha teaches you to become your "own therapist". He teaches you very clearly how to examine your own mind step by step. It is like shining a flashlight on to your own mind and examining everything that is happening in your mind. He explains how these six senses, the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and the mind (the sixth sense) connect you to the outside world. Then he explains and how to contemplate on the nature and the mechanism each of these sense bases. This is the basis of Insight or Vipassana meditation.

The best metaphor for this was one told by Ajahn Brahm, the abbot of Buddhist Society of Western Australia, in one of his meditation talks. He said when people watch movies you get caught up in all sorts of emotions. If the movie is sad you cry or if the movie is funny you laugh and have a good time. In past when people use to smoke in movie theaters if you look up you could see a cone of light going from the screen to the projector. If you look back and examine further you can see it is only a plastic film tape going through a lens and a powerful light. In real life this is similar to what happens. We get caught up in all sorts of emotions like greed, hatred, etc, but we really do not understand where and how it all starts. Insight (Vipassana) meditation teaches you how to examine the real "projector" in life instead focusing on the "big screen". I will discuss this in detail in a different posting.

Vipassana meditation, a Buddhist mindfulness-based practice, provides an alternative for individuals who do not wish to attend or have not succeeded with traditional addiction treatments. One study evaluated the effectiveness of a Vipassana meditation course on substance use and psychosocial outcomes in an incarcerated population (see the abstract below). Results indicate that after release from jail, participants in the Vipassana meditation course, as compared with those in a treatment-as-usual control condition, showed significant reductions in alcohol, marijuana, and crack cocaine use. Vipassana meditation participants showed decreases in alcohol-related problems and psychiatric symptoms as well as increases in positive psychosocial outcomes.

Principle of Buddhist mindfulness is used in Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy and Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) programmes. These methods of psychotherapy are now used in evidence based medical practice for treating depression, anxiety and other related disorders. Current Canadian Clinical Practice Guidelines states, meditation as the third line of treatment for depression. Other principles of mindfulness meditation in Buddhist practice may be used in mainstream medical practice in the near future.

To read previous related posts click the following links:

How can mindfulness help?

Can Mindfulness Help Cancer Patients ?

Other Links:

Video about Vipassana Meditation in maximum-security prison Birmingham, Alabama, USA.
Staring at Death, and Finding Their Bliss

Vipassana Meditation in Northern Rehabilitation Facility, a minimum-security jail in Shoreline, USA

Meditation holds silent promise for prisoners

Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population.

The role of thought suppression in the relationship between mindfulness meditation and alcohol use.

Learn about Mindfulness-based psychotherapy:
Mindfulness-based_Cognitive_Therapy

Mindfulness in Breathing

"The mindfulness of in and out breathing, of body contemplation, of keeping consciousness of the moment, is a noble occupation and a sublime way, leading to independence of mind and to wisdom."-Samyutta Nikaya

Anapana Sati sutta is the first part of mindfulness of the body in the Satipatthana Sutta . There is also a more detailed disclosure of this sutta by the Buddha. You can read this at the following link:

Meditation on Breathing

If you are not in a mood to read, there is a very good MP3 audio discussion of this sutta by Ajahn Brahm, at the Buddhist Society of Western Australia. Please visit:

Anapana Sati sutta

Lessons From a Lotus

As in a pile of rubbish cast by the side of a highway a lotus will grow clean smelling…………..so does the disciple of the Rightly Self Awakened One.

-Buddha.







Did you ever wonder why a lotus is used as a Buddhist symbol in many places.

1). According to the Buddhist texts Buddha when he was enlightened saw all the people in the world as one large lotus pond. This is a common metaphor that is used to understand the varying degree of wisdom or "Parami" (innate ability) that people have to understand the Dhamma, the teachings of the Buddha. He saw people as lotus buds at different stages of maturity. Some were at the very bottom of the pond as small immature buds. Some were at the middle of the pond with medium maturity. Others were right at the top of the surface of the water about to bloom with the morning sun. The sun was compared to Dhamma in this metaphor. Buddha spent 45 years of his life teaching Dhamma helping the more "mature lotus buds" to blossom.

2). Have you seen the lotus petals and leaves touching water? The water droplets stay on the surface because of the surface tension. Although the water is in contact with the petals it does not "wet" or stick to the petals. This metaphor was used by Buddha to explain how enlightened beings live among worldly objects and people with defilements without really getting affected or attached to them.

3). Ajan Braham at Buddhist Society of Western Australia, (http://www.bswa.org/) use the lotus in many of his Dhamma and meditation talks. You can watch this video by clicking the following link:
The Jewel in the Heart of the Lotus