Essay on Buddhism and Western Psychology - 2142 Words

Western Psychology and Buddhism Western psychology is concerned with the investigation of understanding the negative aspects of human behavior, emotions and the mind, and to some extent, with changing them. The Buddhist approach to the investigation of the mind is unscientific, as defined by the science of Western Psychology. It is not concerned with laboratory conditions, control groups, or ‘objectivity’ in the sense of the experimenter being separate from and impartial to the subject (Nettle, 2005). In Buddhism, the person conducting the experiment and the subject are the same. Buddhists seek truth, as do scientists. Science, for the most part, sees the world as something external, which can be observed and understood as†¦show more content†¦Our internal world governs our happiness, not conditions put upon us from our external environment or conditions we place on ourselves. To put it another way, our search for happiness is the very reason we’re un happy (McLeod, 2007). Psychology considers happiness an emotion or mental state and a predictor of how well one’s life is going. Some say that happiness is a choice, and therefore a behavior that one chooses. Happiness is a way of interpreting the world, since while it may be difficult to change the world, it is always possible to change the way we look at it (McLeod, 2007). Positive Psychology Positive psychology, which has emerged recently, is the scientific study of human thriving. Psychology traditionally focuses on dysfunction—on people with mental illness or other psychological problems and how to treat them. Positive psychology, by contrast, is a relatively new field that examines how ordinary people can become happier and more fulfilled. In his 1998 APA presidential address, Seligman, the founder of positive psychology, argued that psychology had become too focused on curing mental illness according to a disease model, and that, for all intents and purposes, it had become a â€Å"victimology† (Seligman, 1998). What was needed, he averred, was a new â€Å"science of human strengths,† a positive psychology (Seligman Csikszentmihalyi, 2000).Show MoreRelatedBuddhism : The Philosophy And Religion1426 Words   |  6 PagesBuddhism originated 2,500 years ago in India and today – is the prevailing world religion in the East. There are more th an 360 million followers of Buddhism, including one million American followers. Buddhism has branched into a diverse selection of forms throughout its long history, however, all methods of Buddhism share an admiration for the teachings of Buddha with the ultimate focus on ending suffering (Religionfacts.com, 2015). In the 6th century BC, Siddhartha or Gautama Buddha was born inRead MoreThe Psychology Of Buddhism And Buddhism1504 Words   |  7 Pages On the Psychology of Buddhism Jarrett C. Ettison Community College of Allegheny County On the Psychology of Buddhism Buddhism as a non-theistic religion dates back to antiquity, circa the 6th century BCE. Founded by its eponymous central figure Siddhartha Gautama—the Buddha— Buddhism is currently practice by millions of adherents world-wide, with a surging following in the United States. An epistemic shift toward empiricism and science is responsible for our contemporary rapprochement with theRead MoreMindfulness Is Still Practiced And Its One Of The Many Elements Of Buddhism906 Words   |  4 PagesFor over 2,500 year mindfulness, as a meditative practice, has been practiced and its one of the many elements of Buddhism (Pollack, Pedulla, Siegel, 2014). Exploring further, Mindfulness is often understood to be a translation of the Pali term Sati. 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Buddhism has focused on improving high states of mental well being, in conjunction with selecting psychological problems and dealing with them. It is recurrently associated with the set practice of mindfulness medication and more importantly has been named as the ‘heart’ of Buddhist meditation (Kabat-Zinn, 200 3; Thera, 1962). Mindfulness, is much more than this and is all about achievingRead MoreShakespeares King Lear vs. Tuesdays with Morrie1495 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿Existentialism was in part a reaction to modernism, but its roots can be traced to ancient philosophical traditions ranging from Zoroastrianism and Judaism, Buddhism and Platonism (Flynn). The essence of existentialism is authenticity of experience, asking the philosopher to undergo deep introspection. However, existentialism is perhaps most famous for its probing questions about what Friedrich Nietzsche called the tension of the soul, (2). Known colloquially as existential angst, the tensionRead MoreTHich Nhat Hanh: The Creator of Engaged Buddhism Essay618 Words   |  3 PagesMahayana. He was named editor-in-chief of Vietnamese Buddhism in 1956. In the following years, he founded the school of Youth for Social Service, a neutral Corps of Buddhist Peace workers who went into rural areas to establish a school to built a healthcare clinics and help re-build villages. Vietnam War In 1960, Nhat hanh came to the U.S. to study comparative religion at Princeton University and a following year was appointed lecturer in Buddhism at Columbia University. Then in 1963, he returned