International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling 22: 257–271, 2000.

257
© 2000 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands.

Buddhist psychology, a theory of change processes: Implications

for counsellors

ROSHNI DAYA
Department of Educational Psychology, Counselling Psychology Program, The University of
Calgary, 2500 University Dr. N.W., Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4 Canada

Abstract. As globalization increases the world becomes smaller and there is a need for coun-
sellors and psychologists to be prepared for professional practices with clients from diverse
cultural backgrounds. Despite globalization, the distinction between eastern and western
psychologies is in tact. To meet the goal of broadening ones frame of reference as a psycho-
therapist it is necessary to review theories of psychology from multiple cultural traditions.
This paper will present Buddhist psychology, emphasising the Buddhist views of human
suffering, self, health, and dis-ease. The essentials of Buddhist psychology will be presented
in a format that facilitates their application to psychotherapy. Finally, a case vignette illustrates
the author’s application of the Buddhist principles.

Introduction

Increased cultural diversity all over the world reflects the need for counsel-
lors and psychologists to be prepared for professional practice with clients
from different cultural backgrounds (Arthur, 1998). Additionally, research
indicates cultural variations in theories of mind and psychology (Lillard,
1998). Cultural diversity and variation in theories of psychology suggest that
a competent therapist be flexible and well-versed in different theories of mind,
mental states, and psychology such that he/she can work with any client. Most
practices of psychotherapy across the world have been heavily influenced
by Euro-north American approaches to understanding human functioning.
To meet the goal of broadening ones frame of reference it is necessary to
review eastern perspectives in psychology. This paper will present the theory
of Buddhist Psychology. The basic tenets will be discussed, followed by
the Buddhist views of self, health, and dis-ease. The second part of the
paper will highlight the application of Buddhist principles to the practice of
psychotherapy with particular emphasis on the change processes present in
the theory.
258 ROSHNI DAYA

Buddhist psychology

Buddhism was established as a unique and separate religious system when

Siddhartha, the prince of the Sakya clan in India sat under the Bo tree
to resolve his human situation of suffering. Buddhism, like other theories
of psychology, is the codification of one person’s insights about human
psychology developed in the course of that person’s self-investigations
(Rubin, 1996). In essence, Buddhist psychology is the study of human poten-
tials as they now exist and how to develop them into the future (Guenther
& Kawamura, 1975). Though Buddhism started out as one theory, it has not
remained a single doctrine. Since its inception different theories and practices
have developed from it (Ho, 1995). The Theravadin Buddhist tradition is the
earliest and has been described as the most psychologically oriented school
(Rubin, 1996), and will be the basis of this paper.

The four Noble Truths

Unlike Euro-north American theories, the central principles of Buddhist

psychology lie in the four Noble truths. The symptom, diagnosis, prognosis,
and treatment plan for human suffering are addressed in these Noble Truths
(Ramaswami & Sheikh, 1989).

The first Noble Truth. The first principle is that life consists of ‘dukkha’.
The literal translation of this term is that the “wheel of life” does not run
well (Miyuki, 1994). The term dukkha is often translated as ‘suffering’. This
translation is misleading as it suggests that the experience is a subjective one
as opposed to a general condition of life that exists for each person (Miyuki,
1994). The term ‘dis-ease’ would be more reflective of the true meaning as it
better reflects a basic condition (L. S. Kawamura, personal communication,
March 31, 1998). Thus, Buddha asserted that the basic human condition is
‘dis-ease’. Dis-ease refers to the dissatisfactions present in human existence.
Life is filled with a sense of dis-ease stemming from at least two sources
(Claxton, 1986). First is the pain that inevitably occurs with life. Inevitabil-
ities of life are old age, sickness, and death (Epstein, 1995). The pain that
accompanies aging, sickness, and death are necessarily encountered through
the inescapability of the events.
Second, the individual’s own likes and dislikes cause dis-ease. Not to
obtain what one desires causes dissatisfaction, being stuck with what one
does not desire causes dissatisfaction, and being separate from that which is
cherished causes dissatisfaction (Epstein, 1995).
 BUDDHIST PSYCHOLOGY, A THEORY OF CHANGE PROCESSES 259

The second Noble Truth. The cause of suffering and dissatisfaction is

addressed by the second principle. The second principle is the Doctrine of
Dependent Origination. An understanding of the second truth requires a
discussion of the nature of concepts and perception. Generally, an individual
divides an experience into small pieces and interprets those pieces as
evidence supporting or denying the presence of a concept. Collins and
Qullian’s (1969), diagram of the concept ‘canary’ illustrates this point.

A canary cannot be seen as possessing attributes without at the same time

being given the status of an entity. The evidence becomes circular in that an
implicit decision has been made that the concept has its’ own existence before
a true discussion of it occurs.
The doctrine of dependent origination posits that concepts are simply
ideas or labels. They are nothing other than a recurrent conglomeration of
experiences, reactions, feelings, thoughts, descriptions, and impulses woven
together. Claxton (1987), states:
Any concept is irreducibly composed of, and dependent upon other
concepts, and if we forget the seamlessness that underlies our notations
and allow that amnesia to percolate our perception, then we are apt to
confer on these notations and conventions an ontological status that they
do not deserve. (p. 28)

Simply put, each phenomenon does not exist alone and depends upon
another to exist (Bowman & Baylen, 1994). The second Noble Truth becomes
most meaningful when it is applied to the individual. Buddhism states that
the doctrine of dependent origination applies to the concept of self. Thus,
qualities and characteristics of self cannot be simultaneously used as evidence
for the existence of self.
The core of the second principle is that suffering is caused by the indi-
vidual’s belief in a persistent, unchanging self. Just as other concepts or
constructs in the world do not hold a permanent identity, the individual too
is impermanent. Dis-ease arises when the individual clings to ideas, things,
people, and considers a single constant self as permanent (Rubin, 1996). As
mentioned, the fallacy of giving attributes to concepts reifies their existence.
At a personal level, giving attributes to the self reifies the existence of a
260 ROSHNI DAYA

stable unchanging self. Misconceiving ones identity as stable and consistent

causes dis-ease. As stated by Claxton (1987), an individual, having identified
him/herself as separate and bounded, persisting in essence through space and
time, partially autonomous, has adopted a stance toward life which makes
unintended, unanticipated change grave. Whatever a person has written into
his/her definition of self, he/she is thereby required to search for, cling to, or
defend.
In sum, the world as presented in a human situation is an interdependently
originating process to which one can bring meaning, but in which meaning is
not inherent. The conceptualization process by which the individual concret-
izes reality is the foundation on which pervasive unsatisfactoriness and
dis-ease arise (Kawamura, 1990).

The third Noble Truth. The third Noble Truth is that release from the second
type of dis-ease and serenity in the face of the first type is a real possib-
ility (Claxton, 1986). It is seeing things as they really are or seeing ‘reality
as-it-is’ that releases one from dis-ease (Kawamura, 1990). Seeing ‘reality-as-
it-is’ requires that the person sees the divisions or boundaries placed around
people, things, and ideas as being just that – placed there versus belonging to
those people, things, and ideas. What is important about the process of decon-
structing boundaries, is that in truly doing so, the individual neither judges,
evaluates, nor concretizes the perceptual process or the object of perception
as holding a particular existence (Kawamura, 1990).

The fourth Noble Truth. The fourth Noble Truth is the path through which one
can alleviate pervasive unsatisfactoriness or dis-ease. This essentially occurs
by giving up one’s clinging to ideas and concepts as realities of experience.
According to Buddha, it requires the alignment of eight specific factors:
understanding, thought, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and
concentration (Epstein, 1995). These factors comprise the eight-fold path
to enlightenment. Each of these factors of being can be developed so that
the individual is following the ‘right’ path (i.e. the path to enlightenment).
Much like the idea of self-actualization discussed by some western schools
of psychology, the process of enlightenment is the developing of one’s poten-
tials. Easwaran (1985), has translated and interpreted the eight-fold path as
follows: right understanding is seeing life as it is, this is the knowledge that
all things that come into being have to pass away. Right purpose means the
ability to think about life in a way that is consistent with the way life is,
essentially, it is realizing that life is about learning to live. Right speech, right
action, and right occupation mean living in harmony with the unity of life,
speaking kindly, and earning livelihood in a way that is not harmful or at
 BUDDHIST PSYCHOLOGY, A THEORY OF CHANGE PROCESSES 261

the expense of others. The last three components deal with developing the
mind, right effort is the constant endeavour to train oneself in thought, word
and action (normally through meditative practices). Right attention means
keeping the mind focused on the present so as to be mindful; right meditation
is the means of training the mind.
At the root of these eight is mindfulness. Mindfulness is awareness
without judgment, attachment, or aversion to what is happening in the present
moment (Rubin, 1996). The development of mindfulness is to happen in
four areas: (i) bodily phenomena such as physical sensations; (ii) feelings
which are not emotions, but rather reactions to things which we classify
as ‘pleasant’, ‘unpleasant’, or ‘neutral’; (iii) mental phenomena; and (iv) to
observe whether the mental state is wholesome or unwholesome (Khema,
1987; Rubin, 1993). A discussion of wholesomeness of thought can be found
in the ‘health and dis-ease’ section of this paper. The development of mind-
fulness requires the individual to be fully experiencing the present and to
begin to be free of illusions. It is clear and single-minded awareness of
what actually happens to and in the individual at successive moments of
perception. It requires the individual to attend without selection or judgment
to the experience of whatever mental or physical phenomena, for example,
thoughts, feelings, sensations, or fantasies are predominant in his/her field of
awareness (Rubin, 1996).

Self

Buddhist theory states that a separate, permanent, and distinct self does not
exist. This distinction is an illusion which gives rise to dissatisfaction (Parry
& Jones, 1986). Interestingly, the illusion is one that each person experiences.
The thesis of this section of this paper is to explain how the illusion of self is
constituted and how it functions.
The development of a psychophysical self is explained by the skhandas
which are the physical and mental factors that compose the psychophysical
personality. There are five skhandas as follows:
a) form – this includes the material body with its sense organs;
b) feelings and sensations;
c) perceptions
d) mental formations (or volitional attitudes) including habits and disposi-
tions
e) consciousness (consciousness of the six senses-the five traditional ones
plus mental events)
It is important to note that though these five components comprise the self
they do not constitute the self, their interaction is what creates the illusion of
self (Loy, 1992), through the arising mental states. Mental states in Buddhist
262 ROSHNI DAYA

psychology are only thoughts, emotions, memories, sensations, and percep-

tions (Ramaswami & Sheikh, 1989). There is no self or ‘I’ behind them and
without them there is no sense of self or sense of ‘I’. When the five skandas
interact a mental state arises. It is the rising of this mental state that gives
rise to the feeling of a sense of self. The relationship between mental states
and the sense of self is where the illusion begins. The self regards mental
states as objects that belong to it. This results in a division of mental contents
into a subjective self and objective mental states. Consequently, the sense of a
permanent and stable sense of self develops with only the mental states being
considered transient. This is the illusion, because the self is only a series
of mental states (Ramaswami & Sheikh, 1989). Once the illusion of self is
created, the individual begins to identify with this illusion. The self is illusive
because, like everything else, it is a temporary, ever changing manifestation
arising out of the interaction of the five skhandas, yet it feels separate from the
rest of the world. The basic difficulty is that insofar as the self feels separate,
or autonomous, it also feels uncomfortable, because of the insecurity of an
illusory separateness (Epstein, 1989). Ironically, the sense of self becomes
pre-occupied with trying to make itself self-existing. Often the result is the
creation of a boundary between ‘me’ and ‘not-me’ (Claxton, 1986). Such a
boundary makes the individual vulnerable. Whatever the individual identifies
with as self, becomes a point of vulnerability for the self. For example, if
the individual identifies with wealth, poverty is a threat. Buddhism states
that the act of seeing oneself as separate (i.e. as this and not that), is what
creates dis-ease (Claxton, 1986). When the individual sees the world as-it-is,
and in doing so realizes that adaptations of self and strivings for security are
worthless, he/she is moving away from dis-ease (Walley, 1986).

Health and dis-ease

Buddhist psychology states that physical illness is often the consequence of

or associated with unhealthy mental states (Ramaswami & Sheikh, 1989). As
mentioned, mental states refer to thoughts, emotions, memories, sensations,
and perception. Integral to a healthy mental state is the wholesomeness of
ones thoughts. The wholesomeness of ones thoughts is measured by the pres-
ence or absence of the five hindrances (Kawamura, 1990). The five hindrances
refer to five emotional states that make thoughts unwholesome. The five
hindrances prevent the individual from experiencing reality as-it-is. They are:
i) Overexuberance and remorse because when overly excited or
remorseful the individual becomes further attached or identified with
the object;
ii) Vindictiveness as this deepens the illusion of self because this often
stems from a perceived transgression against the self;
 BUDDHIST PSYCHOLOGY, A THEORY OF CHANGE PROCESSES 263

iii) Gloominess and drowsiness because this dulls the perceptual organs;
iv) Attachment because this is based purely on illusion;
v) Indecision because the mind is inescapable of seeing reality as-it-is
(Kawamura, 1990).
Goldstein (1976, p.53) provided a simile to describe the impact of these
hindrances:
Imagine a pond of clear water. Sense desire [attachments] is like the
water becoming colored with pretty dyes. We become entranced with the
beauty and intricacy of the color and so do not penetrate to the depths.
Anger, ill will, aversion, [vindictiveness], is like boiling water. Water that
is boiling is very turbulent. You can’t see the bottom . . . Sloth and torpor
[gloominess and drowsiness] is the pond of water covered with algae,
very dense. One cannot possibly penetrate to the bottom because you
can’t see through the algae . . . Restlessness and worry [overexuberance
and remorse] are like a pond when wind-swept. The surface is agitated
by strong winds . . . Doubt [indecision] is like the water when muddied;
wisdom is obscured by murkiness and cloudiness.

By cultivating mindfulness, the five hinderances can be counteracted and

the three defining characteristics of reality, namely, that all is dis-ease, all is
transitory, and all is nonsubstantive can be experienced (Kawamura, 1990).
The practice of mindfulness, or refined nonjudgmental and nonselective
awareness of whatever is coming leads to highly refined perceptual acuity and
attentiveness, increased control of apparently voluntary processes, deepened
insight into the nature of mental and physical processes, selfhood and reality,
and the development of compassion (Rubin, 1996). Mindfulness strips away
illusion, and the individual who presently fears nothingness or emptiness
because of his/her illusioned identity, is instead left with pure potentials. Pure
potentials are no longer constricted by the boundaries created by illusion (L.
S. Kawamura, personal communication, March 31, 1998). When the indi-
vidual stops trying to be that which he/she has identified with, he/she can
become no-thing and discovers that he/she is every-thing, or more precisely,
that he/she can be anything (Loy, 1992).

Application to psychotherapy

The goal of theories of psychology is to explain how the human mind

functions. Theories are most helpful to clinicians when abstract ways of
understanding people are brought to a concrete level. Thus it is important
for each theory of psychotherapy to discuss applications to the practice of
264 ROSHNI DAYA

psychotherapy. This section will discuss the utility of Buddhist principles to

psychotherapists.

First and second order change

The most recent trends in psychotherapy are focused on an inquiry into the
nature of change (Lyddon, 1990). As part of this inquiry a distinction has
been made between first order change and second order change (Watzlawick,
Weakland, & Fisch, 1974). First order change refers to a change that can
occur within a system which itself stays invariant (Bowman & Baylen, 1994).
That is, the structure of the system remains intact despite a change that occurs
within it.
Second order change offers a framework for considering the relationship
between member and system. In second order change there is a breaking free
from the system to another level (Bowman & Baylen, 1994). It is a type of
change that when it occurs the fundamental structure of the system is altered.
In the case of Buddhist psychology, the application of Buddhist principles
requires a systematic examination of the hindrances to developing the whole-
some states of mind, discussed earlier in the paper, such that the individual
begins to see the illusions of self that are socially and personally created. The
method for alleviating suffering does not lie in helping clients better adapt to
their environment or become more adept at getting what they want as would
be the case with a system that implements first order change. In the case
of second order change described here, the individual gradually begins to see
beyond the illusions. Seeing beyond illusions alters the fundamental structure
of the self-system as opposed to finding another way to function within the
system. Buddhist philosophy emphasizing seeing through the illusions of self,
and thereby changing the fundamental structure of the self-system, is a second
order change system.

Meditation

Meditation is the careful and detailed non-judgmental observation of prox-

imate dimensions of consciousness (Rubin, 1993). The purpose of meditation
is acquisition of self-knowledge, which can only be accomplished by direct
self-study of the mind (Suzuki, 1960). Meditation yields self-knowledge by
focusing ones attention on the immediacy of experience. The meditator is
instructed to notice whatever he/she is experiencing at each moment.
Through the process of noticing, the meditator begins to develop the
awareness that the mind is not still, but is, rather in a constant state of activity.
Until the individual stops to observe the mind, he/she remains unaware of its
incessant activity.
 BUDDHIST PSYCHOLOGY, A THEORY OF CHANGE PROCESSES 265

Amazingly enough we can live a whole lifetime without recognizing

the fact that these perceptual processes continuously control, create, and
distort our reality as well as our ideas of who we are. As attention is turned
inward, the restlessness, agitated nature of the untrained mind rapidly
becomes apparent (Walsh & Vaughan, 1980, p. 36).

Effects of meditation. A major obstacle to achieving being in the present is

that people often assess a current situation on the basis of events that have
occurred in the past (Epstein, 1998). Using the past as a frame of refer-
ence makes it difficult for the individual to have a new and unanticipated
experience. Through meditation, the individual is able to understand reac-
tions as belonging to incidents of the past. Consequently, he/she enters the
present; engages in moment-to-moment observation of thoughts. Entering
the present by noticing ones thoughts is a process of de-automatization –
the undoing of automated, habitual thought and action (Deikman, 1982).
In cultivating perceptual acuity and attentiveness, meditation fosters aware-
ness of and de-automatization from, previously habitual reactions (Rubin,
1993).
In a similar vein, the practice of meditation diminishes the individual’s
reactivity. The individual often automatically identifies with his/her reactions.
Through meditation the individual develops a detached relationship to the
reactions. Thus, the person is able to make space for the existence of the
reaction, but does not completely identify with it because of the concomitant
presence of non-judgmental awareness (Epstein, 1995).
A detached relationship is not to be confused with a withdrawal or disen-
gagement from life. The meditator is detached from agitation; he /she is not
detached from the activities of the world. Without the distraction of the rest-
less mind, the individual is better able to participate in the world (Suzuki,
1960).
The most profound effect of meditation is that the individual begins to
fully experience. The restless mind is constantly reminding the individual
of its separateness (illusory), and thereby preventing him/her from fully
connecting with the world around him/her (Epstein, 1998). Buddha stated
that everything is always changing or transient. When a person feels love
toward an object he/she hopes or expects to have that object forever. Incor-
rectly believing in the permanence of objects and ones relationship with them
postpones the inevitable grief associated with the transience of oneself, the
transient feeling one holds toward the object, and the temporary existence of
the object itself. The solution is not to deny attachment, but for the person
to become more open to the temporary nature of experiences by removing
the demands of permanence that are often placed on experiences. Meditation
helps the person to have a relationship to transience that is not adversarial,
266 ROSHNI DAYA

in which the ability to embrace the moment takes precedence over fear of its
passing.

Meditation in psychotherapy

Meditation plays a central role in the alleviation of suffering. Though

Buddha developed a complex system of meditation, the psychotherapist is
left wondering how it may be helpful to the practice of psychotherapy.
Buddhist psychology is predominantly concerned with perception because its
observation of the human condition is that much of the experience of the indi-
vidual, while seeming very real, is actually quite inaccurate (Claxton, 1987).
The Buddhist position asserts that perception is changeable. The practice of
meditation effects the change. Epstein (1995) has outlined how meditation
facilitates remembering, repeating, and working through in psychotherapy.

Remembering. Very often in therapy, the client is asked to link the present
problematic experience or feeling to a similar feeling or experience in the
past. The purpose of asking the client to do this is (a) to put the client in
touch with what needs to be completed from the past; or (b) to understand
the root of the problem. Finding resolution in the past experience will help
resolve current troubles.
Buddhism too emphasizes remembering – a remembering of the present.
From this perspective, the individual often loses him/herself in thoughts of
the past or the future and thus cannot be in the immediate experience. The
meditative technique employed to this end is that of mindfulness, which is
a continual returning of awareness to the here-and-now. Mindfulness of the
present may be emphasized in the context of therapy. It may not be necessary
to require that the client practice meditation to make use of the practice of
mindfulness of the present.

Repeating. Many therapists view the therapeutic encounter as a micro-

cosm of the client’s world (Yalom, 1985). That is, the client is likely to
repeat his/her unhealthy, problematic interpersonal patterns with the ther-
apist. Buddhist philosophy emphasizes fully experiencing the here-and-now.
Though Buddhism posits that the best way to develop the ability to be in
the present is through meditative practices, the therapeutic enterprise may be
aided by abstracting the here-and-now principle. In order to bring the client
into the present, the therapist can help the client pay attention to and fully
experience what he/she is repeating in the therapeutic encounter.

Working through. Working through can have different meanings to therapists.

It may mean eliminating or learning to cope with that which is problematic,
 BUDDHIST PSYCHOLOGY, A THEORY OF CHANGE PROCESSES 267

or coming to terms with its inescapability. From the Buddhist perspective,

a person is nothing but his/her experiences: to deny the subjective reality
of these experiences is to further empower them as something fixed, having
power over the person. When attention in meditation or therapy is placed
on a difficult emotion, especially the bodily experience of that emotion, it
gradually ceases to be experienced as a static entity and becomes instead a
process in movement. The therapist may use that practice of attending to the
experience of a difficult emotion, as a means of working through it.
Though each of the three applications discussed above occur within the
context of meditative practice, the therapist should be able to apply them in
the therapeutic encounter. This will be illustrated in the next section.

Process focus

Buddhist psychology is essentially a philosophy emphasizing impermanence,

transience, or process. The Buddhist discussion of process may be its most
useful contribution to therapeutic systems. As stated earlier, the most recent
trends in psychotherapy focus on the investigation into the nature of change
(Lyddon, 1990). Buddhist psychology, a 2500-year-old system, focuses on
change. Through an extensive review of the literature the author has identified
seven core process principles of Buddhist psychology that may be applied in
psychotherapy:
1. Flexibility of self – The therapist facilitates the experience of a self
that is flexible This moves the client away from believing/feeling that
his/her sense of self is attached to specific aspects or personality traits.
The therapist emphasizes that the client is in process and has unlimited
potentials.
2. Being in the present – The therapist focuses on the present experience
and being fully in the moment. The therapist is bringing the client into
the present by focusing solely on the present moment.
3. Experiencing without evaluation – The therapist moves the client away
from intellectualizing and understanding and brings the client into
experiencing. Experiencing encompasses emotions, thoughts, senses,
physiology, etc. These interventions facilitate the client’s experience
without evaluation.
4. Compassion – The therapist either treats the client with compassion
or facilitates the development of feelings of compassion in the client.
Compassion in this sense is not feeling sorry for someone. It is basic
warmth. These interventions help the client feel of warmth, acceptance,
humility, and humour towards oneself.
5. Openness – The therapist encourages the client to open him/herself up.
This implicitly or explicitly encourages the client to let go of expectations
268 ROSHNI DAYA

that things be a certain way, fears, etc. The client places limits or bound-
aries around his/her own experience. These interventions are a ‘letting
go’ of those boundaries.
6. Interdependency – The therapist emphasizes that the client is in rela-
tion to his/her surrounding. This is a systemic idea of everything being
connected. The therapist encourages the client to look at connections to
the whole. This is a cognitive understanding of interconnections.
7. Sitting with suffering – The therapist demonstrates a level of comfort
with the clients’ suffering by being able to be present with it. This facil-
itates the client’s own experience of comfort with suffering. Suffering in
this context can be fear, anger, anxiety, sadness, etc. This contrasts other
interventions in which the therapist provides strategies for the client to
ward off suffering (e.g. thought stopping).
Below is a vignette illustrating how the author implemented the principles
in one particular case.

Laura is a 39 year old woman who has worked in a large corpor-

ation for a number of years. Approximately one year ago Laura’s
company underwent a merger. Consequently the culture of the corpora-
tion changed and Laura found herself with a new team leader. Laura and
her team leader consistently had personality conflicts which was very
stressful for Laura. After one large conflict, approximately six months
after the changes in the company began, Laura was unable to cope at
work and was given a stress leave.
Laura commenced therapy after three months of stress leave. Having
tried to work through her work related problems by reading books and
talking with family and friends nothing had improved. At the beginning
of therapy Laura was anxious, became teary easily, had trouble sleeping
and eating and had many other symptoms of depression.
Initially Laura was primarily focused on her team leaders’ beha-
viour towards her and held an attitude of ‘How dare he do that to me’.
The Buddhist principles of flexibility of self and openness were imple-
mented. The therapist highlighted the client’s rigidly held belief that she
was “special” and though the team leader treated others in the same
way she should be treated differently. It was uncovered that Laura often
encountered situations with the preconceived expectation that she be
treated as if “special”. Therapist and client examined the impact of this
expectation on the situation. The therapist then facilitated the shedding
of this expectation such that the client became more able to ‘open up’
to the uniqueness of each situation and have a more flexible sense of
self. The client was encouraged to do this experientially both inside and
 BUDDHIST PSYCHOLOGY, A THEORY OF CHANGE PROCESSES 269

outside of therapy sessions so that her understanding of openness and

flexibility of self would be more than a cognitive understanding.
Laura continued to blame her team leader for her depression and
current difficulties. She would then blame herself for not getting over
her difficulties more quickly. In introducing the Buddhist principle of
compassion, Laura was encouraged to forgive the team leader for his
rude and demeaning behaviour. On her own initiative Laura began to
consider the struggles of the team leader. This process resulted in Laura
connecting her own sufferings with those of the team leader. Suddenly
she was not alone in her suffering. Further, she was in touch with the
suffering of the person she blamed for her own pain. Though this did
not excuse the team leader’s behaviour, the introduction of compassion
enabled Laura to let go of the blame. This was a powerful process
for Laura. The changes outlined above occurred in six sessions of
therapy.

Various Buddhist principles were implemented in treating Laura for

depression. As with all therapeutic interventions, it is important for the coun-
sellor to believe that the idea, suggestion, or intervention being introduced
will be helpful to the client. As the counsellor’s level of comfort with the
Buddhist principles increases the effectiveness of his/her interventions will
also increase.
Different types of counselling may use the Buddhist principles to greater
or lesser degrees. For example, in the context of family and marital coun-
selling ‘interdependency’ may be particularly important. Often families and
couples are interested in blaming one another for their current problems. By
stressing that everything is interdependent, the therapist can assist family
members in examining how the problem is linked to each person and his/her
subsequent role in the changes. ‘Compassion’ may follow as family members
are encouraged to have compassion for the difficulties of one another in
the situation. As each family member begins to experience compassion for
others, he/she may discover a new part of him/herself and the therapist may
then introduce interventions to ‘open’ the family member up to a broader and
more ‘flexible sense of self’.
In the case of grief counselling, it may be more helpful to begin with
interventions that facilitate the client’s ability to ‘sit with his/her pain’ without
evaluating it or trying to push it away. Next the counsellor may want to
facilitate the development of ‘compassion’ for the client. The client may
be struggling with questions of identity as a result of the recent loss. The
therapist could introduce interventions that highlight that the client have a
‘flexible’ nature. Coupling this with ideas of ‘openness’ that identify the
limits and boundaries the client places on him/herself may also be useful.
270 ROSHNI DAYA

The Buddhist principles are flexible and far-reaching. Their utility in the
therapeutic setting is more circular than linear. Since they are not hierarchical,
any principle may be introduced at any time and revisited many times over
the course of counselling.

Summary

Buddhism is a deep psychological tradition that has roots in India. The found-
ation of this theory can be found in the four noble truths that capture the
suffering of the human condition. The four noble truths are concerned with
how the individual causes his/her own suffering through creation and iden-
tification with illusion, and the way to begin dissolving these illusions. The
basic tenets of Buddhist psychology have been outlined with a discussion
of the Buddhist view of self, health, and dis-ease. Attempts have been made
to concretize the philosophy so that it may have application in psychothera-
peutic systems. As psychotherapy becomes more attentive to determining
what the processes of change are and how they may occur in psychotherapy,
it may be helpful to look more closely at the suggestions made by Buddhist
philosophy.
Buddhist philosophy emphasizes certain features that may not be viewed
as essential ingredients of the process of change in traditional therapeutic
systems. By using ones own culturally biased template to understand and
employ practices important to Buddhism, one commits the error of being
ethnocentric. The challenge for therapists is to strive for ways to be open
to hearing perspectives stemming from a foreign paradigm. When this is
accomplished, a true dialogue between perspectives will have begun.

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