Classical Buddhist Model of a Healthy Mind

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter will be to outline the classical Buddhist program for transforming the human mentality from one that is rigid, closed and prone to injuring itself and others to one that is flexible, open and competent to heal itself and others. Traditionally the Buddhist path has been divided into three phases: ethics, contemplation and wisdom. Ethical guidelines, which have to do with the individual’s interactions with other human and non-human beings, help the practitioner avoid actions that naturally lead to guilt, shame, remorse and other unpleasant mental states. A mentality that is relatively free of such negativity is said to be more capable of enduring the demands of contemplation. This is a process of quiet reflection leading to a heightened awareness of one’s own physical and psychological conditions. This quiet reflection then culminates in the cultivation of wisdom. Wisdom itself also has three phases: study, reflection and cultivation. Study involves learning what various sages have had to say about the successful conduct of life. Reflection involves making an honest inquiry into fundamental questions of value by comparing one’s own life to the standards set by sages and becoming aware of what specifically one has to do to make one’s life more harmonious and contented. Cultivation consists in making the determination to change one’s thinking by acquiring those attitudes that lead consistently to fulfillment. This leads in turn changing one’s habits of acting and speaking. When the path is pursued to the end, it comes full circle to where it began: living ethically in the world. The difference between ethics at the beginning and at the end of this process is that the initial stages tend to be consciously governed by following prescribed rules and guidelines, whereas ethics at the end pours spontaneously out of an habitual and deeply ingrained feelings of love, joy and compassion. This process reflects the commonly expressed Buddhist conviction that one cannot benefit oneself without benefiting others, and one cannot benefit others without benefiting oneself. This classical Buddhist program will be described in some detail with references to contemporary psychological theory and practice. ∗Published in Psychology and Buddhism: From Individual to Global Community. Edited by Kathleen H. Dockett, G. Rita Dudley-Grant and C. Peter Bankart. New York: Kluwer, 2003.

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