History of Buddhism and Western Psychology

A Brief Introduction

Western psychology, like Buddhism, has its historical roots in ancient philosophies. The major distinction between these two traditions, however, is that Western psychology is an explicitly scientific tradition, while Buddhism on the other hand is, has, and always will be a philosophical and religious tradition. Nevertheless, the two traditions are undeniably similar and full of astonishing parallels. In fact, to some degree it appears that Buddhism has managed to anticipate developments in Western psychology by thousands of years! Therefore, it is perhaps not surprising that Buddhism, and its abundance of psychological content (de Silva, 1990), have in recent history influenced the development of Western psychology with respect to clinical practices and cognitive neuroscience. To illustrate this, I will not only outline the historical development of Buddhism in comparison with Western psychology but also how the two fields have converged in recent history.

Historical Development of Buddhism

In attempting to understand how Buddhism has managed to be so influential upon the recent history of Western psychology, it is perhaps advantageous to briefly explore the historical development of Buddhism. As a tradition, Buddhism began with the teachings of the historical Buddha, who lived in Northern India around 563 B.C.(de Silva, 1990). Since their inception, the teachings of Buddha have spread far from their geographic origins, and have meshed with and become a part of many cultures across Asia (Wallace & Shapiro, 2006). Because of the dispersal of the tradition, many schools of Buddhism have been brought into being. Among the many schools of Buddhism, the Theravada tradition of Southeast Asia and the Mahayana tradition from India and Tibet have developed theories and practices that are particularly relevant to mental health and well-being (Aronson, 2004 as cited in Wallace & Shapiro, 2006). Yet despite any differences between schools, all schools of Buddhist thought, like Western psychology, have an underlying ambition to alleviate suffering (Bodhi, 2005 as cited in Wallace & Shapiro, 2006). Thus is the starting point for the relationship between Buddhism and Western psychology.

Comparison in Approaches to Clinical Psychology

According to McWilliams (2010), the historical roots of Buddhist approaches to counseling are over 2,500 years old. Like clinical psychology in the West, Buddhist approaches to psychotherapy were born out of concern with human suffering and the desire to lessen it (McWilliams, 2010). It is for this reason, perhaps, that the two traditions have so much in common. For instance, according to Davis (2011), Jungian psychology and Tibetan Tantra both contain elements that focus on treating suffering and inspiring spiritual awakening.

But despite the underlying similarities, there have been some significant differences in the historical developments of counseling with respect to each tradition. Buddhism, unlike Western psychology, has historically not separated Buddhism as a religion from psychotherapy as medicine. For instance, the predominantly Buddhist society of Thailand has historically designated Buddhist clergy to perform psychological counseling functions (Carlson, Englar-Carlson & Emavardhana, 2011) as opposed to relying on secular sources of support. This tradition, however, has changed in recent history. Since the 1960’s, Thai universities have been developing psychology programs (Tuicomepee, Romano & Pokaeo, 2012). And although the curricula and training of Thai counselors still reflect Buddhist philosophies and teachings, it has become evident that they are also incorporating Western theories to counseling (Tuicomepee, Romano & Pokaeo, 2012). Nevertheless, Buddhist philosophies such as the Noble Eightfold Path are still incorporated into Thai counseling (Tuicomepee, Romano & Pokaeo, 2012).

Another important difference to note is the particular style of approach to clinical psychology that each tradition has had. According to Wallace & Shapiro, the Buddhist tradition has “concerned itself over the past 2,500 years with cultivating exceptional states of mental well-being as well as identifying and treating problems of the mind” (Smith, 1991 as cited in Wallace & Shapiro, 2006, p.690). Western clinical psychology, on the other hand, has “focused primarily on the diagnosis and treatment of mental disease” since World War II and has only recently turned its attention to “understanding and cultivating positive mental health” (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000 as cited in Wallace & Shapiro, 2006, p.690). This difference is extremely significant, as it holds the key to the recent influence of Buddhism upon Western clinical psychology. For it is Buddhism’s focus on mental well-being, and the means to achieving such states, that makes the tradition so significant and so useful to the development of modern Western psychology.

Buddhist Contributions to Western Clinical Psychology

One Buddhist practice in particular that has had tremendous implications for the recent history of Western clinical psychology is mindfulness, which according to Robins (2002) is essentially the nonjudgmental, unbiased awareness of life in the present moment. Transpersonal psychologists were the first to begin exploring the role of mindfulness in psychotherapy (Segall, 2005). Since that time, mindfulness in the context of clinical psychology has been associated with a number of psychological benefits. For instance, according to Robins (2002), mindfulness not only benefits the therapists’ life, but also helps in guiding the therapist throughout the difficult course of treatment. In addition, Robins suggests that mindfulness can assist in the emotional regulation of the therapist during therapy.

Due to growing popularity of the mindfulness in the West, the practice has been increasingly used as an intervention in clinical settings. One individual at the forefront of this movement is Jon Kabat-Zinn (Salmon et al., 2004), who started a program known as Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) at the University of Massachusetts in 1979. Since the programs’ inception, mindfulness based stress reduction techniques have not only been employed in clinical settings, but also studied for their potential benefits. One study, for instance, found evidence to suggest that a mindfulness based stress reduction intervention could “provide a clinically effective treatment for medical patients who also have anxiety disorders” (Miller, Fletcher & Kabat-Zinn, 1995, p.196).

Buddhist Contributions to Western Neuropsychology

In more recent years another role that Buddhism has taken in Western psychology is in the field of neuroscience. Neuroscientists, such as Richard Davidson at the University of Wisconsin, have taken a keen interest in neurological implications of Buddhist meditation practices. One ground-breaking study, for instance, found “significant changes in anterior activation asymmetry as a function of meditation training” (Davidson et al., 2003, p. 569). Furthermore, to study the neurological implications of meditation, neuroscientists have also recruited the help of the Dalai Lama, who in recent years has encouraged Tibetan Buddhist monks with extensive meditation experience to participate in research on the brain and meditation in the Waisman Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin. Consequentially, studies on the neurological effects of mindfulness meditation have begun to surface.

Conclusion

The history of the psychological study of Buddhism is a short one. But it seems that it has come about in explosive fashion. Within only the last few decades, Western psychology has begun to make an impact on well-established Buddhist societies in the East, and likewise ancient Buddhist practices such as meditation and mindfulness have sparked intense interest and speculation among Western psychologists. The relationship between Buddhism and Western psychology is still young, but if the last few decades have taught us anything it is that they complement each other extremely well and will most likely continue to impact each other in the future.

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