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Buddhist Psychotherapy H S S Nissanka Compress
Buddhist Psychotherapy H S S Nissanka Compress
Revised Edition
H. S. S. Nissanka
MA. (Pitts.), Ph. D. (Jadv)
Foreword
Prof. L. P. N. Perera
Former Vice Chancellor University of Jayewardenepura
Dr. H. S. S. Nissanka
19, Kundasale, Sri Lanka.
Tele (0094) 08-420789
Foreword
Mtadern civilization has imposed many strains on
man, and those in the psychological realm are, perhaps,
among the most serious. The innumerable demands of
modern life give rise to many tensions in both the mind
and the nervous system. Psychopathological and
neuropathological problems are now receiving increasing
attention at the hands of students of these subjects. And, as
declared by the Buddha over 2500 years ago, and as
emphasized by that great American psychologist, William
James, the realities of the mind are as important as, or per -
haps more important than, the realities of the body. Hence
the significance of mental health and mental culture as
advocated in Buddhism.
1. Preface
2. Foreword
3. An Introduction to Buddhist
Psychotherapy.
4. Western Psychotherapy
5. Western Psychoanalysis
17. Bibliography
18. Index
INTRODUCTION TO BUDDHIST PSYCHOTHERAPY
(3) It took nearly two centuries for the five above men -
tioned methods to develop to their present level. All
these methods are tought in the faculties of medicin e
in the universities of East and West. A new subject
has emerged - Psychiatry-which is a compulsory sub-
ject for the basic medical degrees. Now these meth -
ods can be studied under post graduate programmes
also.
Therapeutical Developments
Depressive Personality
Obsessional Personality
Schizoid Personality
i Disorder of mood.
ii Disorder of thought.
iii Delusions.
iv Hallucinations.
V Disorder of volition.
vi Disorder of expression.
vii Withdrawal into a disordered inner
viii world
Motor disturbance.
(16) Treatment
i It is symptom oriented.
ii The therapy aims at relieving the
symptoms.
iii It is possible to fix time limit to go
through a course of treatement.
iv The therapist’s task is directive rather
than interpretative.
v The patient is motivated to change his
peculiar behaviour.
vi Physical as well as emotional symptoms
are dealt with.
vii Negotiations and explanations are basic
in this therapy.
Required Readings
(2) Freud, along with his pupils - Jung and Adler first
used with hypnosis to treat mental patients but later
gave up this method and turned to the technique of "
Free association". Following this method, Freud be-
came convinced that " sex" was the root of mental
illnesses; but Jung and Adler did not agree with him
and developed their own theories on the subject.
(3)
3
Freud studied various symptoms of different types of
mental illnesses which were the results of psycho-
logical causes. Studies of the symptoms of mental
illnesses led Freud to discover the nature of human
mind - the existence of three layers of the mind -
i) Pre-conscious
ii) The conscious
iii) The unconscious
Now it is a universally accepted fact that the greatest
contribution of Freud to the development of psycho -
therapy was his discovery of the phenomenon called
the unconscious.
(4) More than 2500 years ago, Gautama Buddha was the
first person to draw a distinction between mental ill-
nesses and physical illnesses. He said that it was very
difficult to find some one in sound physical health
but it was indeed far more difficult to find a com -
pletely mentally healthy person (see: Roga Sutta -
Anguttara Nikaya)
Satipatthana Sutta
(a) One who observes the mind will also see the con
tent and the nature of his own thoughts. He will ob -
serve whether one or many of the five Hindrances
(Panca Nivarana) are operative or not operative in his
own mind. The five hindrances are :
i Mindfulness (sati),
ii Inquiring into dhamma (dhamma Vicaya)
iiiStriving (Viriya)
iv Rapture - joy (piti)
V Tranquillity (passadhi)
vi Concentration (Samadhi)
V Equanimity (Upekkha)
(8) For a patient who has reached the fifth step of treat -
ment under the system of Buddhist Psychotherapy
the presence of one or more asava in him, will not be
a difficult thing for him to see and know.
i Dassana ii Samvara
iii Parivajjana iv Bhavana
(9) Bhavana is the fourth method to try out with the men -
tal patients. At this stage, we should recollect that the
Buddhist Psychotherapy starts with meditation. From
the step of development of communication, up to the
step of analysing the mind, we have continued with the
'anapana sati' Bhavana which is basic to the system of
Buddhist Psychotherapy. A mental patient who has
successfully reached the fifth step will be able to
practice the four fold meditation recommended by the
Buddha - meditation on (i) Body (2) Feelings
Mind (4) Dynamics of the mind.
(10) A combination of the approaches given in the Dis -
course on mindfulness and the Discourse on 'asavas'
will provide a fine bases for Buddhist
Psychotherapeutical work.
OBJECTIVES AND TARGETS OF BUDDHIST
PSYCHOTHERAPY
(6) Except the depressive patients, all the others are gen -
erally tend to build up tension as time goes. Depres -
sive patients will withdraw from society some times
ending with suicides or attempted suicides. They may
fall into inertia or general amnesia.
(i) Raga
type - Sensual desire driven type
(ii) Dosa
type - Anger driven type
(iii) Moha
type - Delusion driven type
(iv) Mana type - Having an urge to compare
oneself with others - conciet type.
(2) Difficulties:
Mental patients generally cooperate with the thera pist
but there are some who are incapable of coop eration
with the therapist due to one or more of the following
reasons :
Physical Psychological
themselves
with others all the time.
(14) If the patient does not take any interest in the conver -
sation on the doctrine of 'anicca' get him to answer
questions such as the following:
(a) More and more air coming into the lungs means that
lot of oxygen is pumped into the lungs and therefore
oxygen will purify the blood.
(b) This form of meditation will give exercise to
the internal organs such as lungs, heart, kid -
neys, intestine etc.
For instance:
Around 10 years ?
Around 5 years ?
Around 3 years ?
iv Dreams
(e) Get the patient to interpret his own dreams or ask for
the meanings of the dreams dreamt by him.
(c) Ask the patient whether there are any more such
incidents, and if there are, if he does not mind, get him
to describe those incidents also.
(d) Ask the patient whether he has any secrets that he has
not told anyone.
ii Behavioural traits
i Twinkling of an eye.
ii Biting fingernails.
iii Grinding teeth.
iv Constant turning of the neck.
v Sudden changing of postures such as getting up,
walking about or sitting.
vi Constant adjustment of dress.
vii Fidgeting with pen, necklace etc.
viii Anguishedly looking at the roof or at the
ceiling.
ix Restlessness.
Seven Methods
(a) Dassana = by means of seeing (the klesha or
nivarana)
(b) Samvara = by means of disciplining
(c) Patisevana = by using wisely the four
perequisits -food, clothing, shelter and
medicine)
(d) Adhivasana = by means of edurance
(e) Parivajjana = by means of avoidance
(f) Vinodana = by means of removal
(g) Bhavana = by means of meditation.
Social Rehabilitation
Economic Rehabilitation
Relapses
(i) There is always a possibility of a relapse of the
mental illness. In such a case, the patient's relations
should be advised to bring the patient again to the
psychotherapist for further treatment.
v
(2) Symptoms:
(1) Treatment
(f) Allowed continuation of psychiatric drugs but in -
dicated that efforts must be made to be without s uch
drugs.
(5) Treatment
Further discussions with him revealed that the whole
complex mental problem - the melancholia - was de-
veloped unconsciously by the patient himself. Every
symptom that was found in him was shown to be
linked to the 'akusala karma' mentioned above. Thus,
the psychology of this young man's mental illness was
explained to him. In the communication process be -
tween the patient and the therapist, catharsis was cre-
ated.
Following points too were explained to the patient:
Rehabilitation :
Relapse
The patient and his parents were told that there was a
possibility of relapses in which case, the patient
should see the therapist immediately and in fact, the
patient had relapses and had two more sessions with
the therapist. The father, in order to get quick cure,
took his son to Colombo for hypnotic treatment. The
patient communicated this fact over the phone and
informed that trip to Colombo was a useless one. In
the first week of December 2001, the father informed
the therapist that the son leads a normal life at home
although he had to give up his university education.
The need for economic rehabilitation was stressed at
the accidental meeting between the therapist and the
patient's father who reported that the son has stopped
taking psychiatric drugs and capable of managing
himself well.
(2) Symptoms
(3) Treatment
On 15th May 2000, she came for treatment under the
system of Buddhist Psychotherapy. In the course of
the therapist's discussion with the patient (at the first
session) she was able to understand the follow ing
realities about the illness:
(10) From the 15th of May 2000 to 27th June 2000 she
came for regular weekly sessions. On 14th August
2001, she reported over the phone that she leads a
normal life. On 4th December 2001, she reported that
she had a relapse and her son took her to a psychia -
trist who put her on the same old drugs. While taking
drugs she continued her meditation and she found that
there was no need to use drugs and stopped them
completely. She was reminded of the need to be
rehabilitated under the four points - physical,
psychological, social and economic. On 27th April
she reported that she was feeling fine and no drugs
are needed.
(1) History
(2) Symptoms
She had persistant headaches, occasional feelings of
nausea, inability to concentrate and comprehend the
class - room lectures, had waves of pain running
through the entire body; experienced a feeling of dis -
gust while at home and a great dislike towards her
mother, she had occasional fits of sobbing. She
avoided friends and class - mates as far as possible.
She experienced an urge to run away from home and
become a bhikkuni (a nun).
(3) Diagnosis
a) After the first session, communication betwen the
therapist and the patient was established to a satis -
factory degree and the patient was referred to a very
competent physician to find out whether there are
physical causes for her body-pains; several medical
tests including ESR to rule out HIV infections, were
conducted. This physician, in the presence of the pa -
tient 's mother and the psycho-therapist explained to
the patient that he did not find any physical cause for
her illness.
Treatment
Treatment began in the following manner:
(a) Developement of breathing awareness. Through
anapana sati bhavana attention was focussed on bodily
functions and feeling in keeping with the step No. 2
and 3 in the system of Buddhist Psychotherapy.
(b) The importance of catharsis was explained to her
Relapses :
(a) The patient and her elder sister (then a final year
medical student) and parents were told about the the
need to rehabilitate the patient under four headings
(described in this book).
(2) Symptons:
She had a strong suspicion particularly directed
against her own mother; repeatedly said that she was
not her mother and she was trying to kill her by poi -
soning, had auditory illusions of hearing voices and
other hallucinations particularly in the nights. She
said that people at her home were conspiring against
her, suffered from lack of sleep and loss of appetite,
had no sense of cleanliness. She spoke of having had
sex relations with her boy friend and of being preg-
nant by him. Short periods of normalcy was followed
by periods of restlessness and agitations.
(i) First she was sent to a gynaecologist for a preg nancy
test. There was no pregnancy. A general medi cal practioner
had tests and said her blood sugar, pressure and cholesterol
were normal and the E.S.R. test indicated that she had no
social diseases.
A Way Out
(3) The patient and her parents came for a common ses -
sion in which they were told about ways and means of
rehabilitation of the patient.
(This was the first case of schizophrenia treated by
means of Buddhist Psychotherapy. Thereafter several
cases of schizophrenia were treated with more effi -
ciency and confidence.
(2) Symptoms
When anti-depression drugs were given she became
over-active, could not control herself, used obscene
language even before her parents, accused parents for
causing her illness and could not control her impulses
to shatter everything she laid her hands on. The urge
to commit suicide was so great that she made several
efforts to commit suicide.
(3) Treatment
(a) On 14th October 2001, a session on develop ing
communication between the therapist and the patient
was held. The patient was encouraged to describe the
history of her illness and the type of treatment she
received during the past 20 odd years. She was able to
give names of drugs given by different psychiatrists.
Thereafter, her attention was focussed on her physical
and psychological suffering. When her attention was
focussed on the intensity of her suffering, she broke
down twice and started sobbing.
At the age of 14 and 15, she had suffered from head aches
and lack of sleep; menstrual blood, guilty feelings of sex
experiences (real and imaginary ) - all combined made her
feel disgusted and depressed which led to psychiatric
treatment.
At first she responded to psychiatric drugs and was able to
manage herself nearly four years without drugs. But in her
early twenties the depression returned. Thereafter, it was a
constant struggle to deal with depression and violence; it
had come to a point that a balance between these two
conditions was an impossibility with western drugs.
Further Guidances
When the patient was made to see and know the 'nivarana'
and the kleshas in herself, her past painful memories
started coming out, thus, initiating the thera peutical
process called catharsis.
(1) History
When this therapist was conducting a refresher course
for the teachers of Buddhism for Advanced Level
(pre-university) classes of the whole island of Sri Lanka (in
1976) at the Buddhist Teachers College, Mirigama, a
couple participating in the refresher course asked for
permission to discuss a personal problem of theirs. They
said they had been married for nearly six years but so far
not a single child of theirs survived the early months of
pregnancy. After the loss of the first child (unborn) they
consulted a gynaecologist regularly and took special care
but lost the second unborn child also.
(2) Treatment
Without taking this unfortunate mother through all the six
steps of Buddhist Psychotherapy, on the basis of an
experimentation, went straight to probing into her
conscious as well as unconscious mind. (The hus band was
asked to keep away from this session.)
When this teacher came for the 3rd session, her face
indicated that she was mostly relieved of her fear of
miscarriage. She was given instruction on practicing
meditation on breathing daily. She was given the fol lowing
instructions.
(d) Keep the house and its vicinity neat and beauti ful.
(e) Keep the body neat and fresh by regular bath ing and
washing.
(2) Symptons
He was very shy of girls and could not sit with a girl even
is a bus; he would get up and go away. During the first two
sessions these facts came to light. He came out with severa l
memories. He was standing on a suspension bridge over the
river Mahaveli at Lewella in Kandy. He was feeling
embarrassed and painfully shy when he saw women bathing
in the river but did not have the courage to go away from
that place.
Treatment:
The therapist gave the interpretation to his dreams. It was
obvious that he was obsessed to see naked girls. For a long
time he had been suppressing this desire. As a result it ha d
gone into his unconscious but the urge to see took different
forms such as looking under the bed etc. He admitted that
he belonged to the "raga character" type.
The therapist took the patient with him to visit the Kandy
General Hospital under the pretex of seen a patient-a
relation of his. At some wards he saw digusting and
pathatic sights which shook his mind. On his way back
from the hospital, looking at some commercial posters, he
said, 'Sir it is strange ! I don't get the urge to remove these
posters".
1 History
ii Why did you think that you might miss the ex amination
and the bus?
iii Why did you think that you were alone in the house?
v Why did you compare yourself with others of your
class/
(2) Treatment
The son's right hand struck an eye of the father and the
eye-ball came out. This dream indicated an antipathy
towards his own father. His mother was a teacher at a
prestigious girl's school in Kandy and his father who did
not wear western dresses, was running a small shop in the
village. Therefore, this boy was ashamed of his father.
Several memories of the boy indicated the attachment to
his mother and dislike for his father - a true oedipus
situation.
(4) The following facts were discovered in the course
of analysis of the boy's memories and impulses.
(7) The boy and the parents were guided to rehabilita tion.
When he came back from the house of the Professor,
the parents happily and warmly received him at his
home. Two months later he was sent back to the
psychiatric ward of the Kandy General Hospital for a
check up and found that he had fully recovered from
his illness and the parents obtained a medical
certificate to this effect which enabled the boy to
resume his studies at his school from where, a few
years later he entered the Engineering Faculty of the
University of Peradeniya. Years later on, the parents
reported to this therapist that their son is an engineer
and leads a happy married life.
(1) History
(v) Hallucinations
Treatment
(1) At the first step of treatment under Buddhist Psy-
chotherapy, his confidence in the therapist was es tablished
to a satisfactory degree. Development of body and feeling
awareness had very slow progress; probing into the mind
(conscious and unconscious), continued for about three
sessions. His suspicion had been directed to his own
mother. For nearly 10 years he thought that his mother was
having an affair with an uncle in the village. When this
memory of suspicion was probed into, it was found that his
own mother has had about 21 such affairs. When the boy's
father was questioned about the allegation, he said " Sir, I
don't believe that his mother would do such a thing, in fact,
the son too told me about it."
(6) On 16th November 2000, the father and the son had a
common session which was the last one of the
therapeutical weekly sessions. It was revealed that
what the son was suffering from was not the fright -
ening mental illness called the schizophrenia but a
simple phobia. Father was given a briefing on the
process of rehabilitation in keeping with the 6th step
of Buddhist Psychotherapy. They were warned that a
relapse may be a possibility in which case they should
contact the therapist promptly.
Buddhist Texts:
Canonical
Non - canonical
Vimukti Magga - The Path of Liberation
Visuddhi Magga
Secondary Sources