Buddhism and Western psychology each offer a framework for understanding and relieving human suffering. As Buddhism takes root in the West, these two disciplines are becoming ever more intertwined and integrated, as exemplified by mindfulness-based psychotherapy and psychologically-trained Dharma teachers. What wisdom can Dharma bring to the paradigm of psychological health and healing? What insights can Western psychology offer us as we walk the Buddhist path?
This weekend program will look at the path of Dharma through a psychological and psychoanalytic lens. What does the nature of our spiritual seeking reveal about our psychological self? How might our approach to practice, teachers, and awakening collude with our own seen and unseen psychological needs? Is it ever possible, or even wise, to disentangle the psychological and the spiritual? Topics to explore include motivation to practice, the role of the unconscious, desire and attachment, idealization, traumatic dissociation, and the nature of psychological and dharmic insight.
During the retreat, we will work from Barry Magid's book Nothing Is Hidden: The Psychology of Zen Koans. Participants are encouraged to prepare for the retreat by obtaining and reading as much of the book as possible.
