INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY AND THE GREAT EASTERN SUN: … Havelin 2008.pdfIn 1959 Chogyam Trungpa escaped...
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INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY AND THE GREAT EASTERN SUN: AN EXAMINATION OF THE PSYCHOLOGY OF USE AND THE SHAMBHALA
BUDDHIST TEACHINGS
An Integrative Paper
Submitted
By
Lisa Havelin
To
Adler Graduate School
in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the
degree of
MASTER OF ARTS in
Adlerian Counseling and Psychotherapy
This integrative paper has been accepted for the faculty of Adler Graduate School by:
Herb Laube, Chair
Dan Zenga, Reader
INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY AND SHAMBHALA BUDDHISM
ii
Abstract
The First Noble Truth is that the suffering of birth, old age, sickness and death is
unavoidable. Suffering includes both physical and psychological pain. The Individual
Psychology of Alfred Adler and the Shambhala Buddhist Teachings cultivated in the west
by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche are similar in that they aspire to alleviate suffering, and
that fundamentally they seek to improve the situations of humankind.
This paper examines the beliefs and practices that form the foundation of both
Individual Psychology and the Tibetan Buddhist Teachings, and compares and contrasts
them with one another.
INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY AND SHAMBHALA BUDDHISM 1
Acknowledgements
I offer my deepest gratitude to my grandmother, Edith Rodenkirchen (1916-2004)
who was the embodiment of social interest and Buddha activity, to my greatest friend (a
cat), Ms. Moppet (1968-1991) who was the embodiment of compassion and the gentle
warrior in the face of suffering, old age, sickness and death, and to the venerable
Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and Alfred Adler for their work in providing living
teachings to help people and all sentient beings be liberated from suffering.
Thank also to my husband Michael Havelin and my mother Karen Phelps for
providing the space, opportunity and friendship needed to do the work required for this
course of study, and to Herb Laube and Dan Zenga for their skillful counsel, humor,
insight, support and encouragement with manifesting my interests and ideas in the form
of this paper. And finally to my sweet friends Mary Ludington, Lisa Ringer, Kim Smisek
and Winnifred & Ida Havelin for being so nice to me and keeping me on track.
INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY AND SHAMBHALA BUDDHISM 2
CONTENTS
Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii
Acknowledgements ..............................................................................................................1
Alfred Adler and Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche ...................................................................3
The Practices: Meditation and Encouragement ...................................................................7
Social Interest and Creating Enlightened Society ..............................................................12
Anything Can Also Be Different and Nowness .................................................................27
Explanation of Appendix ...................................................................................................29
References ..........................................................................................................................30
Appendix: The Effects of Meditation on Anxiety Related Disorders …………...………33
INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY AND SHAMBHALA BUDDHISM 3
Alfred Adler and Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche
Alfred Adler was born in Vienna, Austria on February 7, 1870. When Adler was about
five years old he became deathly ill with pneumonia, from which, doctors thought he might not
survive. It was out of that physical and emotional suffering that Adler made the decision to
become a physician so that he might help others recover from disease. In 1895 he received his
Medical Doctor Degree from the University of Vienna.
As a medical doctor Adler was curious about the root causes of illnesses. He had a
tendency to look to people’s behavior to find answers as to the causes of individuals’ symptoms.
In 1898, Adler wrote his first book, which looked at the health conditions of tailors; in it he
describes what would later become one of the main theories of Individual Psychology. Holism
refers to the importance, in Adler’s view, of looking at a person as a whole, rather than the sum
of individual parts. His practice was to see a person as possessing and interacting with many
different kinds of influences and energies which all worked together as a whole. This was in
conflict with the more Freudian interpretation of people as a summation of parts related only to
instincts, drives, and other psychological manifestations.
Adler was also interested in his patients with physical handicaps and studied both their
organic and psychological reactions to them. In 1907 Adler published his book, which was
about organ inferiority and how people compensate both positively and negatively for those
inferiorities. In 1912 Adler published his book, The Neurotic Constitution, in which he
described the main concepts, which would come to be known and comprise his psychological
system titled, “Individual Psychology”. The term individual psychology refers to the practice of
interpreting a person as indivisible or overall make-up.
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Alfred Adler went on to found clinics designed to provide psychological services to
children and families first in Vienna and then later in other countries. Adler lectured and
practiced widely throughout his career and beginning in 1932 held the first chair of Visiting
Professor of Medical Psychology at Long Island College of Medicine. He died on May 28, 1937
in Aberdeen, Scotland after delivering a series of lectures.
The Venerable Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche was born in the province of Kham in eastern
Tibet in 1939. When he was thirteen months old, he was recognized as a major tulku, or
incarnate teacher. According to Tibetan tradition, an enlightened teacher is capable of
reincarnating in human form over a succession of generations in order to continue to help other
sentient beings. In this way, particular lineages of teaching are formed, in some cases extending
over many centuries. Chogyam Trungpa was the eleventh in the teaching lineage known as the
Trungpa Tulkus. Chogyam Trungpa was enthroned as supreme abbot of Surmang Monastery
and governor of Surmang District. At the age of eight, he received ordination as a novice monk
and engaged in intensive study and practice of the traditional monastic disciplines. His primary
teachers were Jamgon Kongtrul of Sechen and Khenpo Gangshar—leading teachers in the
Nyingma and Kagyu lineages. In 1958, at the age of eighteen, Trungpa Rinpoche completed his
studies, receiving the degrees of Kyorpon (doctor of divinity) and Khenpo (master of studies).
He also received full monastic ordination.
In 1959 Chogyam Trungpa escaped Chinese occupied Tibet through the Himalayas on
foot and by horseback to India. While in India Chogyam Trungpa was appointed to serve as
spiritual advisor to the Young Lamas Home School in Delhi, India until 1963. Chogyam
Trungpa then received a Spaulding sponsorship to attend Oxford University where he studied
comparative religion, philosophy, history, and fine arts. While in England he began to instruct
INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY AND SHAMBHALA BUDDHISM 5
Western students in the dharma, and in 1967 founded the Samye Ling Meditation Center in
Dumfrieshire, Scotland. During this period he published his first two books: Born in Tibet
(1966) and Meditation in Action (1969).
In 1968 Chogyam Trungpa traveled to Bhutan where he entered into extensive solitary
retreat practice. At this time he created the Sadhana of Mahamudra, which is a text, and practice,
which guided his teaching in the west. It documents the spiritual degeneration of modern times
and provides the antidote. Soon after returning to England he became a layperson, putting aside
his monastic robes he moved to North America. He believed that in order for the dharma to take
root in the West it needed to be taught free from cultural trappings and religious fascination.
During the 1970’s Rinpoche drew many students who were seriously interested in the Buddhist
teachings and the practice of meditation. He was critical of the materialistic approach to
spirituality that was prevalent at the time. In the early to mid 1970’s he published Cutting
Through Spiritual Materialism, and The Myth of Freedom.
Chogyam Trungpa was fluent in the English language and so was one of the first Tibetan
Buddhist Teachers who could speak to Western students directly without an interpreter. He
traveled extensively throughout North America and Europe and gave thousands of talks and
hundreds of seminars. He established major land centers dedicated to the practice and study of
Buddhism in Vermont, Colorado, Nova Scotia and in 1974 founded the Naropa Institute (now
Naropa University), which became the first and only accredited Buddhist-inspired University in
North America. In addition to his teachings in the Buddhist tradition, Rinpoche also placed great
emphasis on the Shambhala teachings, which stress the importance of meditation in action or
training oneself to approach obstacles or challenges in everyday life with the courageous attitude
of a warrior, without anger. His book, Shambhala Sacred Path of the Warrior, discusses these
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teachings. He founded Shambhala International, which now comprises hundreds of Shambhala
Centers worldwide. The Shambhala Center of Minneapolis and is the first City Center to have
built its own building designed specifically as a meditation center.
Chogyam Trungpa died in 1987, at the age of 47. At the time of his death, he was known
not only as Rinpoche (“Precious Jewel”) but also as Vidyadhara (“Wisdom Holder”) for his role
as a master of the vajryana, or the tantric teachings of Buddhism. As a holder of the Shambhala
teachings, he had also received the titles of Dorje Dradul (“Indestructible Warrior”) and Sakyong
(“Earth Protector”).
The Growth Model and Basic Goodness
As a discipline Psychology originated out of a medical model. In this model people who
face challenges both physical and psychological are seen as a problem to be cured or “fixed” by
therapy, medicine, or surgery. In this way emotional problems are thought of as sickness or
mental illness and so are often thought to be due to biological factors. Adlerian therapy does not
see people as broken and in need of being fixed, but instead views the challenges that people face
as an opportunity for growth and in this way Adlerian therapy engages a growth model as
opposed to a medical model.
From his research with people who face physical inferiorities, Alfred Adler learned that
people were able to compensate in creative and meaningful ways that allowed them to thrive and
made them unique and valuable to their communities. He found that the purpose of therapy was
to support people in a way that would increase the likelihood that they would face life challenges
successfully. He did not see obstacles as negative experiences that needed to be gotten rid of or
fixed but rather as a normal part of life every person encounters and experiences as resistance.
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Resistance in Adlerian therapy is an indication that there are opportunities to grow and mature in
meaningful ways if one is encouraged and supported to do so.
Very similarly to this Adlerian perspective, Buddhist thought does not see obstacles as
particularly problematic. Buddhist belief teaches that all sentient beings experience suffering,
and that there exists in every sentient being pure, fully manifested basic goodness, which is often
not experienced as accessible because of thought patterns or habitual ways of thinking which
obscure it. No matter what the causes and conditions are that exist for a person in their lifetime
they do not escape suffering. So in the same way that Adler views challenges as part of one’s
life path and life style so Buddhists see suffering as part of what it means to be human and that it
is the way that we relate or think about obstacles or challenges that creates suffering to a greater
or lesser degree. In both views challenges are not seen as “bad” or a sign of illness but simply as
a fact of life and further that if we are able to learn how to work with these obstacles effectively
they present great opportunities for growth, and learning, and even happiness. By negating the
belief that both suffering or physical or emotional manifestations are inherently a sign of
sickness or illness both the Buddha and Alfred Adler open the door to the idea that individuals
are basically healthy and that the manifestation of symptoms is ordinary.
The Practices: Meditation and Encouragement
From the perspective that people are basically good and that symptoms/suffering are
completely ordinary, the Buddhist tradition sees the practice of meditation as a way to work with
that human condition. The Buddha teaches that there exists in every sentient being pure,
incorruptible, fully manifested basic goodness, which has been equated metaphorically in those
teachings as “The Great Eastern Sun”. The way of the Great Eastern Sun is based on seeing that
there is a natural source of radiance and brilliance in the world, which is also the innate
INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY AND SHAMBHALA BUDDHISM 8
wakefulness of human beings. It is said that sentient beings suffer when they are not connected
to that sense of Basic Goodness, which is obscured, by habitual ways of thinking, or thinking
patterns which cloud it over. This obscured state of being could be equated with neurosis or
depression and those states of being are talked about in the Buddhist teachings metaphorically as
a “Setting Sun Mentality”. Sitting meditation is a Buddhist practice by which an individual can
engage in taming the mind thereby removing these obscurations and revealing inherent basic
goodness. The Buddha is said to have removed every obscuration of mind thus achieving
enlightenment. Having removed all obscurations of mind the Buddha manifested pure
compassion, which is the antidote to suffering.
The practice of sitting meditation is a discipline for sitting with ones self, one’s mind, and
one’s emotions both positive and negative. This particular way of paying attention in a
nonjudgmental way creates awareness of how the mind works, and how thoughts are generated
continuously, moment to moment.
The sitting practice itself is described by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche:
By meditation here we mean something very basic and simple that is not tied to any one
culture. We are talking about a very basic act: sitting on the ground, assuming a good
posture, and developing a sense of our spot, our place on this earth. This is the means of
rediscovering ourselves and our basic goodness, the means to tune ourselves in to
genuine reality, without any expectations or preconceptions…. In the Shambhala tradition
meditation is simply training our state of being so that our mind and body can be
synchronized…through this practice we can learn to be without deception, to be fully
genuine and alive. Meditation practice begins by sitting down and assuming your seat
cross-legged on the ground. You begin to feel that by simply being on the spot, your life
INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY AND SHAMBHALA BUDDHISM 9
can become workable and even wonderful; you realize that you are capable of sitting like
a king or queen on a throne. In the practice of meditation, an upright posture is extremely
important. Having an upright back is not an artificial posture. It is natural to the human
body. When you slouch, that is unusual. You can’t breathe properly when you slouch,
and slouching also is a sing of giving in to neurosis. So when you sit erect, you are
proclaiming to yourself and to the rest of the world that you are going to be a warrior, a
fully human being.
To have a straight back you do not have to strain yourself by pulling up your
shoulders; the uprightness comes naturally from sitting simply but proudly on the ground
or on your meditation cushion. Then, because your back is upright, you feel no trace of
shyness or embarrassment, so you do not hold your head down. You are not bending to
anything. You can see this royal pose in some Egyptian and South American sculptures,
as well as in Oriental statues. It is a universal posture. In your daily life, you should
also be aware of your posture…even when you are not meditating, you can maintain a
dignified state of existence. You can transcend your embarrassment and take pride in
being a human being. (Trungpa, 1984, p. 36-39)
Psychological theory at the time that Alfred Adler was practicing was influenced by the
work of Sigmund Freud. One of Freud’s main contributions to the field was a belief that
psychological phenomena experienced by individuals who could not be explained in purely
medical terms were manifestations caused by the individuals past, or childhood experiences. I
believe this view to be very limited in terms of all the circumstances and conditions that are
brought to bear when considering the vastness of all that a human being is and how the
phenomenal world influences us. This Freudian view sees the individual largely as a victim of
INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY AND SHAMBHALA BUDDHISM 10
past experiences, and in terms of Buddhist thought would be regarded as an extremely “setting
sun” approach.
Alfred Adler on the other hand did not accept this strictly causal explanation of
psychology and illness. Adler viewed people as having free will and an innate creative force at
work. Further, he believed that we are born with an innate feeling of wanting to be connected
with other people, an interest in being in community, and in sharing experiences, emotions and
ideas with other people. I believe that it is these very same innate qualities that Buddhists
describe as basic goodness.
“Adler supposes that there is a creative force inborn to the child, which increases with
activity; it enables people to make their own decisions and to develop their own
circumstances. This creative force works throughout the whole personality.” (Oberst &
Stewart, 2003, p. 12)
Alfred Adler thought that people experienced feelings of inferiority as a result of having
been discouraged and/or from just being physically small as a child. He said that feelings of
being discouraged can come from not being adequately loved or cared for, or from being
pampered or neglected by one’s parents, or that those same feelings could come from a physical
or health problem. When there exists some kind of shortcoming in the causes and conditions of
one’s life as described above a person becomes aware of this by comparing self to others. When
a person compares him/herself to others invariably one notices in what specific ways that other
person exceeds our own skills or conditions. This comparison causes feelings of inferiority,
which lead to a sense of discouragement. These flawed or fictional ways of thinking about self
would be considered the same as what the Buddhists have described as “obscurations of mind”,
INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY AND SHAMBHALA BUDDHISM 11
or that which covers over, or separates us from a sense of basic goodness, or sanity. Both would
be considered instances in which a person suffers.
It is that very suffering which brings a person to want to sit with themselves on the
meditation cushion, or to meet with a therapist. I believe that meeting with a therapist is very
much like sitting in meditation. It is a manifestation of a willingness to learn more about oneself,
and to understand the causes and conditions that have created suffering for them in their lives
and they are brought to that interaction through suffering itself. Further, in the vast majority of
circumstances one agrees to meditate or meet with a counselor because of our relationships with
other people. Both practices include a notion of being intimately connected with other human
beings. We essentially recognize that we are intimately linked with others, and that we want to
know more about our suffering so that we can improve the situation not only for ourselves but
also for other people.
When a person experiences suffering long enough, and intensely enough, and at the same
time has enough of a connection with basic goodness or free will, or their innate creative force to
want to sit down with themselves either in meditation or in the presence of a guide or counselor
it is a fortunate situation. The practice and study of the Buddhist teachings and of Adlerian
therapy are useful. Alfred Adler termed his - a psychology of use.
The psychologies of possession are concerned with showing what a person brings with
him into the world and retains as his/her possession. From his/her inheritance, they seek
to derive everything that is psychological. Seen from the standpoint of common sense,
this is an awkward position. In other matters in life, we are not inclined to draw all our
conclusions from a person’s possessions, but only from the use he/she makes of them.
We are much more interested in the use than in the possession. Individual
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Psychology….considers the attitude of an individual to the problems of life in order to
understand him/her, and therefore considers the use he/she makes of his/her capacities.
The raw material with which the Individual Psychologist works is the relationship of the
individual to the problems of the outside world…This outside world includes the
individual’s own body, his/her own bodily functions, and the functions of his/her mind.
He does not relate himself to the outside world in a predetermined manner as is
often assumed. He relates himself always according to his own interpretation of himself
and of his present problem. His limits are not only the common human limits, but also
the limits which he has set himself….The interpretation he makes of these experiences –
are the bricks which he uses in his own “creative” way in building up his attitude toward
life. It is his individual way of using these bricks, or in other words his attitude towards
life, which determines this relationship to the outside world. (Oberst & Stewart, 2003, p.
205-206)
I believe that Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche would wholeheartedly agree with this
statement of a psychology of use. In his teachings and lectures he would state frequently that
there were no right or wrong answers. He always encouraged his students to bring the Buddhist
teachings to bear on their own personal experience, their own lives. The practice of sitting
meditation is a practice of use in the sense that we bring our understanding of ourselves and our
world to the cushion and we sit down with it, we get to know it better, and we see for ourselves
how what we are is useful, and learn to recognize that which is no longer useful and let it go.
To work with oneself in this way is considered fearless warriorship and the act of doing
so is cause for celebration in the Buddhist tradition.
Social Interest and Creating Enlightened Society
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Both Individual Psychology and the Shambhala Buddhist Teachings have at their core a
sense of people as interrelated, a sense that to be human is to have an awareness that we are
fundamentally connected with others and to also feel a need to improve our situation not only for
ourselves but more importantly for others.
Alfred Adler (Adler, 1931) named this “Social Interest”, or “Community Feeling”, and
the Shambhala Teachings refer to this sense as “Enlightened Society.”
Social Interest
When Alfred Adler talked about Social Interest he was referring to a fundamental notion
of a human being as a social being and the importance of our relationships with other people. He
saw this as of primary importance, so much so, that he equated a person’s overall well-being or
relative neuroticism as directly linked to the degree of Social Interest they manifested.
Some Adlerian authors have argued that it means even feeling a part of the universe. It
means to participate, to contribute, to share, to feel accepted, appreciated, and loved, as
well as to accept, appreciate and love other people. But this social embeddedness also
means being able to cope with the obstacles and misfortunes of life in a socially adaptive
way; not by seeking one’s self-interest and personal advancement, but by pursuing, at the
same time, the benefit of – theoretically—the whole of humankind. In this sense, Social
Interest is a humanistic concept that stems from the idea of a progressive improvement—
physically, mentally, and psychologically—should go along with the improvement of
humankind. In searching for a cure for my illness I may invent a cure for all people who
are affected by it. In a more global sense, people who pursue their life tasks well will
develop a heightened sense of Social Interest. (Oberst & Stewart, 2003, p. 17)
Enlightened Society
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Buddhist belief teaches that all sentient beings experience suffering; that there exists in
every sentient being pure, fully manifested basic goodness, which is often not experienced as
accessible because of ways of thinking which obscure it. Sitting meditation is a Buddhist
practice by which an individual can engage in taming the mind thereby removing these
obscurations and revealing inherent basic goodness. The Buddha is said to have removed every
obscuration of mind thus achieving enlightenment. Having removed all obscurations the Buddha
manifested pure compassion, which is the antidote to suffering. The Buddhist teachings also
reveal a belief in reincarnation or a repeating cycle of birth and death. This cycle is called
samsara, and is characterized by the first noble truth that is the experience of suffering. It is this
very suffering which teaches compassion, and embodying compassion is what liberates sentient
beings from samsara. Achieving enlightenment means being liberated from samsara. So the
Buddha essentially models the way in which an individual might work with the experience of
suffering, thus working with ones’ own suffering provides a way for others to do so.
The Buddha brought his teachings into the world 2,500 years ago. At that time these
teachings were studied and practiced largely as a monastic tradition and exclusively by men.
Large monasteries were built to house great numbers of Buddhist monks who studied and
debated the teachings of the Buddha. Monks were required to spend extended lengths of time,
often years, and in some cases the great majority of the span of an individual life, meditating.
This meditation practice would often take place in a cave. Monks who renounced material
wealth did not have families or contact with cultural centers, the monastic life was a solitary
endeavor.
According to the legends Shambhala was a legendary kingdom which was a place of
peace, prosperity, and compassion among its people and rulers. As previously explained the
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teachings of the Buddha were practiced as a monastic tradition. Dawa Sangpo was the King of
Shambhala who, it is said, asked the Buddha for a version of the Teachings which could be
practiced as a secular tradition. The Shambhala teachings are therefore extremely unique in the
sense that they are meant to be practiced in everyday life as part of life in a community. This
version of the Buddhist Teachings is for people who have families and jobs. The Shambhala
community practices meditation and the teachings of loving kindness and concern for all beings.
In this way it is said that the Kingdom of Shambhala attained enlightenment as an entire
community, ‘Enlightened Society.’
The Shambhala teachings are founded on the premise that there is basic human wisdom
that can help to solve the world’s problems. This wisdom des not belong to any one
culture or religion, nor does it come only from the West or the East. Rather, it is a
tradition of human warriorship that has existed in many cultures at many times
throughout history. (Trungpa, 1984, p. 25)
Life Tasks and the Practice of Sitting Meditation
Within the context of the assertion that in both Individual Psychology and the Shambhala
Teachings there exists fundamental agreement between the two that people exist, survive and
thrive essentially in community. That is, people’s lives, their sanity and neurosis are inexorably
linked with other people. There also exist primary practices put forth by both Individual
Psychology and the Shambhala Buddhist Teachings, which help people to work within the
situation of having relationships with themselves, and others, and the world. How is it that we
can effectively work with ourselves? The main practice suggested by Alfred Adler is meeting
and working with the Five Life Tasks, and the primary practice suggested in the Shambhala
Teachings is meditation.
INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY AND SHAMBHALA BUDDHISM 16
The Five Life Tasks
Alfred Adler believed that all problems arise from the work and demand of being in
relationship with others. “The satisfaction of all conceivable human needs depends on a sense of
community and collaboration to fulfill the tasks of work, love, and friendship (or community
life).” (Oberst & Stewart, 2003, p. 18) Two of Adler’s colleagues Rudolph Dreikurs, and Harold
Mosak later added two more tasks, which are the task of spirituality, and the task of coping with
oneself. So, according to Individual Psychology all fundamental problems/neurosis/suffering
and also well-being/happiness/health arise from an individual’s ability or lack thereof to work
with each of these five Life Tasks successfully. It is a combination of, on the one hand, an
inability to meet with the life tasks successfully which creates pain, and on the other hand a sense
of heart which inspires us to create a better situation for ourselves and for others which brings
people to want to work more effectively with themselves, with others, and with the world.
The Practice of Sitting Meditation
The Buddha experienced suffering in his own life and found that suffering was universal,
that every sentient being experienced suffering. He observed that people avoid suffering and try
to hold on to pleasure, they move away from pain, and toward pleasure. Further he observed that
it was this act of constant movement toward and away from that continually engendered more
suffering because it is the nature of phenomena that it is constantly changing, constantly being
created and constantly falling apart – it is impermanent. It is not possible to permanently protect
self or others from pain, and it is also not possible to permanently remain in a situation, which is
comfortable. The Buddha therefore realized that the only thing we have control over is how we
think about suffering, what we believe about it. He resolved to sit down with himself and
INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY AND SHAMBHALA BUDDHISM 17
contemplate the true nature of his own thoughts. Essentially he found that when one resolves to
fully be with pain, to look into the exact nature of pain one finds that pain is an illusion and that
it is our thoughts themselves, which create suffering.
The Teachings which, emerged from the Buddha’s own practice are the Four Noble
Truths, they are:
1. Suffering. Every sentient being experiences suffering at the very least in the
sense that we all experience sickness, old age, and death. Union with what is displeasing and
separation from what is pleasing creates suffering.
2. Source of Suffering is clinging or grasping for pleasure.
3. The Cessation of Suffering is relinquishing grasping for pleasure.
4. The Way Leading to the Cessation of Suffering is the Noble Eightfold Path: right
view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness,
and right concentration.
It is this sense of the Eightfold Path, which is most directly related to Alfred Adler’s five
Life Tasks. These are practices by which one might successfully work with being a human being
in the world. Alfred Adler believed that when a person became willing to actively engage in
their lives (the five tasks), was encouraged to do so, and was supported with skills with which to
do so that, that person would find some basic sanity, some basic satisfaction in life, and might
even to a greater or lesser extent experience less confusion, neuroticism and pain. The act of
facing life as opposed to avoiding it in itself alleviates suffering even though the circumstances
that previously created suffering still exist. A person who engages is life will connect with some
basic sanity and will also increase their resilience in terms of being able to weather difficult life
INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY AND SHAMBHALA BUDDHISM 18
challenges and circumstances. This fundamental belief is also true in the Shambhala Teachings
and is referred to as Basic Goodness.
By simply being on the spot, your life can become workable and even wonderful. You
realize that you are capable of sitting like a king or queen on a throne. The regalness of
that situation shows you the dignity that comes from being still and simple……As human
beings, we have a working basis within ourselves that allows us to uplift our state of
existence and cheer up fully. That working basis is always available to us. We have a
mind and a body, which are very precious to us. Because we have a mind and body, we
can comprehend this world. Existence is wonderful and precious. We don’t know how
long we will live, so while we have our life, why not make use of it? Before we even
make use of it, why don’t we appreciate it? How do we discover this kind of
appreciation?...In the Shambhala tradition, the discipline for developing both gentleness
towards ourselves and appreciation of our world is the sitting practice of meditation.
(Trungpa, 1984, p. 36)
Individual Psychology and the Shambhala Teachings similarly suggest that when a
person endeavors to engage fully in life by becoming willing to understand themselves and the
world more fully then they also engage the potential to connect with basic goodness,
courageousness, and a sense of inherent dignity which is part of every sentient being. When we
engage in life this way and learn to work with our minds then we not only improve the basic
situation for ourselves but we learn intimately what is involved and how to practice working with
life that is the only way we can authentically offer it to others.
Courage and the Heart of Warriorship
INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY AND SHAMBHALA BUDDHISM 19
With Adler’s sense of the necessity of encouragement and Shambhala’s sense of the
presence of basic goodness we find that it is possible to connect with a feeling of inspiration
when we actively engage in life. Alfred Adler often taught, and spoke about the concept of life
as being constantly in motion, very much like the Buddha revealed the idea of impermanence,
life is not static, but is fundamentally and continually moving and therefore, in order to engage in
life human beings must also move. Alfred Adler referred to this principle as Teleology.
The science of Individual Psychology developed out of the effort to understand that
mysterious creative power of life which expresses itself in the desire to develop, to strive,
to achieve, and even to compensate for defeats in one direction by striving for success in
another. This power is teleological; it expresses itself in the striving after a goal, and, in
this striving, every bodily and psychological movement is made to cooperate. It is thus
absurd to study bodily movements and mental conditions abstractly without relation to an
individual whole. It is absurd, for instance, that in criminal psychology we should pay so
much more attention to the crime than to the criminal. The same outward act may be
criminal in one case and not criminal in another. The important thing is to understand the
individual context, the goal of an individual’s life, which marks the line of direction for
all his acts and movements. This goal enables us to understand the hidden meaning
behind the various separate acts and to see them as parts of a whole. Vice versa when we
study the parts provided we study them as parts of a whole, we get a better sense of the
whole. (Ansbacher & Ansbacher, 1956, p. 92)
Both Alfred Adler’s and the Buddha’s idea that life in constantly in motion and that to
truly engage with it people must also move, establishes a sense of having to continually strive, a
sense of work. What it also suggests is that this is good, profitable, valuable work. The
INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY AND SHAMBHALA BUDDHISM 20
Shambhala teachings describe this situation in terms of the necessity of manifesting effort in
order to continue to engage, in order to work with laziness, a sense of discipline in terms of
doing what you have found needs to be done. In order to engage in life at this level it is
inevitable that a person encounters fear. Previous to making a decision to meet with an Adlerian
Counselor or actually deciding to take one’s seat with oneself on a meditation cushion a person
was engaging with life on a level which represents less awareness, sleepwalking you could say,
engaging with life on a survival level. Simply moving away from pain and towards pleasure. It
is fearsome to recognize that operating that way is no longer useful and to decide that a change is
necessary, that life and our own minds must be looked into as opposed to run away from. So to
decide to be more fully with one’s own life, one’s own mind, oneself may have been up to this
point exactly what we were trying to avoid doing and to decide finally to do that is fearsome and
requires courage, daring, fearlessness.
Activity must not be confused with courage, although there is no courage without
activity. But only the activity of an individual who plays the game, cooperates, and
shares in life can be designated as courage. There are many variations of courage, as well
as mixed cases and cases where courage appears only conditionally, for example, in the
event of extreme emergency or with the assistance of others. Anyone who has become
convinced of the constancy of the degree of activity, corresponding entirely to the
constancy of the individual law of movement, that is, the style of life, will observe very
attentively that individual degree of activity. (Ansbacher & Ansbacher, 1956, p. 166)
In this writing by Alfred Adler, he is acknowledging that fear is present as a human
condition and that courage is needed, and should be cultivated, but he is pointing also to the need
to be able to distinguish authentic courage from other types of movement. The Shambhala
INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY AND SHAMBHALA BUDDHISM 21
teachings also recognize this and refer to it as developing right intention. In the writings of
Chogyam Trungpa, he also refers to the idea that engaging in activity for activity’s sake or as a
strategy of avoidance as “speed”. A person needs to be vigilant when attempting to engage in
life with more wakefulness not to turn that situation into just another way to go back to sleep.
Chogyam Trungpa used to like to say that then it had become, “just another trip”.
The Shambhala Teachings do, however, talk at length about the qualities of fearlessness
and courage and warriorship. The archetype of the Warrior is used often in the Shambhala
teachings and in other ancient cultures as a person who had learned to master the challenges of
life both on and off the battlefield. The Shambhala Warrior is a person who has acquired a sense
of dignity, power, and freedom not through violence or aggression but through gentleness,
compassion, courage, and self-awareness. Chogyam Trungpa used to say often that fear never
arises without fearlessness that the two always arise together, but that the feeling of fear is so
scary and powerful that we instinctively flee. His teaching was about having confidence in that
fearlessness and courage are our heritage and that we need to learn how to cultivate those.
Fear has to be acknowledged. We have to realize our fear and reconcile ourselves with
fear. We should look at how we move, how we talk, how we conduct ourselves, how we
chew our nails, how we sometimes put our hands in our pockets uselessly. Then we will
find something out about how fear is expressed in the form of restlessness. We must fact
the fact that fear is lurking in our lives, always, in everything we do. On the other hand,
acknowledging fear is not a cause for depression or discouragement. Because we possess
such fear we also are potentially entitled to experience fearlessness. True fearlessness is
not the reduction of fear, but going beyond fear. Unfortunately, in the English language,
we don’t have one word that means that. Fearlessness is the closest term, but by fearless
INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY AND SHAMBHALA BUDDHISM 22
we don’t mean “less fear”, but “beyond fear”. Going beyond fear begins when we
examine our fear: our anxiety, nervousness, concern, and restlessness. If we look into
our fear, if we look beneath its veneer, the first thing we find is sadness, beneath the
nervousness. When we slow down, when we relax with our fear, we find sadness, which
is calm and gentle. Sadness hits you in your heart, and your body produces a tear.
Before you cry, there is a feeling in your chest and then, after that, you produce tears in
your eyes. You are about to produce rain or a waterfall in your eyes and you feel sad and
lonely, and perhaps romantic at the same time. That is the first tip of fearlessness, and
the first sign of real warriorship. In the Shambhala tradition, discovering fearlessness
comes from working with the softness of the human heart. When tenderness evolves in
that direction, then you can truly appreciate the world around you. (Trungpa, 1984, p. 48-
49)
Discouragement
Adlerian therapy views individuals as discouraged rather than mentally ill and tries to
identify in what ways people have feelings of inferiority in order to help decrease those feelings
so that people may engage in life tasks more successfully.
The causes and conditions, which lead to feelings of inferiority in terms of Individual
Psychology begin with the concept of striving. Striving is described as an instinctual drive. A
baby instinctually strives to be recognized because he/she is completely dependent on others for
survival. A person comes into the world completely vulnerable with no power in and of
themselves to survive, they must rely on others. An infant’s first experiences are of the necessity
of communicating with others in order to be fed; therefore their first movements are attempts to
be recognized by others. So, immediately from birth there is a sense of vulnerability related to
INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY AND SHAMBHALA BUDDHISM 23
survival and also a relationship with others in which there is inherently a sense of “me”, and
“others”. There is thus a sense of striving for significance, striving to be recognized, striving to
belong. There is also, therefore, a sense that there are certain conditions or rules related to being
worthy of belonging.
So, from the beginning there is a polarity at work which demands that we endeavor to
figure out how the world works, how people are, and who we are in relationship to that. The
engagement of this thought process requires that we use logic, to think, make judgments and
label things accordingly: “these types of things are good…and those types of things are bad.”
When we begin to label the world and it’s phenomena that way we also begin to compare
ourselves to others and in making that comparison inevitably find that we do not measure up in
one way or another. This is one of the ways that inferiority feelings are engendered. Further
when we identify a way in which we are inferior we then try to compensate for it. The ways in
which one could potentially find that they are inferior are endless; a person would have to be
perfect in order not to find something wrong.
In the struggle for perfection, man is always in a state of psychic agitation and feels
unsettled before the goal of perfection. It is only when he feels that he has reached a
satisfying stage in his upward struggle that he has the feeling of rest, of value, and of
happiness. In the next moment his goal draws him farther on. Thus it becomes clear that
to be a human being means to possess a feeling of inferiority, which constantly presses
toward its own conquest. The paths to victory are as different in a thousand ways as the
chosen goals of perfection. The greater the feeling of inferiority that has been
experienced, the more powerful is the urge to conquest and the more violent the
emotional agitation. …Difficult questions in life, dangers, emergencies, disappointments,
INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY AND SHAMBHALA BUDDHISM 24
worries, losses, especially those of loved persons, social pressures of all kinds, may
always be seen as included within the framework of the inferiority feeling, mostly in the
form of the universally recognizable emotions and states of mind which we know as
anxiety, sorrow, despair, shame, shyness, embarrassment, and disgust. (Ansbacher &
Ansbacher, 1956, p. 116-117)
This Adlerian characterization of how it is human to struggle is very much in agreement
with the Buddhist perspective of the causes and conditions that are at work, which create
suffering in human beings. There is an existential pain we feel as we proceed to endeavor to
avoid pain and grasp pleasure. It is what we do with this fundamental human experience that
allows us to successfully proceed along the path or alternately create more confusion, suffering,
and neurosis.
According to Alfred Adler it is normal for a person to want to compensate for a perceived
inferiority, “The kind of efforts that lead to an adequate compensation are those which respect
Social Interest and which were called ‘useful efforts’ by Adler, because they are not only useful
for the individual but also for other people (the community). (Oberst & Stewart, 2003, p. 26)
Adler referred to this as striving for perfection, and it is considered normal and useful, a positive
way of compensating in that its goal is to strive for a feeling of equality. A person striving for
perfection wants to be equally as valuable as other people and takes into consideration also the
value of others. It is when a person strives for superiority, or to be better than others, more
valuable, more powerful than others that we begin to see neurosis.
Any symptom or any psychological problem is, in the Adlerian view, a particular
manifestation of (over)compensating for inferiority feeling with striving for power. Even
when the individual suffers from his problems (which is usually the case, as in anxiety,
INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY AND SHAMBHALA BUDDHISM 25
depression, etc.) neurosis is an attempt to reduce inferiority feelings; in this sense, the
neurosis is an excuse, a pretext, for not complying with one’s human duty: that of Social
Interest.” (Oberst & Stewart, 2003, p. 26-27)
The Shambhala teachings view the causes and conditions that are at the root of neurotic
behavior in much the same way that Individual Psychology does. The Shambhala teachings
teach us to reflect and realize that we have divided the world into “us” and “them”, friend and
foe as a result of a lack of confidence in our basic goodness, and a lack of skillfulness with being
a warrior. According to Shambhala a person has not successfully engaged with life, and that in
combination with an experience of suffering creates a situation of depression, and more precisely
discouragement and begins to engage life with a setting sun mentality. Someone who has given
up, given up on themselves, on the world, and others, characterizes the setting sun mentality. To
continue a version of living life they make up projects that create the appearance or the feeling of
living life on some level. Adler calls this phenomenon a sideshow, a way of tricking yourself
and others into believing that you are doing the hard work of living. In the Shambhala vision this
setting sun mentality seeks to bypass an authentic personal experience of the world and life
because a person is defeated, discouraged, and does not have a sense of how to go forward in a
useful productive way. Setting sun is depression, anxiety. Bypassing an authentic experience of
and instead creating grandiose ‘other’ projects to work on is a version of overcompensating; it is
a mechanism by which a person becomes more powerful than other ordinary people.
Too often, people think that solving the world’s problems is based on conquering the
earth, rather than on touching the earth, touching the ground. That is one definition of the
setting-sun mentality: trying to conquer the earth so that you can ward off reality.
(Trungpa, 1984, p. 97)
INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY AND SHAMBHALA BUDDHISM 26
The dawn of the Great Eastern Sun is based on actual, individual, personal experience.
That is where we have access to the energy of the Great Eastern Sun vision according to the
Shambhala Teachings. These teachings also fully acknowledge the fact that as human beings we
are much more accustomed to the setting-sun mentality because that is the reality of our world.
The teachings address darkness metaphorically in terms of placing ourselves in a cocoon, a dark,
warm, protected familiar place where we can sleep. The cocoon is the mind which is engaged in
manifesting habitual patterns, habitual ways of thinking and of behaving.
When we are afraid of waking up and afraid of experiencing our own fear, we create a
cocoon to shield ourselves from the vision of the Great Eastern Sun. We prefer to hide in
our personal jungles and caves. When we hide from the world in this way, we feel
secure. We may think that we have quieted our fear, but we are actually making
ourselves numb with fear. We surround ourselves with our own familiar thoughts, so that
nothing sharp or painful can touch us. We are so afraid of our own fear that we deaden
our hearts. The way of cowardice is to embed ourselves in this cocoon, in which we
perpetuate our habitual patterns. When we are constantly recreating our basic patterns of
behavior and thought, we never have to leap into fresh air or onto fresh ground.
(Trungpa, 1984, p. 60)
The cocoon is another way of describing the tendency to avoid the life tasks and the
qualities of what that feels like. The Shambhala teachings specifically detail what being in this
cocoon eventually comes to feel like. In general after a person is in this cocoon for a while they
begin to feel repulsed by it. Really, there is nothing else in there but ourselves so we begin to
contact the reality of a physical body which has not been washed, exercised, or seen the light.
Chogyam Trungpa said that the cocoon has never gone through anything like a spring cleaning,
INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY AND SHAMBHALA BUDDHISM 27
because in the cocoon we are lazy, lulled to sleep and cleaning is too much work. After being in
there for a while it begins to feel claustrophobic. After being in that claustrophobic environment
for a long time we begin to crave some fresh air, and some light, we realize that there is exists a
place other than the cocoon and we want to experience that, once we have a sense that there is an
alternative we become aware of how restricting it has been to be in the cocoon and we are
inspired to move again, and as soon as we take even the smallest step out of the cocoon we
breathe some fresh air, or we see some light, the cocoon begins to deteriorate from the action of
our leaving it.
Then we are standing in the light and we notice more and more how distasteful the
cocoon is and we desire more and more light in order to investigate it fully and we feel the
ecstasy of the Great Eastern Sun. The Shambhala teachings offer practices, which help us
maintain the inspiration of the Great Eastern Sun and reflect on the darkness of the cocoon in
order to continue on the path and to practice being a warrior in the world.
At this point it is clear that our health is dependent on our learning to be warriors in the
face of a profound and unsettling human experience of inertia in the face of overwhelming
obstacles. Adler describes this forward movement as the only thing that can be trusted, and to
cultivate said a person must manifest a sense of courage, encouragement. The Shambhala
teachings describe ways of connecting with a sense of encouragement and that daily effort must
be engaged in order to do so, in order to continue along the path.
Anything Can Also Be Different and Nowness
At a certain point in both of these systems after having analyzed what has happened to us,
to a person and why, under what circumstances did we come to arrive at this place and what
INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY AND SHAMBHALA BUDDHISM 28
must be done to move forward and to create health not only for ourselves but for others that it is
necessary to look forward and to move forward.
Adler comments on the fact that in order to understand a person, it is not only necessary
to know why certain circumstances have occurred and what were the individuals’ reactions to
them but also where life’s pathway is leading. He say’s “we regard man as if nothing in his life
were causally determined and as if every phenomenon could have been different.” This suggests
that much effort has been used to understand the causes and conditions of a persons’ suffering
and what can be gained from that has been applied to the situation in the interest of creating
health. However, we cannot know all, we are not privy to absolute truth and therefore:
“anything can also be different”.
The Shambhala teachings teach similarly and describe this phenomenon as “nowness”.
“We need to find the link between our traditions and our present experience of life. Nowness, or
the magic of the present moment, is what joins the wisdom of the past with the present.”
(Trungpa, 1984, p. 99)
At a certain point it is necessary to let go of what has happened (the past), and also on
what might yet happen (the future) and have confidence in all that has been gained through great
effort, to trust in courage, to have confidence in the path and to be in the present moment. To
quiet the mind, to perceive what is authentically happening in the moment is to be encouraged in
by the possibilities.
A human being is born into a mysterious, powerful, beautiful, and painful world and is to
a certain extent called upon to investigate the situation further in order to alleviate personal pain.
There are some specific causes and conditions they find. One is that they are in a primary way
part of a community of other people, other living things, and because of this they meet with a
INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY AND SHAMBHALA BUDDHISM 29
sense of genuine obligation to others. They realize that there is no way to alleviate personal
suffering without striving also to extend that to others. The person also finds that when they
endeavor to work with the challenge of life that they are able to connect with the feeling that
things are basically good, and not only that but that they themselves are basically good, there is
reason to be encouraged.
When we draw down the power and depth of vastness into a single perception then we
are discovering and evoking magic. By magic we do not mean unnatural power over the
phenomenal world, but rather the discovery of innate or primordial wisdom of the world
as it is. Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. (Trungpa, 1984)
Explanation of Appendix
The appendix titled Effects of Meditation on Anxiety and Related Disorders found at the
end of this integrative paper is a literature review which examines current research on the effects
of mediation on anxiety related disorders. It is included to provide information regarding the
application of the practice of meditation as a recommended treatment option for anxiety related
disorders.
INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY AND SHAMBHALA BUDDHISM 30
References
Adler, Alfred. (1992). Alfred Adler, What Life Could Mean to You. Chatham, NY: One World
Publications.
Ansbacher, & Ansbacher, Rowena R. (Eds.). (1956). The Individual Psychology of Alfred Adler,
A Systematic Presentation in Selections From His Writings. New York: Basic Books, Inc.
Hayward, Jeremy., & Hayward, Karen. (1998). Sacred World. Boston: Shambhala Publications,
Inc.
Oberst, U. E. & Stewart, Alan E. (2003). Adlerian Psychotherapy An Advanced Approach to
Individual Psychology. New York: Brunner-Routledge.
Rinpoche, Sakyong Mipham. (2004). Turning the Mind into an Ally. Boston: Shambhala
Publications, Inc.
Trungpa, Chogyam. (1980). Born in Tibet. Boston: Shambhala Publications, Inc.
Trungpa, Chogyam. (1984). Shambhala Sacred Path of the Warrior. Boston: Shambhala
Publications, Inc.
Waelde, L., Thompson, L., Gallagher-Thomson, D., (2004). A pilot study of a
yoga and meditation intervention for dementia caregiver stress. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 60(6), 677-678.
Effects of Meditation on Anxiety Related Disorders 31
Appendix
The Effects of Meditation on Anxiety Related Disorders
The Effects of Meditation on Anxiety Related Disorders
Lisa J. Havelin
Alfred Adler Graduate School
Effects of Meditation on Anxiety Related Disorders 32
Abstract
The essence of the Buddhist teachings presents some fundamental beliefs relevant to this
literature review. Buddhist belief states that all sentient beings experience suffering and that
there exists in every sentient being pure, manifested basic goodness which is often not
experienced because of thoughts which obscure it. Sitting meditation is a Buddhist practice by
which an individual can engage in taming the mind thereby removing these obscurations and
revealing inherent basic goodness. The practice helps to increase awareness of thinking patterns
as neutral rather than positive or negative, which is thought to have positive influence on
suffering. This literature review examines current research on the effects of meditation on
anxiety related disorders.
Abnormal behaviors examined include state anxiety, trait anxiety, and depression. Ten Studies are reviewed and all demonstrate degrees of positive correlation. In general terms
meditation has a positive effect on anxiety in varying degrees, but overall has not been found to
have a negative effect.
INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY AND SHAMBHALA BUDDHISM 33
Introduction
Buddhist belief teaches that all sentient beings experience suffering and that there exists
in every sentient being pure, fully manifested basic goodness, which is often not experienced as
accessible because of ways of thinking which obscure it. Sitting meditation is a Buddhist
practice by which an individual can engage in taming the mind thereby removing these
obscurations and revealing inherent basic goodness. The Buddha is said to have removed every
obscuration of mind thus achieving enlightenment. Having removed all obscurations, the
Buddha manifested pure compassion, which is the antidote to suffering. The Buddhist teachings
also reveal a belief in reincarnation or a repeating cycle of birth and death. This cycle is called
samsara, and is characterized by the first noble truth that is the experience of suffering. It is this
very suffering which teaches compassion, and embodying compassion is what liberates sentient
beings from samsara. Achieving enlightenment means being liberated from samsara.
The Buddha brought his teachings into the world 2,500 years ago. At that time these
teachings were studied and practiced largely as a monastic tradition and exclusively by men.
Large monasteries were built to house great numbers of Buddhist monks who studied and
debated the teachings of the Buddha. Monks were required to spend extended lengths of time,
often years, and in some cases the great majority of the span of an individual life, meditating.
This meditation practice would often take place in a cave. Monks who renounced material wealth
did not have families or contact with cultural centers. The monastic life was a solitary endeavor.
Buddhist teachings and practice originated in India, and traveled to Tibet and Asia.
Different forms of the teachings developed based on direct transmission of the original teachings
from the Buddha to other great teachers. The specific routes of these transmissions now define
INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY AND SHAMBHALA BUDDHISM 34
specific lineages of Buddhism and the teachings are regarded as ‘the living teachings’ because
they have been preserved over these thousands of years by way of an oral tradition.
People have always sought ways to cope with and alleviate their own suffering and the
suffering of others. They have also sought comfort and a feeling of happiness and have largely
done this through engaging different forms of spiritual practice. In the 1960’s and 1970’s the
Buddhist teachings and meditation practice became popular and somewhat fashionable in
popular western culture. Famous Americans began seeking out high Buddhist teachers. This
connection helped to bring some of these teaching to the West and eventually also brought
teachers, for instance, Suzuki Roshi from Japan, Thic Nat Hahn from Vietnam, Maharishi
Mahesh from India, and Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche from Tibet. Eventually several of these
teachers founded their own spiritual centers that made the different lineages of Buddhist
teachings and meditation practices more readily available to westerners.
The underlying theme which connects the Buddhist teachings/meditation and anxiety
related disorders is the idea of suffering. Buddhism and meditation address suffering and anxiety
related disorders as a form of suffering. Anxiety and anxiety related disorders have an enormous
impact on the overall growth, health and function of individuals and organizations. It is reported
that in industry, losses due to stress related sick days, disability, and decreased productivity were
estimated at $200 billion annually in 1993 (Sheppard W., Staggers, John, 1997). The prevalence
of anxiety disorders in the United States is estimated at between 15% and 25%. Symptoms of
anxiety are linked to and/ or worsen many medical conditions. Current treatment options for
anxiety include psychopharmacology, cognitive therapy, cognitive/behavioral therapy, relaxation
training, self-hypnosis, biofeedback, meditation, and psychotherapy (Miller, Fletcher, Kabat-
Zinn, 1993).
INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY AND SHAMBHALA BUDDHISM 35
The practice of sitting meditation creates a disciplined and structured way of sitting with
ones’ emotions, both positive and negative. This particular way of paying attention in a
nonjudgmental way creates awareness of how the mind works, and how thoughts are generated
continuously, moment-to-moment. The concept of a person’s inherent basic goodness and the
attempt through a sitting practice to reveal that, and connect with it generates compassion
towards oneself and is known as Mindfulness Meditation (Miller et al., 1995). One of the
instructions given in Mindfulness Meditation is to recognize any thought that comes up as
“thinking.” Another is to pay particular attention to the “out breath”. Any sensory experience is
regarded also as “thinking” and so the practice includes everything that is happening in a
person’s outer and inner environment. Meditation gives the practitioner experience in not
becoming wrapped up in the content of ones’ thoughts or experiences.
With continued training, a practitioner becomes aware of habitual ways of thinking and
also responding to thoughts in an objective or nonjudgmental way. This awareness leads to an
increased ability to view thought and feelings as temporary, passing phenomena which are not
necessarily true, or representative of reality. One possible outcome of the practice of meditation
is a more flexible relationship with the content of the mind. Meditation teaches individuals to
identify destructive thought patterns, and relate to this information in a nonjudgmental way that
allows for more options. This approach increases flexibility and allows for a possible reduction
of ruminating thoughts, overgeneralizations, and self-criticism. Patients with anxiety related
disorders who work with the practice of meditation might become less susceptible to mood and
feeling states which contribute to anxiety (Ramel, Golden, Carmona, McQuaid, 2004).
This paper represents a review of current research literature on the effects of meditation
on anxiety related disorders. It will include a summary of the evidence related to the general
INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY AND SHAMBHALA BUDDHISM 36
relationship between meditation on anxiety related disorders, a discussion of methodologies,
possible confounding variables that influenced the research, knowledge gaps in current research,
and directions for further research.
The General Effect of Meditation on Anxiety Related Disorders
In general, all of the ten articles included in this literature review supported a hypothesis
which confirmed that meditation has a positive effect on anxiety related disorders. The power of
statistical support varied somewhat. Sheppard et al. (1997) in a study titled “The Effects of a
Stress Management Program in a High Security Government Agency” studied the effectiveness
of Transcendental Meditation (TM), and an educational “Corporate Stress Management” (CSM)
program on anxiety, depression, and negative self-concept. They found a significant reduction in
trait anxiety and depression over the three month treatment program in the group using TM
compared to the group who received the CSM training. This was measured using the State-Trait
Anxiety Inventory, the IPAT Depression Scale, and the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale. Self-
concept was unchanged during the intervention but showed significant between-group
differences after three years. It is reasoned that Self-Concept may be a more stable personality
trait, and that it may take a longer period of time for differences in this trait to appear. This study
also used a measure of blood pressure (Systolic/Diastolic), which showed to be unaffected by the
intervention.
Smith, Compton and West (1995) studied the impact of meditation on Fordyce’s (1977,
1983) Personal Happiness Enhancement Program (PHEP). They report that the study of
happiness and life satisfaction has increased over the last 25 years, and that this research has
determined that personality factors have greater impact than situational factors in predicting
happiness. These personality factors include: extraversion, internal locus of control, positive
INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY AND SHAMBHALA BUDDHISM 37
self-esteem, optimism, and the ability to form close relationships. The PHEP program is directed
at supporting improvements in these personal traits. Research has found meditation to be
effective for stress management, increasing internal locus of control, decreasing anxiety, and
self-actualization and therefore, the authors contend, would be useful as an adjunct to PHEP.
This is called Meditation plus PHEP, or MEDP. Results of this study found that a program to
enhance happiness is significantly improved by the addition of meditation, provided that
participants practice meditation at least three times a week, which is the minimum amount of
time the study found to have significant improvements.
In another of the articles, Ramel et al. (2004) studied the effects of mindfulness
meditation on cognitive processes and affect in patients with past depression. They report that
negative attitudes and personal attributes such as rumination, repetitive thinking, worry, anxious
and depressive self-talk and thoughts of loss, incompetence, etc. contributed greatly to feelings
of anxiety and depression. Again, they cite previous research, which supports the use of
mindfulness meditation as a productive intervention in helping reduce anxiety. During the eight
week intervention in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), results confirmed that
compared to the control group, patients reduced the number of general overall autobiographical
memories, a characteristic of thinking which leads to depression, and increased specificity of
their memories. Overall, their results suggest that and an eight week stress reduction program
which includes mindfulness meditation is effective in decreasing ruminative thinking, and that
this improvement in maladaptive thinking decreased episodes of depression and anxiety.
Methodologies
In general, studies on the effects of meditation on anxiety have become more
sophisticated over time. In the 1980’s and early to mid 1990’s studies used a form of meditation
INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY AND SHAMBHALA BUDDHISM 38
call TM, Transcendental Meditation, which was popularized in western culture largely during the
1970’s. Transcendental Meditation originated in India, which was one of the first lineages of
Buddhism imported to the West.
The technique of TM focuses awareness on a specific object or mantra, and in that way is
much more specific, and less inclusive than mindfulness meditation which opens up eyes and
mind to encompass all perception. Because of the popularity of TM in earlier years, those early
studies looked only at TM without considering other forms of meditation. Studies have also
developed more sophisticated ways of measuring the effects of meditation on anxiety. Early
studies used physiological measures such as blood pressure testing, which was later revealed to
be a less accurate method, as blood pressure readings could be influenced by other health related
problems. Further, these early studies used non-standardized testing including self-report
measures of well being, and one did not have a control group.
Later studies all included a control. In general, the development of studies included more
specificity in hypothesis, which did include looking at the effects of different forms of
meditation on anxiety, including Mindfulness Meditation, and also, began to include
standardized measures including State-Trait, and DSM-IV. Due to these improvements in the
sophistication of ways of designing studies, and in testing measures, the validity of results has
improved dramatically over time. Of the studies which included measures of length of
intervention, they found that the effectiveness of the intervention increased with the length of
time. Interventions which took place over longer periods of time were more effective than
interventions which were briefer.
The earliest article included in this review is by Books and Scarano, (1985). This study
included a random sample of patients from the Denver Vietnam Veterans’ Outreach Program,
INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY AND SHAMBHALA BUDDHISM 39
and tested the effectiveness of Transcendental Meditation compared with psychotherapy in the
treatment of Post-Vietnam Adjustment. A group of 18 male Vietnam veterans seeking treatment
at the Denver Vet Center were selected randomly to be included in one of the two groups. Odd
numbered participants were assigned to the TM group and even numbered clients were assigned
to the psychotherapy group. The TM program included a 4-day instruction period of 1½ hours
per day and weekly follow-up meetings over a 3-month period. TM instruction was given by
instructors trained and qualified by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Each client was instructed to
meditate 20 minutes per day. Clients assigned to the psychotherapy group participated in
weekly, individual psychotherapy sessions at the Vet Center.
Pretest and posttest measures used the same measures which were: a measure of
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) developed by Charles Figley after the DSM-III and
included a subscale measuring emotional numbness, the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale, Beck
Depression Inventory, a questionnaire designed by Figley to measure post Vietnam adjustment,
and a physiological measurement using stimulus GSR. There was no control group and therefore
generalizability of this study is not supported. Results support a positive correlation for the
effectiveness of TM in the treatment of post-Vietnam adjustment. The TM group improved
significantly pretest to posttest on eight variables; the therapy group showed no significant
improvements on any measure.
An article titled: Effectiveness of a Meditation-Based Stress Reduction Program in the
Treatment of Anxiety Disorders, (Kabat-Zinn, Massion, Kristeller, Peterson, Fletcher, Pbert,
Lenderking, Satorelli, 1992), and Three-Year follow-up and Clinical Implications of a
Mindfulness Meditation-Based Stress reduction Intervention in the Treatment of Anxiety
Disorders, ( Miller et al, 1995) are of particular relevance to this review. The 1992 study was the
INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY AND SHAMBHALA BUDDHISM 40
first of its kind in that previous to it, studies had only researched effect of Mindfulness
Meditation on non-psychiatric populations. This study measured the effectiveness of meditation
for patients with anxiety disorders as measured by DSM- III or DSM-III-R criteria. In addition it
was the first study of its kind to use standardized diagnostic procedures, and also was the first to
use structured clinical interview for diagnosis. This study was designed to determine the
effectiveness of a group stress reduction program using mindfulness meditation for patients with
anxiety disorders. The participants were screened with a clinical interview and found to meet
the DSM-III-R criteria for generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder. This study found that
meditation effectively reduced symptoms of anxiety and panic. The 1995 follow up study is the
only study which included a long-term follow-up. This three-year follow-up found that the
positive results of the earlier study were maintained on every outcome measure providing strong
evidence that a mindfulness based meditation program can provide a clinically effective
treatment. It suggests that people who experience chronic long-term anxiety can experience long
lasting positive effects by practicing mindfulness meditation.
These two aforementioned articles greatly influenced the studies, which came after them
and are cited extensively. One article in particular, “Effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress
Reduction on Medical and Premedical Students,” (Shapiro, Schwartz, Bonner,1998) modeled
their intervention after the study developed by Kabat-Zinn.
Possible Confounding Variables Influencing Results
In general there is one confounding variable which influenced all of the studies
considered in this review, and that is that they all used very small sample sizes, which decreased
the reliability and generalizability. Another variable which influenced the studies was their lack
of a randomized control group (Miller et al., 1995). A Pilot Study of a Yoga and Meditation
INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY AND SHAMBHALA BUDDHISM 41
Intervention for Dementia Caregiver Stress, (Wailde, Thompson, Gallagher-Thompson, 2004)
studied the effectiveness of meditation on caregiver stress and found that it reduced anxiety and
fatigue/burn-out. However, the study allows that this result could be influenced by the fact that,
in general, over time a caregiver might become better able to accommodate the demands and
stress created by care-giving by developing better skills, practice, and support.
In a study titled: Individual Trait Anxiety Levels Characterizing the Properties of
Zen Meditation, (Murata, Takahashi, Hamada, Omori, Kosaka, Yoshida, Wada, 2004) which
studied the changes in neurophysiology during Zen Meditation, and evaluated the results in
relation to the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory found that lower trait anxiety more readily induces
meditation which emphasizes internalized attention, and that higher trait anxiety induces
meditation with an emphasis on relaxation. This study reports that individuals who participated
in the study and who were psychologically healthy and who therefore had a greater capacity for
relaxed attention appear to be better at meditation. It is not clear whether these participants
already had these characteristics or if the practice of meditation created them.
Knowledge Gaps in Current Research
Knowledge gaps in the current research reflect a need to continue to design studies which
evaluate the relationships between, and effect of meditation and anxiety. One of the ways in
which that might be accomplished is to design studies which measure the effects of the different
kinds of meditation. Meditation has many forms, for example: Transcendental Meditation,
Mindfulness meditation, of which there are several forms including forms which come from
Tibet, India, and Japan. Also, there are more body centered forms of meditation including Yoga,
and Tai Chi, (Tloczynski, Tantriella, 1998).
INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY AND SHAMBHALA BUDDHISM 42
Smith et al. (1995) report that in their study the initial teaching, and beginning a
meditation practice may be psychologically stressful for some people due to the increasing
awareness of internal states and that this may have an influence on results.
There are knowledge gaps in terms of generalizability. Because all of the sample sizes
were very small in all of the studies included in this review it is unclear whether or not the results
of these studies have any power in terms of their generalizability to larger populations of people
(Smith et al, 1995). In most of the studies reviewed for this paper the effects of meditation on
anxiety were looked at in non-psychiatric populations, and few used DSM-III criteria. In nine of
the ten studies there was no long term follow up, so it is unclear whether or not the effects of
meditation on anxiety related disorders has any long term effectiveness or it is strictly effective
as a short term intervention. In addition, many of the studies did not use standardized testing
methods.
Directions for Further Research
Many of the people who suffer from anxiety related disorders receive many different
forms of treatment to address their disorders. These include: psychopharmacology, cognitive
therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, relaxation training, self-hypnosis, biofeedback,
meditation, supportive psychotherapy, psychodynamic psychotherapy, and other forms of
psychotherapy. People also use alternative methods of healing including somatic interventions
like Hokomi and other body centered therapies, chiropractic, naturopathy, acupuncture,
visualization, yoga, Tai Chi, and exercise. Further research could include ways of taking into
account the influence of these other modes of dealing with anxiety related disorders and how
they affect results.
INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY AND SHAMBHALA BUDDHISM 43
Of particular interest is pharmacotherapy. Since meditation has its greatest influence on
the mind, brain, and awareness, it seems prudent to look at ways in which specific drug therapies
influence outcomes, particularly because the use of drug therapy is so prevalent as an
intervention in treating anxiety related disorders. It would be interesting to see how drug
therapies affect a person’s experience of meditation, or if it has any influence in a person’s
ability to commit to a regular sitting meditation practice. Also of interest would be to determine
if there is any occurrence, due to meditation, of an ability to decrease amounts of drugs being
prescribed. Another area of research could be to look at whether patients who are receiving
pharmacotherapy receive any greater or lesser benefits from meditation than people who do not.
In general, it is obvious that further research should include much larger sample sizes.
The small number of subjects in on particular study prohibited any conclusions about the
relationship of the results with how frequently the participants meditated. A much larger sample
size would make it possible to analyze the role of frequency of meditation and how that affects
anxiety (Miller et al., 1995).
It would be interesting to see a group of studies look more specifically at kinds of
thoughts and how they relate to anxiety and/or happiness. They are beginning to find that there
are specific thoughts which produce anxiety and depression, for instance: repetitive thoughts,
worry, rumination, anxious and depressive self-talk, thoughts of loss, incompetence, rejection
and failures, future-oriented and questioning thought of threat, harm, and uncertainties (Ramel et
al., 2004). It would be worthy of study to also look at what kinds of specific thoughts or patterns
in thinking produce positive feelings. Finally, studies showing how these positive and negative
patterns affect the brain and body chemistry, which kinds of meditation most effectively produce
INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY AND SHAMBHALA BUDDHISM 44
positive thinking and which kinds of meditation are most effective in reducing negative thinking
would be valuable.
One study suggested that meditation and relaxation are both effective but for the
treatment of different problems and for different kinds of individuals. This study suggests that
more research is needed to differentiate between meditation and relaxation. It suggests that
variables in personality be taken into consideration, and that a look at the relative health and
pathology of people included in studies be taken into consideration (Tloczynski et al., 1998). In
addition, studies could consider a variety of personal lifestyle variables such as, height, weight,
age, income, marital status, eating habits, education, spirituality, etc.
A study shows that experienced meditators demonstrate increased activity in their
autonomic nervous system while they are meditating compared with inexperienced meditators
who showed autonomic relaxation while meditating. The authors of this article suggest further
long- term studies which would measure differences between experienced meditators and
inexperienced meditators. These same authors also would like to see further studies which
would measure changes in the properties of meditation such as changes from a predominance of
relaxation to concentration or from autonomic relaxation to autonomic activity with meditation
practice (Murata et al., 2004).
Discussion
Meditation is a specific process by which the individual practicing it may come to have a
greater awareness of what happens in their own mind. A person starts to see first that there
many, many thoughts which occur continuously and are produced at a very fast rate. The
practice of meditation may also produce a greater awareness of the content of those thoughts and
recognition that not all of them are true, real, or accurate. People who are able, through
INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY AND SHAMBHALA BUDDHISM 45
practicing meditation, to recognize anxious thoughts report that this helps decrease anxiety and
increase their ability to deal with anxiety generating situations. The insight that a person is not
the content of his/her thoughts gives them more options when responding to a specific thought.
This increased awareness and flexibility is associated with a greater sense of control (Kabat-Zinn
et al, 1992).
The practice of meditation and its accessibility in teaching a mindfulness approach to
present moment situations and experiences can help to alleviate the fight of flight response in
individuals encountering a stressful or anxiety producing situation. The practice of mindfulness
and its ability to create feelings of calm, control, and stability in the mind allow individuals to
respond to difficult situation more effectively rather than reacting with panic or fear which tend
to escalate negative feelings and a feeling of loss of control. In addition, the finding that short-
term improvements in the effectiveness of meditation in treating anxiety were maintained at a
three-year follow up suggests that a mindfulness based stress reduction program also has the
potential to be cost effective.
Total costs of mindfulness training programs are relatively low (under $500 for an 8
week program). Average duration of symptoms from anxiety related disorders was 6.5 years and
treatment for anxiety and its resulting symptoms were associated with significant health care
costs over that length of time. The cost of psychotherapy, medication, emergency visits, and lost
productivity is significant in terms of its cost. Meditation training may be regarded as a possible
solution in its cost effectiveness as well as its usefulness in the treatment of anxiety (Miller, et
al., 1995).
Meditation is effective in the treatment of anxiety related disorders. The studies’ findings
and positive correlations suggest that further research would be extremely valuable in
INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY AND SHAMBHALA BUDDHISM 46
determining the extent and application of mindfulness training as a treatment for anxiety related
disorders.
INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY AND SHAMBHALA BUDDHISM 47
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