Customer Reviews

The Couch and the Tree: Dialogues In Psychoanalysis and Buddhism, 1st Edition

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This anthology traces the developing relationship of psychoanalysis (PA) & Zen (Z) over time, including both old & new classics. Unfortunately, I had read (& reviewed on Amazon) quite a few. IMHO some are only of historical interest; some didn't say much, but some were quite enlightening. Having read the earlier translation of the Jung-Hiramatsu conversation in Meckel & Moore's book, I found the Muramoto one (from German original) more comprehensible & believable. I thoroughly enjoyed Elder's delightful PA of Buddha's life, both Eigen's & Cooper's fine case studies, & Suzuki's fantastic "The Zen Doctrine of No-Mind." It can be compared with Engler's fine "Buddhist Psychology: Contributions to Western Psychological Theory." Several authors argue convincingly for the integration of Z & PA addressing the nature of ego/self: Bobrow & Abe-with the latter comparing Z & Jung. Per Michael Eigen's valuable essay, p. 219: "We need more than one breast, more than one eye...Experience teaches us that it is dangerous to think that any one system of belief will supply everything. There is always something missing, something wrong. Healthy skepticism protects against blind faith. Healthy faith protects against nihilistic skepticism. We are made of multiple systems capable of providing some checks & balances. It is important not to expect too little or too much from a great teaching." Phillips & Young-Eisendrath address the value of suffering: per Phillips, pp. 197-8: "Psychoanalysis, one could say, is the art of turning pain into meaning." But, my favorite essay is Odajnyk's "Zen Meditation as a Way of Individuation & Healing" in which he differentiates between Z, mindfulness, & Vipassana, & between Z & PA. He provides an amazing, yet well-argued case for Zen's effectiveness in treating neuroses while also addressing the dangers of meditation to those with certain psychic wounds. Thus, he states, p. 134: "Generally, I agree that a combination of psychotherapy & meditation is the best way to approach psychological & spiritual growth & development", p. 135: "Several studies indicate that, particularly in Westerners, meditation can make things worse," pp. 136-7: "By consciously focusing the mind on the object of meditation & thereby altering the natural, habitual flow of psychic energy, we gradually `starve' & `shrink' the drives & complexes. In other words, Zen meditation, under certain conditions, achieves the same goals as psychoanalysis & psychotherapy," & p. 139: "The danger with spiritually inclined people is that they pursue Self-realization at the expense of personal development." IMHO, it's worth reading this book just to read his article. But different people will, no doubt get different things from this wealth of material. As Phillips says, p. 199: "Perhaps, each of us should take whatever appeals to us out of psychoanalysis & Buddhism, & from whatever else, to make something of our own."