Zen Therapy: Transcending the Sorrows of the Human Mind [Paperback]

David Brazier (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2, 1997

"A potent source of inspiration for anyone interested in the therapeutic potential of Buddhism. David Brazier writes with clarity and authority about the Zen way."—Mark Epstein, M.D. author of Thoughts Without a Thinker: Psychotherapy from a Buddhist Perspective.

"Comprehensive and readable . . . should appeal to anyone broadly interested in Buddhism."—Helen Sieroda psychosynthesis psychotherapist.

In this book, psychotherapist David Brazier offers readers in the West a fresh perspective on Buddhist psychology and demonstrates how Zen Buddhist techniques are integrated into psychotherapy. Writing from the viewpoint of a Western psychotherapist, Dr. Brazier successfully demystifies Buddhist psychology, explains the conceptual foundations of Buddhist thought, and with the help of vivid case studies, clearly demonstrates how a Buddhist approach can provide a practical path to personal growth.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

A practicing psychotherapist and Zen Buddhist, Brazier offers a fresh perspective on Buddhist psychology by presenting Zen, the essence of Buddhism, as a therapy and a practical path to personal growth. He introduces theory and method organized around the idea of helping people to find freedom from conditioning. The text also challenges several basic assumptions of Western psychology and helps demystify Buddhist psychology. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Inside Flap

Zen Therapy "The ‘I’ seems to be harassed in every way all day, and it feels constricted, inhibited, fearful of acting in the way it likes, and depending upon outsiders all the time for directions. What is this ‘I’ that resents all these oppressions from without, revolting, complaining, irritated, upset, despondent, wavering, unable to be decisive? When you ask a question in the Zen sense of the term, you must feel somewhere deep within yourself another ‘you’ or ‘I’ who is really above these psychological annoyances. Zen wants you to put your finger on this ‘I’…" —D. T. Suzuki When Gautama Buddha first set forth the principles of what came to be known as Buddhism, it was, above all, in an effort to help people achieve freedom from mental suffering. In the twenty-five hundred years since the death of the "Great Physician," his disciples have continued to expand upon his teachings and to develop sophisticated psychotherapeutic methodologies. Yet, only recently has Western medicine begun to take its first tentative steps toward recognizing and embracing the therapeutic potential of Buddhism. In a book that will do much to advance the fusion of two great psychotherapeutic traditions, psychotherapist David Brazier offers mental health practitioners in the West a fresh perspective on Buddhist psychology and demonstrates how Zen Buddhist techniques can be integrated successfully into their clinical practices. Writing from the perspective of a Western psychotherapist, Dr. Brazier successfully demystifies Buddhist psychology for fellow practitioners. He carefully explains the conceptual foundations of Buddhist thought, and with the help of numerous case studies, he clearly demonstrates their clinical applications. While Zen Therapy challenges many basic assumptions of Western psychology, this book is no mere polemic. Instead, its goal is to help mental health practitioners—and a growing population of interested laypeople—broaden their clinical horizons by showing them how Zen can function both as a viable therapeutic approach and a practical path to personal growth. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (December 2, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 047119283X
• ISBN-13: 978-0471192831
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #883,474 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Antacid for the Soul, April 2, 1999

By A Customer

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This review is from: Zen Therapy: Transcending the Sorrows of the Human Mind (Paperback)

The approach for this book reminds me of the old "compare and contrast" essay assignments from college. But Brazier accomplishes more than highlighting the differences between these two views of our exterior and interior landscapes. You don't have to know the zen concepts, all is well explained, and ample references provide the basis for Brazier's framework. There is a blending going on that is synergistic, that creates a way of thinking and feeling that is more than western and more than eastern. It is indeed transcending the limits of both approaches. It's been a long time since a book compelled me to write in the margins and underline key points as this book does. There is a zen balance here; where traditional psychotherapy falls short, Buddha psychology fills in, and where the Buddha doesn't fit, western thought provides what is needed. We do live in a western culture and must strive for wholeness consistent with that. It's a how-to and patiently lays the groundwork for why this process will create a centered psychotherapist. The book manages to stand alone. For anyone with psychic ulcers, caused by a poor diet of ideas or by straining too hard, this book is the antacid. I am already giving it to friends.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Zen Therapy, October 7, 2007

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DD "dd" (NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zen Therapy: Transcending the Sorrows of the Human Mind (Paperback)

This is a beautiful book that made me love the field of psychology so much more. I highly recommend reading it. It is an exploration of Eastern and Western philosophy. Zen Buddhism and psychoanalysis comparing Carl Rogers to the Buddha. One of the best books I've had the pleasure of reading.

17 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Apposite psychological insights into esoteric tradition, August 10, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Zen Therapy: Transcending the Sorrows of the Human Mind (Hardcover)

If you belong to a westernised culture, steeped in theistic religion and didactic reasoning, AND know somthing of Zen already, this may be the book that finally reassures your reasonable self that your purely spiritual one is on the right track. Brazier provides a revealing and insightful interpretation of Zen practice through the mind of a psychologist who obviously cares a lot about the people he treats. If you are new to Zen or Bhuddist thought, here you will find the essence of those somtimes arcane ideas presented with new clarity, within the framework of commonsense psychologese we in the west are at ease with. "Yes, of course!" I kept hearing myself say, as another pearl fell into place. Still, as we who meditate know, these are all merely words.