for both Physic & Physical therapy.
My observation is that Buddha teaching of Mindfulness
is further afirm his Theory of thr 4 Noble truth.
And about Birth - Growth - Decay - Death
The truth about
Birth & Rebirth for Physic & Physical.
All beings including the Billions & Trillions
or Universe cannot escape from the truth of
Birth & death cycle.
By Mindfulness Meditations & making
peace & blessing the billions of lilives within the
Human own universe, the illness be it in Physic &
Physical matters are cease to null.
In the Buddha teaching all those Sutra aspecially
the High Blessing.. it exhibit that Buddha wisdom of
protection & highest blessing.
....By The Power of The Buddhas May All Be Well......
......By The Power of The Buddha Teaching May All Be Well...
.....By The Power of The Holy Priest's May All Be Well....
A Buddhist Approach to Psychotherapy
Story by Kathy Vozella Photo by Michelle Wilson,
Macqurie University (Australia),
Email the researcher: bkhong@psy.mq.edu.au, Oct 26, 2004
Sydney, Australia -- Incorporating Buddhist
ideas and philosophy into psychotherapy is not new -
meditation has been used for some time as a form of
relaxation and a way of helping an individual
understand the workings of the mind.
However, according to one Macquarie University
researcher, meditation can be used for personal growth
beyond therapy if it is understood against the backdrop
of the Buddha's teachings and integrated holistically
with psychotherapy.
Dr Belinda Siew Luan Khong, lecturer in the Department
of Psychology, is quick to point out that she is not
a Buddhist, but she is informed by the Buddha's
teachings. Her PhD thesis titled A Comparative Analysis
of the Concept of Responsibility in Daseins analysis and
Buddhist Psychology received a Vice-Chancellor’s
Commendation and won her the Sidney M Jourard Memorial
Student Award for outstanding research from the American
Psychological Association (APA) in 1999.
Since graduating with her PhD in 1999, Khong has been
teaching part-time at Macquarie University, operating
her own counseling practice and traveling the world
presenting papers and conducting workshops on the
integration of Buddhist psychology and philosophy
in psychotherapy. She recently returned from the APA
Annual Convention in Hawaii where she presented a paper
on Personal growth in and beyond therapy.
“I believe that the Buddha teaches an attitude
rather than an affiliation,” Khong writes in
a chapter of Encountering Buddhism: Western psychology
and Buddhist teachings. “This state of mind can
be acquired by any individual irrespective of his or her
race, culture or religious orientation.” Khong
remains one of the few psychotherapists worldwide to
integrate Buddhist teachings whenever appropriate into
the counseling process and beyond.
The ‘beyond therapy’ aspect is something she emphasizes,
as many of her clients say that when they finish their
counseling with her they take away a general philosophy
for life, a way of responding appropriately which they
can apply to various situations as they arise.
“Buddhist ideas and practices have been
integrated in therapy for some time,” she says.
“However the main focus
has been on the use of meditation and mindfulness as an
adjunct to therapy.
In my clinical work I have found these practices to be
more helpful and effective when they are understood
holistically in the context of the Buddha’s teachings.”
Khong explains that the Buddha promotes an
attitude of acceptance and letting go developed
through personal effort and taking personal responsibility
rather than through relying on an external source
or orientation.
“The human qualities and emotions that the
Buddha encourages such as love, charity, compassion,
tolerance and patience are not sectarian as they are
neither Christian, Buddhist, Hindu nor Muslim.
They come from developing the right attitude,
not the right affiliation,” she says.
The Buddha encourages insight and understanding based
on direct experience, and this is emphasized in his
teaching of the eightfold path:
Morality Mental culture Wisdom
Right Speech
Right Effort
Right Understanding
Right Action
Right Mindfulness
Right Thought
Right Livelihood
Right Concentration
Khong explains that in this teaching, the Buddha is
describing a set of practices rather than a set of
beliefs that the individual can use to overcome his
or her own emotional suffering. “For example the Buddha
recommends that each of us take the responsibility to
cultivate an attitude (right understanding, right
thought) of seeing what is an appropriate response
(right action, right speech, right livelihood) in each
situation,” she says.
“Most of us are familiar with the power of
speech to hurt or soothe.
There will be times when friendly and meaningful
advice are helpful and other times when keeping
‘noble silence’
is appropriate.” Two types of meditation are
commonly practiced today.
The first type, known as concentration or
tranquility meditation, encourages the
individual to let go of negative thoughts that impinge
by concentrating on one neutral object to the exclusion
of all others. This is a popular tool used in
psychotherapy to help the individual to quieten down
the mind and to relax. The second type, known as insight
meditation or mindfulness practice, is unique to Buddhism
and is often used to complement concentration meditation.
Dr Belinda Khong, explains that once you calm down the
mind you still need to deal with the feelings and
emotions that come up. Mindfulness practice encourages
the person to be mindful of whatever enters the mind.
“Mindfulness helps us to look at all the feelings
and emotions as they arise, to name them, to see anger as
anger and sadness as sadness without judging them or
repressing them or carrying on an internal dialogue
(‘Why do I feel like this’, or ‘I shouldn’t feel so angry’).
The practice of mindfulness teaches the art
of acceptance and letting go, the key elements in the
attitude that the Buddha encourages,” Khong says.
“Through mindfulness
you can see what is really triggering off your own
feelings and emotions without allowing them to spiral.
“ When you are not mindful you react.
When you are mindful, you respond.
This kind of attitude is the most powerful tool my
clients take away from counseling because it gives them
choice – when you are mindful you can choose when you want
to be angry or depressed because it gives you the emotional
distance from the problem before you become reactive,”
she says. The distinction between responsibility and what
Khong refers to as ‘respond-ability’ is an important one.
Responsibility is usually associated with roles and positions,
and is commonly perceived in terms of duties, obligations
and accountability. Respond-ability, she explains, refers
to our internal ability to respond appropriately and
skillfully to what is required in each unique situation.
It involves the capacity to be mindful and to see and
understand things as they really are. “The idea
of learning to respond appropriately lies at the heart
of the Buddhist approach to responsibility,” she says.
Having experienced the powerful transformation of many
clients by using a combination of counseling and
mindfulness practice to various psychological concerns
including the prevention of the relapse of depression,
managing stress, interpersonal relationships and
personal growth, Khong is keen to integrate eastern
philosophies into more areas of western psychology.
In June next year, she will present a paper on
Complementing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with Buddhist
Psychology at the IX World Congress on
Constructivism in Sweden, where his Holiness, the Dalai
Lama and Professor Aaron T Beck, the originator of
cognitive behavioral therapy, will be keynote speakers.
One of her current research interests involves extending
the work of colleagues and researchers in the US, the UK
and The Netherlands who are studying the
emotional and brain functioning (via functional MRI imaging)
of people using mindfulness practice. Khong is looking
at possible counseling applications and at ways of helping
individuals improve their general sense of well being.
“When mindfulness is practiced alongside other
complementary therapeutic approaches, the result is an
incisive and powerful tool for empowering clients to
understand and deal with their problems with less reliance
on the therapist,”Khong Says.
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