Zen and the psychology of transformation : the supreme doctrine

by Hubert Benoit

Paperback, 1990

Publication

Imprint: Rochester, Vermont : Inner Traditions International, 1990, c1955. Context: Originally published in French as La Doctrine suprême; first English translation 1955 by Pantheon Books as The Supreme Doctrine. Edition: Revised edition. Responsibility: Hubert Benoit ; foreword by Aldous Huxley. Physical: Text : 1 volume : xv, 248 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm. Features: Includes index.

Call number

Psy / Benoi

Barcode

BK-05885

ISBN

0892812729 / 9780892812721

Original publication date

1951

1955 (English)

Collections

Your library, Adult Materials, Philosophy and Science

CSS Library Notes

Description: Man cannot live fully until he has considered the great questions of life. It is for this reason that we turn to Western psychology and metaphysics for help in solving our problems. The approach of psychology and psychotherapy is based on "statistical normality," or the behavior of the greatest number. In an effort to conform, we focus on our problems rather than our possibilities, emulating a norm that falls drastically short of our full capacity for development. Oriental thought, and Zen thought in particular, seeks to activate the true potential of men and women--to transform our lives, and thereby enable us to shed our problems and suffering. The Supreme Doctrine applies the essence of Oriental Wisdom to the pursuit of self-knowledge and transcendence. The first step in a holistic psychology is to begin examining the true “state of man,” rather than its aberrations. In so doing, we can give new direction and purpose to our lives. The author does not advocate “conversion” to Eastern thought, but rather an integration of East and West, wherein Western psychological thinking and reasoning can be enriched and clarified by Oriental wisdom. -- from back cover

Table of Contents: 1. On the General Sense of Zen Thought --
2. 'Good' and 'Evil' --
3. The Idolatry of 'Salvation' --
4. The Existentialism of Zen --
5. The Mechanism of Anxiety --
6. The Five Modes of Thought of the Natural Man --
Psychological Conditions of Satori --
7. Liberty as 'Total Determinism' --
8. The Egotistical States --
9. The Zen Unconscious --
10. Metaphysical Distress --
11. Seeing into One's Own Nature --
The Spectator of the Spectacle --
12. How to Conceive the Inner Task According to Zen --
13. Obedience to the Nature of Things --
14. Emotion and the Emotive State --
15. Sensation and Sentiment --
16. On Affectivity --
17. The Horseman and the Horse --
18. The Primordial Error or 'Original Sin' --
19. The Immediate Presence of Satori --
20. Passivity of the Mind and Disintegration of our Energy --
21. On the Idea of 'Discipline' --
22. The Compensations --
23. The Inner Alchemy --
24. On Humility --

FY1994 /

Physical description

xv, 248 p.; 23 cm

Description

Man cannot live fully until he has considered the great questions of life. It is for this reason that we turn to Western psychology and metaphysics for help in solving our problems. The approach of psychology and psychotherapy is based on "statistical normality," or the behavior of the greatest number. In an effort to conform, we focus on our problems rather than our possibilities, emulating a norm that falls drastically short of our full capacity for development. Oriental thought, and Zen thought in particular, seeks to activate the true potential of men and women--to transform our lives, and thereby enable us to shed our problems and suffering. The Supreme Doctrine applies the essence of Oriental Wisdom to the pursuit of self-knowledge and transcendence. The first step in a holistic psychology is to begin examining the true "state of man," rather than its aberrations. In so doing, we can give new direction and purpose to our lives. The author does not advocate "conversion" to Eastern thought, but rather an integration of East and West, wherein Western psychological thinking and reasoning can be enriched and clarified by Oriental wisdom.… (more)