What this means is that they cannot have any existence except in terms of the interconnected net of causal conditions that made their existence possible. Just like the term “fist” is a convenient label to designate a particular (and transient) arrangement of the fingers, the term “self” or “I” is nothing but a label for an impermanent arrangement of the, The psychological insights of the Buddha were explicated by a number of commentators after him. ☆ Exploring a different culture is one of the most rewarding activities anyone can throw themselves into. Vijnana, or “consciousness,” the last of the five skandhas, is a multi-layered concept, including both conscious and unconscious aspects. Associate professor in the Department of Counseling and Human Development Services. Look at the world in dualities: you are A. Eastern philosophy takes more of a spiritual approach while Western philosophy is more hands-on. But caution please, folks. The fuzzier Rogerian self does offer some points of commonality with the Eastern conception of the non-self, as will be clear from the discussion that follows. This means that nothing is ever truly independent or separate from everything else. Debunk interning in eastern cultures vs. western cultures with GoAbroad. Both philosophies center on virtues. All things (including human beings) are composites, in other words, they are composed of parts, and have no real existence other than as temporary (impermanent) collections of parts. Now consider your self, your ego. As long as the wave was unaware of the nature of the ocean, believing itself to be separate and independent of it, it might develop attachments and aversions, fears, jealousies, and worries about its size, its purpose, its importance, its possessions, or its destination. Since upon realizing the universal oneness of all, the “selfless Self,” everyone and everything is oneself, this transcendent wisdom generates universal compassion and caring of everyone as oneself. Is it real? They are in a state of interdependent co-origination, they inter-are (Hanh, 1988). This comes across to me as an unnecessary rejection of Western Practices and their ability to bring us to Source. Both aim at effecting a positive change in the mode of functioning and the lifestyle of the individual. The Buddha conceived of the universe as composed of an infinite number of Dharmas, which are described as “point-instants” having infinitesimal extension and only momentary duration, somewhat analogous to the particle-waves of quantum physics (Soeng, 1991). At the end of this lesson, you should be able to: 1. References Pattern and growth in personality. Beyond freedom and dignity. If we reflect carefully we are left with the realization that there never was a car there—all that was there was a conglomerate of parts temporarily connected in a certain way, so as to result in a particular mode of functioning, and “car” was just a convenient label to designate this working arrangement. Borrowing an example from Hanh (1988), consider a piece of paper: it can be, because a tree was, since the tree had to be in order to be cut down to make the paper. But now look again: where are the boundaries of the wave? Although the archetypes in the Jungian collective unconscious manifest themselves in dreams and visions, the individual cannot modify their character. AND EASTERNTHOUGHT LESSON OBJECTIVES. These causes and conditions can themselves be either internal mental states or external events. The self-realization of Jung became the model for the concept of self-actualization in the humanistic psychologies of Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers, and it was the latter who added a phenomenological dimension to the self. 2. 450-474). Consider a wave in the ocean. In this sutra, the universe is likened to an infinite net, stretching out in all directions, in which at every intersection of two strands is found a precious jewel. . Western approaches may be extremely valuable in giving the person (primarily in individualistic societies, but to some extent also in collectivistic ones) sufficient self-confidence and maturity to discard egocenteredness. . The different conceptions of the self in Western and Eastern psychology have clear implications for psychotherapy and everyday life. The exhilarating and liberating effect of dissolving the illusion of the “I,” “me,” or “self” is reflected in these words by Achaan Chah: Reification is the process by which the mind makes a thing (res), or a material object, out of a concept or an abstraction. Avoiding the void: The lack of self in psychotherapy and Buddhism. Perhaps it was Carl Gustav Jung (Jacobi, 1942) who provided the most significant expansion of the homuncular thesis in psychology. Western Concept of life is linear as it is concerned with absolute beginnings or endings in time and space. This is one of the reasons why “ultimate reality” is essentially “ineffable.” As Lao Tze put it, “the tao that can be told is not the real Tao.”. Or is it? Richard C. Page: is an associate professor in the Department of Counseling and Human Development Services at the University of Georgia, Athens. Now consider your self, your ego. Furthermore, in the alayavijnana, the “seeds” affect each other in various ways. They are essentially patterns, configurations, or, Consider, for example, an automobile. There are eight consciousnesses, not just one. Perspective of Western and Eastern Theories of the Self EASTERN 1. Goleman, D. (1981). The delusion of the separate self is likely to be stronger in individuals raised in individualistic societies, such as those of Europe and America, and may be weaker in collectivistic societies, such as those of China or Japan, where the harmony (wah) of the group takes precedence over the needs of the individual. Jacobi, J. Now open your fingers. Re: It could be argued that the self needs to be strengthened before it can be abandoned. Stated differently, the paper cannot exist by itself; it lacks a separate self, soul, or essence. It is the source of all the troubles in the world, from personal conflicts to wars between nations. The alayavijnana is a vast unconscious realm, which is often compared to a stream, constantly flowing and renewing itself. According to Horney, the congruence of the “real self” and the “idealized self” is the hallmark of a healthy personality. The psychological insights of the Buddha were explicated by a number of commentators after him. Horney, K. (1950). Eastern culture has a circular view of the universe that is based upon the perception of eternal recurrence whereas Western culture has a linear view of the universe that is based on the Christian philosophy that everything has a beginning and an end. There is no end to this causal interconnectedness. Allport, G. (1961). Karen Horney (1950) distinguished between the “real self” and the “idealized self,” the former being regarded as a unique central inner force common to all people and the latter as a fantasy resulting from social pressures and expectations. I am confused with having to study the brain and its regions in such depth, thought I had covered that in anatomy and physiology. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. Eastern medicines may seem strange, even far-fetched. The delusion of the separate self is likely to be stronger in individuals raised in individualistic societies, such as those of Europe and America, and may be weaker in collectivistic societies, such as those of China or Japan, where the harmony (, Conceptions of the Self in Western and Eastern Psychology, 1) Thusness/PasserBy's Seven Stages of Enlightenment, 2) On Anatta (No-Self), Emptiness, Maha and Ordinariness, and Spontaneous Perfection, 4) Realization and Experience and Non-Dual Experience from Different Perspectives, 5) Differentiating I AM, One Mind, No Mind and Anatta, 6) A Summary of Seeing that Frees by Rob Burbea, 7) Experience, Realization, View, Practice and Fruition, 8) Book Recommendations 2019 and Practice Advices, Awakening to Reality: A Guide to the Nature of Mind, Soh’s Journal and Notes on Spiritual Awakening, General Buddhadharma Discussions: Dharma Connection, Chinese Translation of Thusness/PasserBy's Seven Stages of Enlightenment, The Concept of Sunyata (Emptiness) in Mahayana Sutras, Dream Datum: Self discovery paths related articles, Buddhist Forum: ~ Buddhism: Wisdom Bliss ~. This is the Buddha’s concept of anatta, and this is why the Buddha declared the self an illusion. Does it have any real existence apart from its parts? Self-concept is a concept or belief that an individual has of him or herself as an emotional, spiritual, and social being. As Hussain points out, there are many historic connections between Eastern and Western countries that will mean that some people straddle both ways of …     Abstract Allowing oneself to indulge in anger or hatred waters the corresponding seeds, so that it becomes easier to grow angry and to experience hate. According to Buddhist psychology, what we call a “person” is the composite of five groups of elements or skandhas. Kornfield, J. When crossing the street, it is not enough to contemplate an approaching car and to realize that we are one with it. Where does the wave end and the rest of the ocean start? To some extent Western formulations of the self evidence a homunculus-like quality lacking in some Eastern conceptions, especially those derived from the Vijnanavada and Zen Buddhist traditions. Where did it go? Hence different parts of the world feature different cultures that vary very much from one another. It is here where the illusion of a subjective “I” or “ego” arises. New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston. This is why mindfulness of thoughts is so important, and why the “right effort” aspect of the Eightfold Path deals with cutting off negative or destructive thoughts as soon as they appear, while nurturing positive ones. What the Buddha taught. These “seeds,” upon development, produce all sorts of mental phenomena. Zen Buddhism. Rogers, C. (1951). Does it have any real existence apart from its parts? There is no little man inside of the head, no thinker of thoughts, no doer of deeds, no inner ego or self, other than the temporary gestalt formed by the skandhas. Other person as part of your self distinct from the other person B. Wisdom and compassion: What the Buddha taught. By and large, cultures in the West tend to be more individualistic whereas people from the East are more collectivist. The delusion of separateness results in cravings, grasping, clinging, greed, selfishness, hatred, fear, feelings of alienation, loneliness, helplessness, and anxiety, which afflict those “healthy” as well as “unhealthy.” Zen Buddhism. Psychotherapy East and West. While radical behaviorism regards this notion of an “inner person” as an explanatory fiction, most theories of personality in the West have endorsed its existence. Hahn, N. (1988). Form is empty of reality when separated from perceptions, feelings, impulses, and consciousness. At which point did the car disappear? New York: Bantam. There is no separate, independent self or soul that would be left if we removed form (which includes the body), feelings, perceptions, impulses, and consciousness. It certainly seems to be. Karen Horney (1950) distinguished between the “real self” and the “idealized self,” the former being regarded as a unique central inner force common to all people and the latter as a fantasy resulting from social pressures and expectations. The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 24, 151-180. Although some Eastern conceptions of the self, most notably those derived from Hinduism, which center on the Vedic notion of the atman or soul, are similar to Western ideas of the self, Buddhist psychology provides a radically different interpretation. . (Kornfield & Breiter, 1985, p. 174). The delusion of separateness results in cravings, grasping, clinging, greed, selfishness, hatred, fear, feelings of alienation, loneliness, helplessness, and anxiety, which afflict those “healthy” as well as “unhealthy.”. Mosig, Y. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical House. These “seeds” are “watered” by con scious activities, so that, for example, engaging in kind or compassionate thoughts makes the seeds of compassion ripen and grow (i.e., become more powerful), so that it will be easier to think compassionately next time. This larger awareness guides the individual in compassionate action, and eliminates unnecessary worries and suffering about impermanent events, which can now be accepted as the momentary contents of reality. It is essentially a perceptual and cognitive processing center. This paper will compare and contrast these differing views emerging from Western and Eastern psychology, and examine their relevance for psychotherapy and everyday life. Mosig, Y. New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston. Take perhaps the most commonly noted, broad-brush feature of the Eastern conception of self: its relationality. Richard C. Page. The concept of the self in Western psychology derives primarily from the work of Freud, Jung, and Rogers. However, Western psychotherapy is designed to effect such change in persons experiencing psychological or behavioral disorders, while Eastern disciplines affect primarily the practical everyday life of normal or healthy individuals. Feelings are feelings about something, about one’s body, one’s perceptions, one’s impulses, one’s state of consciousness. Everything is dependently arisen, everything exists only if the necessary conditions are there. (1989). If you're new here, I recommend going through the 'Must Reads' articles (see sidebar). AND EASTERNTHOUGHT LESSON OBJECTIVES. Oh the mixed up world of the new religion that is science. The origins of the notion of an inner self in Western psychology and philosophy are found in the idea of the soul in the Judeo-Christian tradition, which notion was actually derived in part from the writings of Philo, a Jewish theologian, and Plotinus, a pagan neo-Platonic philosopher. Just as an automobile is a temporary collection of car parts, a person is a temporary arrangement of these five aggregates or skandhas. It was precisely this inner self that was rejected by B. F. Skinner (1971) and the radical behaviorists as “explanatory fiction.” Eastern psychotherapy attempts to dissolve the experience of the self-as-separate entity and replace it with a feeling of interconnectedness, the non-self or selfless Self implied in the Buddhist concept of anatta. Such part, if found, would have represented the essence or the “soul” of the car, and yet it was nowhere to be found. THE WESTERN CONCEPT OF THE SEI,F 5 when she writes, "As an American researcher, I had been taught to act: independence, mastery, competence, were deemed key vir-tues." But when she interacted with native Japanese, she states, "I felt keenly the deconstruction of the self into various constituents at war with one another" (Kondo 1986:78). New York: Norton. We in the West are quite concerned these days with how to make the dharma authentically Western. Since the 'discovery' of eastern philosophy by western explorers and scholars in the 18th and 19th centuries CE, there has been an arbitrary division maintained, especially in colleges and universities, between 'western philosophy' and 'eastern philosophy' as though these two systems present radically different views of the world. Buddhist psychology is concerned with the alleviation of the unnecessary suffering caused by the delusion of the separate self in human beings in general. Today we bring a guest writer, Lim Chuwei from Hong Kong, to share about this East/West debate. With Jung the self, transcending the ego, became ultimately identical with the whole psyche. In reality, it has no boundaries, the wave and the ocean are one, the wave is the ocean, and the ocean is the wave—the separation was just an illusion created by our perceptions and by the words we use to describe them. The ego in turn served as the model for the self in a number of theories developed by those who wrote in the wake of Freud. This means that nothing is ever truly independent or separate from everything else. Fromm, E. (1964). Or is it? Language has developed as a system of communication for myriads of reified concepts, and consequently consists primarily of reified labels. The psychological commentaries of the Buddha, collected in the Abhidharma Pitaka, were further elaborated in India by Vasubandhu nine centuries later, providing the basis for the Yogacara or Vijnanavada conceptions of consciousness and the self. However, since east and west refers to various countries and cultures scattered across the globe, only a broad generalization can be m… It seems so real, and yet, if we look deeply, we can see that there is no thing called “wave” there at all; all there is, is the movement of the water. According to the teaching of the Buddha, the idea of a [personal] self is an imaginary, false belief which has no corresponding reality, and it produces harmful thoughts of “me” and “mine,” selfish desire, craving, attachment, hatred, ill-will, conceit, pride, egoism, and other defilements, impurities and problems. The concept of the self in Western psychology derives primarily from the work of Freud, Jung, and Rogers. Eastern Self/Western Self By Linda Heuman May 08, 2013 . Soeng Mu, S. (1991). Mosig, Y. To some extent Western formulations of the self … In Eastern philosophy , though, the self is often treated as an illusion. Therefore, the self-concept is the idea of who I am, kind of like a self-reflection of one's well-being. In this example, the electricity that activates them is the equivalent of the, Western psychotherapy, in its efforts to heal the neurotic individual, attempts to strengthen the ego, or to foster the development of a stronger “self,” and yet it is this very notion of self which Buddhist psychology sees as the root cause of human suffering. To some extent Western formulations of the self … This essay shall seek to describe some of the fundamental tenants of African and Western Psychology. Consider a wave in the ocean. These differences can be noted mainly in people’s behavior and attitudes. He was a founder of the school known as the Vijnanavada (“path of knowledge”) or Yogacara (“application of yoga”), and the author of one of the most important books of Buddhist psychology, the, According to Vasubandhu, all that can be experienced to exist is “mind only,” or the mental processes of knowing. But for the logger to be, his parents had to be, and the food they consumed, and all the conditions that made their lives possible, and those lives upon which theirs in turn depended, and on, and on. Both aim at effecting a positive change in the mode of functioning and the lifestyle of the individual. In Western thought, people tend to answer affirmatively and think of the self as an entity separate from others. The person becomes transformed from an isolated and powerless individual struggling against the rest of the world, into an interconnected integral part of the universe. As long as the wave was unaware of the nature of the ocean, believing itself to be separate and independent of it, it might develop attachments and aversions, fears, jealousies, and worries about its size, its purpose, its importance, its possessions, or its destination. This can be grasped best with another metaphor, often found in Buddhist literature. It is also true of cognitive or mental states, because for every emotion, for every perception, for every thought, there are necessary causal conditions without which they would not have come into being. (Kornfield & Breiter, 1985, p. 174) They possess no separate essence, self, or soul that could exist by itself, apart from the component parts and conditions. http://goo.gl/seB92J Tweet me! To some extent Western formulations of the self evidence a homunculus-like quality lacking in some Eastern conceptions, especially those derived from the Vijnanavada and Zen Buddhist traditions. Eastern culture bel… Think of a room illuminated by seven lightbulbs. Alfred Adler (1927) proposed the notion of a “creative self” which interpreted both the innate abilities and the experiential components of the individual, developing a style of life to compensate for perceived inferiorities and achieve a degree of personal competence and superiority under the influence of an innate “social interest” or Gemeinschaftsgefuehl. The following exercise makes the same point experientially. Fromm, E. (1964). . In its simplest expression, dependent origination is a law of causality that says “this is, because that is; this is not, because that is not; when this arises, that arises; when this ceases, that ceases.” Despite the apparent simplicity of this formulation, it is a farreaching principle, that leaves nothing untouched, and, in fact, causally connects everything in the universe, for it implies that all phenomena, whether they be external objective events or internal subjective experiences, come into existence depending on causes and conditions without which they could not be. Skinner, B.F. (1971). In the same way, all human problems and suffering disappear when the illusion of a separate self is eliminated. Language automatically fosters further reifications, in a vicious cycle which prevents the individual from effectively communicating in a non-reifying, nondualistic manner. Furthermore, in the alayavijnana, the “seeds” affect each other in various ways. One of the most important ones was Vasubandhu, an oustanding Buddhist scholar living in the 4th century. What is needed is appropriate action in the relative world, while maintaining awareness of the big picture. Yozan Dirk Mosig University of Nebraska at Kearney Abstract The concept of the self in Western psychology derives primarily from the work of Freud, Jung, and Rogers. New York: Harper & Row. It is also true of cognitive or mental states, because for every emotion, for every perception, for every thought, there are necessary causal conditions without which they would not have come into being. Epstein, M. (1995). To some extent Western formulations of the self evidence a homunculus-like quality lacking in some Eastern conceptions, especially those derived from the Vijnanavada and Zen Buddhist traditions. Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology, 9(2), 27-36. To some extent Western formulations of the self evidence a homunculus-like quality lacking in some Eastern conceptions, especially those derived from the Vijnanavada and Zen Buddhist traditions. Now stretch your imagination, and assume for a moment that the collection of elements forming the wave had resulted in the phenomenon of consciousness. What would remain of it if you removed form, feelings, perceptions, impulses, and consciousness? Heart sutra: Ancient Buddhist wisdom in the light of quantum reality. The practice and theory of individual psychology. Consider, for example, an automobile. This is the realization known as enlightenment, the emergence of the big self, the Self with capital S, which is boundless. New York: Houghton Mifflin. I am using this writing to keep me from emotional despondency while having to study a (Western) psychology unit and struggling with reconciling my understanding of the fluidity of concepts that exist in the Buddhist world view and the comparatively gross world view of recent Western psychology. Perspective of Western and Eastern Theories of the Self EASTERN 1. It is here where the illusion of a subjective “I” or “ego” arises. Philosophy East and West, 43, 481-510. The west wants it … Each of these jewels reflects the whole net, so that the entire universe is contained in each part of it (Loy, 1993). The different conceptions of the self in Western and Eastern psychology have clear implications for psychotherapy and everyday life. Peace is every step: The path of mindfulness in everyday life. Successively taking away the windshield, a door, a piston, a bolt, the radiator cap, and continuing until the last piece of metal, plastic, glass, or rubber has been removed, one would never find the part which, if removed, transforms what remains into a non-car. But what about a person? The concept of the self in Western psychology derives primarily from the work of Freud, Jung, and Rogers. Various self-evident truths about the individual, his rights and dignity, basic needs and aspirations, as well as about the nature of human communities, taken from Western civilization, are usually only creations of our team culture, formed on the basis of the Christian heritage and Greco-Roman. At the end of this lesson, you should be able to: 1. With Jung the self, transcending the ego, became ultimately identical with the whole psyche. Neurosis and human growth. Implications for psychotherapy and everyday life are discussed. It helps humans deal with human morality and concepts such as good and … Since it is the self-as-knower that labels and classifies the characteristics of the self-as-object, it stands for a homunculus whose own inner self cannot be reached without infinite regression into absurdity. Certainly. What would remain of it if you removed form, feelings, perceptions, impulses, and consciousness? Everything in the universe is connected to this piece of paper through a web of causal conditions. Freud, S. (1964). The psychology of C. G. Jung. Similarities and differences in society. (1961). Removing one of the tires of the car, one could ask oneself, is this the car? Next comes manas (“mind”), where complex thinking and awareness takes place based on the information processed at the previous level. The heart of understanding. The concept of the Self takes many forms in Western psychology, but invariably involves to some extent a dimension of “thingness,” the reification of a homunculus assumed to reside within the individual, who is the thinker of thoughts, the doer of deeds, and the feeler of feelings. The same is true of the remaining skandhas—each one is composed of the other four. New York: Bantam. Culture differences are a very hot topic in business as well as at holiday parties. All things (including human beings) are composites, in other words, they are composed of parts, and have no real existence other than as temporary (impermanent) collections of parts. Western approaches may be extremely valuable in giving the person (primarily in individualistic societies, but to some extent also in collectivistic ones) sufficient self-confidence and maturity to discard egocenteredness. Eastern vs. Western Spiritual Practices By Maurice Turmel, PhD. 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