Zen Beyond Mindfulness: Using Buddhist and Modern Psychology for Transformational Practice

Zen priest and psychotherapist Harris argues in his weighty debut that American Buddhists are prone to avoid problems while seeking enlightenment and disconnect from the ethical roots of Buddhism. As a remedy, Harris offers a three-pronged solution: study of Abhidharma psychological models (Buddhist models of the mind), utilization of Mind-Body Bridging psychotherapeutic techniques (a method involving writing down reactions or responses to such questions as “What am I attached to?”), and committed zazen practice (a Zen tradition of meditation). Where the Abhidharma psychological models are concerned with the emptiness or lack of permanence of self, the Mind-Body Bridging, in Harris’s estimation, creates and sustains one’s sense of self using the presumption that the self is damaged and needs to be fixed. Harris provides questions for mind maps and bridging as well as zazen meditations that readers can use as they work their way through the program. A refreshing alternative to the profusion of mindfulness literature, this usefel if complicated guide will be handy for practitioners interested in the integration of Buddhism and psychology. (Mar.)