Buddhism -- the Heart Attack Sutra
The Craziness of the Heart Sutra
Before specifically referring to Chapter 1, one should note that the difficulty of a Western mind readily understanding the tenets and nuances of Buddhist thought are made abundantly clear in reading Brunnholzl's book. Epstein points out just such a problem when he explores the difficulty of translating Buddhist philosophy to workable 21st Century psychotherapy, for several reasons: differences in languages and thought processes (Epstein, 2007, p. 178); and modern psychotherapy's orientation as an active seeker of remedies while Buddhist philosophy tends toward a gentler approach which may be too temperate and passive to treat tough modern problems such as narcissism (Epstein, 2007, p. 178).
As for Chapter 1 in particular, Brunnholzl addresses the apparent absurdity of the Heart Sutra in that it appears to negate all principles on which Buddhism is based, including conceptual frameworks, belief systems and reference points of the spiritual path (Brunnholzl, 2012, p. 7). In fact, the Heart Sutra is the essence of Prajnaparamita, "the perfection of wisdom or insight" and a shortcut manual to emptiness and compassion (Brunnholzl, 2012, p. 8). The vital emptiness to which Brunnholzl refers (repeated throughout his book) is also highly prized by Epstein in his book. Epstein speaks of importance of emptiness in modern psychotherapy because it goes hand-in-glove with the patient's achievement of an objective perspective on his/her thoughts and thought processes (Epstein, 2007, p. 77). Here, the emptiness achieved through Buddhist meditation allows the individual to experience a sublime state that differs from his/her usual experience of self (Epstein, 2007, p. 77).
Chapter 2 -- Emptiness Means Letting Go
A basic tenet of Buddhism is being "grounded in groundlessness": whatever we say, do or feel, we need not believe because there is really nothing to hold onto. Furthermore, even that teaching cannot necessarily be believed; that is how illusory our experience is (Brunnholzl, 2012, pp. 11-12). Emptiness is such a personal experience that Buddhism can Buddhism roughly points the way but we are free to explore the essence of our personal emptiness, importantly by being "in the now" within all phenomena (Brunnholzl, 2012, p. 12). This coincides with Epstein's belief that it is through the patient's unique experience of everyday traumas and emotions become the source of the patient's internal journey (Epstein, 2007, p. 200).
Brunnholzl also links Dependent Origination, the "infinite web of causes and conditions" explained by Buddha (Brunnholzl, 2012, p. 14), to Quantum Physics' reference to a sort of dependent origination in that a change in a particle on one end of the Universe causes a change in a particle on the other end of the Universe (Brunnholzl, 2012, p. 14). However, the more deeply one looks in to Buddhism's "causations and conditions" and Quantum Physics" interdependently changing particles, the fuzzier it becomes and the more difficult it is to describe the experience to others. (Brunnholzl, 2012, p. 15). Epstein speaks of the subjective nature and difficulty of conveying individual experiences of some problems in modern therapy, which requires a personal journey of internal discovery (Epstein, 2007, p. 200).
Chapter 3 -- The Buddha's Three Cycles of Teaching
Buddha taught indirect instructions to the true nature of the mind, which is inexpressible and inconceivable, because he knew that it was nevertheless accessible (Brunnholzl, 2012, p. 16). Buddha's teachings were Scriptures in that it is part of the twofold aspect of the "dharma wheel" or teaching cycle in that they were written instructional materials used along with oral traditions and other methods of pointing the way (Brunnholzl, 2012, pp. 18-19). The other aspect of the teaching cycle is realization, which is when our mind becomes the mind of a Buddha (Brunnholzl, 2012, pp. 18-19). Epstein's writing agrees with this approach to psychotherapy in that it uses various methods, including but not limited to meditation, as methods of pointing the way for patients on their personal journeys (Epstein, 2007, pp. 14, 41).
Chapter 4 - Prajnaparamita -- Perfect Wisdom Gone Beyond
Chapter 4 extensively deals with Prajnaparamita aspects. Prajna is our inquisitiveness and curiosity of our mind, which leads us in honesty to find out about ourselves. It is symbolized by a double-edged flaming sword because it is playful and compassionate but also cuts through the games we use to fool ourselves. As we travel on the path, Prajna becomes increasingly important because our self-delusional games become more sophisticated (Brunnholzl, 2012, p. 23). Brunnholzl's description of the double-edged flaming sword's effectiveness in recognizing, and cutting...
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