QWYERsli'l OF. HAWAII UBRARJ AN INTRODUCTION TO THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF TIBETAN BUDDHIST PSYCHOLOGY A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN PSYCHOLOGY DECEMBER 1981 By Joseph Mark Rosenthal Dissertation Committee: S. I. Shapiro, Chairman Abe Arkoff David W. Chappell Lauren E. Ekroth Shigeaki Fuj.itani Walter Nunokawa Rene Tillich We certify that we have read this dissertation and that in our opinion it is satisfactory in scope and quality as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology. Chairman ~ • • t ABSTRACT Selected aspects of Tibetan Buddhist theory and practice were introduced and compared with Western formulations from such systems as Gestalt therapy, psychoanalysis, cognitive psychology, and con­ temporary physics. Generally, the Tibetan Buddhist approach asserts that all forms of diminished functioning (samsara) result from the ego principle's interruption of innate, primordial awareness (rig-pa), which is the experiential pole of Sunyata, unconditioned reality. The ego principle has been defined as a cybernetic system which creates samsara through its struggle to sustain the reification of the self­ other context in the face of the truth of impermanence and the ego's actual nonsubstantiality. The Four Veils and the Eight Consciousnesses are models which elucidate the mechanisms of the ego principle. The Four Veils are: ma-rig-pa (the basic ground of ego); the actual ego-other dichotomy; the klesa (egocentric emotionality); and karma (egocentric behavior). The Eight Consciousnesses are: the five senses; a sixth "sense" (yid) which functions to synthesize and organize experience coherently; the seventh consciousness (nyBn-yid) which provides the cognitive framework and emotional energy for dichotomizing experience into self and other; and the eighth consciousness (alaya-vijnana), the ultimate phenomenal ground. Tibetan Buddhism provides a soteriological methodology for transcending the ego principle which centers around meditation. The iv two main types of meditation are concentration (zhi-gnas) which trains focal attention and insight (lhag-mthong) which trains diffuse attention. Besides preparing the practitioner for lhag-mthong, zhi-gnas has three main functions: (a) to provide an initial recognition of the com­ plexity of samsaric processes; (b) to develop the skill of renunciation --the ability to process information with detachment; and (c) to develop the skill of samadhi--an extraordinary mastery over attentional func­ tions. When integrated with the skills developed in zhi-gnas practice, lhag-mthong meditation becomes mahavipasyana, which leads to the transcendence of egocentric levels of consciousness and the establish­ ment of the condition of enlightenment--a preeminently blissful condition in which all experiences of the phenomenal world are realized to be inherently meaningful and fulfilling. A comparison of Tibetan Buddhism with Western psychotherapy indicated that several important theoretical and methodological dis­ tinctions can be made between the two approaches. Several important ·parallels also appear to exist. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ••• iii LIST OF TABLES ix LIST OF FIGURES X CHAPTER I PURPOSE AND ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY 1 Introduction . • • . 1 Buddhism as Psychology 1 Tibetan Buddhism 2 Organization of the Chapters 4 CHAPTER II TIBETAN BUDDHIST VIEW OF REALITY AND HUMAN EXPERIENCE 5 Sunyata 6 Sunyata and Modern Science 7 Sunyata and the Vacuum State Qf Relativistic Quantum Field Theory • • • 8 Psychological Implications of Sunyata 10 Summary of Sunyata • . • • • 11 The Nature of Human Suffering 12 The Three Marks of Existence 14 Impermanence as Organismic Flow 14 Reification of Organismic Flow 15 Samsara . • • • . • . • • 16 The Ego Principle • . • • . 17 Three Basic Modalities of the Ego Principle 19 The Ego Principle and Human Suffering 20 Ontological Anxiety . • • • • • 22 De-reification of the Ego Principle • 23 CHAPTER III MODELS OF SAMSARA, I: THE STRUCTURE AND DYNAMICS OF EGOCENTRIC FUNCTIONING ACCORDING TO THE FOUR VEILS MODEL . • . • . • • • . • . • • • . 25 Evolution of Samsaric Experience in Tibetan Buddhism and Classical Psychoanalysis • • 25 Fundamental Distinctions Between Tibetan Buddhism and Psychoanalysis • • • . 26 Freudian Ontogenetic Model of Consciousness 26 Ontogenesis of Consciousness in Tibetan Buddhism • . • . • • • • • 28 Emotions as Energizing Factor • 29 Primordial Wisdom • • . • • • . 31 Historical versus Functional Approaches to the Origins of Suffering • . • • • . 32 vi Levels of Consciousness in Tibetan Buddhism 34 Unconscious as Process . 35 The Four Veils . • . • • . 37 Primordial Human Experience •. 39 Malfunctioning of Rig-pa: The First Veil. 40 Mind (Sems) and Mind-as-Such (Sems nyid) 40 Rig-pa as Basic "Excitement" of the Organism • • . • . • 42 Ego and Other: The Second Veil 43 Jneyavarana • . • . • 44 The Third Veil: Klesa .•.•• 44 The Klesa in Tibetan Buddhism, Psycho­ analysis and Gestalt Therapy 45 Karma: The Fourth Veil 47 CHAPTER IV MODELS OF SAMSARA, II: THE EIGHT CONSCIOUSNESSES 51 Overview 52 Alaya-Vijnana: The Eighth Consciousness as Phenomenal Ground 52 Alaya as Process • • . 53 The Seventh Consciousness 55 56 The Six Senses • • • 0 0 Eight Consciousnesses as a Holistic Perceptual Model of Egocentric Functioning 57 Functional Analysis of the Eight Consciousnesses . 60 Samsaric versus Enlightened Functioning 60 Phenomenology of Ma-rig-pa • • . • • 62 Bag-Chags (Vasana) Theory • • • • 65 Modern Studies of Perception and Cognition 67 Perception and Cognition as Core of Personality 74 79 Summary 0 0 • • • • • 0 • ZHI-GNAS: TRANQUILITY-CONCENTRATION CHAPTER V 81 MEDITATION 0 • • • • 0 Introduction to Meditation 81 Concentration and Insight 81 The Practice of Zhi-gnas 86 Posture in Zhi-gnas Practice 87 Effects of Postural Control 88 One-pointed Focus of Attention 90 Meditation Objects •.••• 90 Role of Attentional Factors 92 Obstacles to Proper Zhi-gnas Practice 93 Functional Analysis of Zhi-gnas 96 Meditation as a Cognitive Process 96 Central Role of Attention 97 Two Basic Scanning Patterns 98 Neurophysiological Research 99 vii Voluntary Control of Attention • • • • 100 Welwood's Classification of Attention 101 Role of Zhi-gnas in Transforming Samsaric Processes • • • . • • . • . • • • 103 Therapeutic Implications of Zhi-gnas . 103 Zhi-gnas as Providing an Initial, Sustained, Non-conceptual Experience of Samsaric Functioning • . • . • . • • • . 105 Three Stage Model of Zhi-gnas • • . • • 106 Zhi-gnas and the Commitment to Practice 107 Zhi-gnas as Developing Renunciation 110 Renunciation as Discrimination Training 112 Problematical Role of rTog-pa in Tibetan Buddhism and the "Middle Zone" in Gestalt Therapy • . • • . 113 Role of Egocentric Memory . • . • 116 Function of rTog-pa in the Instantaneous Construction of Samsara • • • . 118 Three Basic Categories of rTog-pa 119 Transcending rTog-pa 120 The Attainment of Samadhi • • • • 124 Research Related to Samadhi 126 Zhi-gnas as Preparation for Lhag-mthong 129 Three Types of Samadhi 129 Summary . • • • • • • • • . • . • 130 I CHAPTER VI LHAG-MTHONG: PENETRATIVE INSIGHT MEDITATION 133 Introduction 133 Prajna • . • . • . • • 133 Prajna and Western Psychotherapy 134 The Cognitive Unconscious 135 Role of Lhag-mthong in Tibetan Practice 137 Definitions of Lhag-mthong 138 Translations • . 139 Actual Practice • • • . • 139 Sphere technique • . 140 Alternative Techniques 141 State versus Trait Effects 143 Mahavipasyana • . • 144 Role of Mahavipasyana in the Attainment of Enlightenment • . • . • . 146 Mahavipasyana and Gestalt Therapy 148 Role of Awareness Continuum in Gestalt Therapy . • • . • • • • • • . • 148 Bag-chags as "Unfinished Business" •• 149 Therapeutic and Soteriological Approaches to Completing "Unfinished Business" 151 Emergence of Samsaric Grounds • . • . 153 Reduction of the Intensity Threshold of Awareness . 154 Immobilization of Psychic Operations 155 viii Transcendence of Samsaric Grounds 156 Stages of Enlightenment 157 Buddhahood . 158 CHAPTER VII CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS 160 Overview . • 160 Nature of Suffering 160 Four Veils . 161 Eight Consciousnesses 162 Role of Bag-chags and rTog-pa 162 Methodology 163 Zhi-gnas . • . 163 Lhag-mthong . 164 Tibetan Buddhism and Western Psychology 164 East West Parallels . 164 Western Psychotherapy and Tibetan Buddhist Soteriology: Fundamental Distinctions . 165 The Concept of Innate Intelligence in Tibetan Buddhism and Gestalt Therapy 165 Role of Meditation and Awareness in Tibetan Buddhism and Gestalt Therapy 169 Fundamental Goals of Therapy versus Spirituality ..... , . 174 Differences in Training Procedures 175 Summary . 177 Research Implications • . 179 Limitations of the Study 181 APPENDIX A--GLOSSARY 185 REFERENCES . 192 LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1 Summary of Main Effects of Zhi-gnas and Lhag-mthong 83 2 Relationship Between the Experiential Stages and Psychological Functions of Zhi-gnas • . • • • • 131 3 Hypothetical Parallels Between Tibetan Buddhism and Western Psychology and Contemporary Physics 166 4 Tibetan Buddhism and Gestalt Therapy: Common Principles/ Different Contexts . • . • . • • • • 173 LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1 Ontogenetic evolution of consciousness in psychoanalysis and Tibetan Buddhism • • • 27 2 The Four Veils as phenomenological fields within fields 38 3 Functional interrelationships among the Four Veils 49 4 Functional interrelationships among the Eight Consciousnesses