___. Living in the mandala. In Rob Preece, The Noble Imperfection: The Challenge of
Individuation in Buddhist Life. Mudra Publications, 2005. Article available online:
http://www.mudra.co.uk/mudra_mandala.html.
”... The mandala has important psychological implications as a symbol of transformation, and
from a Buddhist viewpoint it encompasses the totality of an individual’s reality. This includes the
entire phenomenal world experienced through the five senses and mental consciousness. Each of
us lives within, or we could say as a mandala, which encompasses our entire world-view. From a
tantric viewpoint this mandala of appearances arises or manifests from the causal mind or clear
light mind. When we are unaware that our relative world arises in this way we believe it to be
solid and inherently existent, but when we recognise its momentary fleeting nature, its lack of
inherent existence begins to be understood. This does not imply the relative world does not exist,
merely that it is fluid, transitory and illusory, like a dream, a mirage or a rainbow. It is therefore
crucial to recognise that the mandala is a process unfolding, not just a structure of the psyche.. .”
___. Spiritual pathology. In Rob Preece, The Noble Imperfection: The Challenge of
Individuation in Buddhist Life. Mudra Publications, 2005. Article available online:
http://www.mudra.co.uk/mudra_pathology.html.
“In 1985 I returned from a period of five years living in India and began to train to become a
psychotherapist. Gradually this training confirmed for me that our western psychopathology was
sufficiently complex to require quite sophisticated understanding for its potential healing. It also
confirmed my growing sense, through many years of connection to Buddhist centres, primarily in
Europe and India, that many of us attempting to practice Buddhism often fail to address some of
our key emotional difficulties. We may be genuinely trying to do so, but do not seem to shift
some of our fundamental emotional wounds.
“When I eventually began to work as a psychotherapist those who frequently contacted me
wished to enter therapy because their personal problems were blocking the integration of
Buddhist practice. Most wished to look at emotional issues they felt were deeply rooted in their
childhood and which were difficult to unravel. Many felt the complexity of their problems were
not resolved by their meditation practices or by the doctrinal views that tended to be generalised
approaches to how to deal with the mind and emotions. What emerged in these therapeutic
encounters was something that reinforced a concern that had been growing for several years - it is
surprisingly easy for us to distort and colour our spiritual understanding by our own individual
psychopathology. I use the term ‘spiritual pathology’ to refer to the way in which our emotional
wounds and beliefs have the power to influence, shape and distort the way we practice and view
our spiritual path. Of particular importance is that we are often blind to this side of our nature, as
these wounds live in the unconscious as our shadow...
“Although the term shadow comes from Jung and not Buddhism, its recognition is nevertheless
crucial to Buddhist practice. If we do not do so we will remain blind to not only our failings but
also to many aspects of our nature that lie unconscious and yet influence our life. The shadow, far
from being something to be suppressed, contains much of the manure out of which we grow.
Failure to face the shadow will have one significant consequence, namely that we will tend to
distort our spirituality by our shadow’s particular pathology, and because the shadow is our blind
spot we will be relatively unaware that it does so... ”