one experiences, while experiencing. The existential responsibility in this process is
in the client and meditator, not the authority figure.
But there are many differences and certainly misunderstandings too. Freud wrote
about meditation in terms of ‘oceanic feelings’, an experience of unlimited unity with
the universe, aimed at ‘the recovery of infinite narcissism’ and return to the breast or
the womb (Freud 1930). By making this erroneous judgment, a (negative)
misunderstanding was created and continued for decades. Still, psychotherapists in
the West have always had an interest in Eastern psychology and spirituality; Maslow
and Watts are examples. Also depth-psychologists from the Jungian tradition showed
an interest: for instance Jung himself (1964), Moacanin (1986), Meckel and Moore
(1992), and Young-Eisendrath (1996). The same goes for psychoanalysts such as
Fromm (1960), Horney (DeMartino 1991), Epstein (1995, 1998), Coltart (1996)
and Molino (1998).
In this paper I would like to go into one aspect of profound difference between
these two traditions, namely in the way that self and subjectivity are conceived and
approached. A case example illustrates a way of integrating Buddhist insights into the
‘working through’ process in psychoanalytic treatment. I will also address two forms
of Buddhist practice, mindfulness and koan practice. I hope to make clear that both
fundamental approaches offer precious gifts to the client and the psychotherapist.
Self and subjectivityThe thirteenth-century Zen master Dogen says: ‘To study Buddhism is to study the
self. To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be one with others’
(Epstein 1995:20). The perception of this self is of great importance for both
psychoanalysis and Buddhism. Psychoanalysis and Buddhism both examine the
concept and experiencing of subjectivity, and emphasize the necessity of
transformation of the self in order to develop fully. However, psychoanalytic and
Buddhist ways of conceiving the self and its development differ widely.
The following story gives us a sense of the Buddhist approach:
You are walking in the forest beside the old master, and come near a brook. He
touches your shoulder, and you know he wants you to sit down. He shakes his head
and points to apiece of cork which floats by. It is burned, half of it is black. ‘That
is your personality,’ the master says, ‘with everything that happens, every change of
circumstance, every conflict, every defeat or victory, a small bit of it crumbles away.’
You look at the cork. You see pieces of it come loose and disappear. ‘The cork is
getting smaller and smaller,’ you say, nervously. The calm voice of the master is very
close: ‘until there is nothing left’. He looks at you with a kind smile. There is this
fragile old man who wants to teach you something...You will lose your name, your
body, your personality. Your fear lessens. If it has to happen, it will happen. Nothing
will be left. And you will no longer be there.
(based on: Van de Wetering 1975:21–2)92 ADELINE VAN WANING