Buddhist teachers have become more educated and sophisticated in the realm of
psychotherapy and more willing to work with professionals in the mental health realm
(VanderKooi 1997).
Some Buddhist communities may see personality as a pathology in itself to be
corrected, rather than a defensive strategy that contains hidden intelligence and
resources. In this case, individuals with personalities that do not fit a prescribed or
perceived spiritual ideal will be robbed of those very strengths which will allow them
to see through the veil of self (Rubin 1996; Welwood 2000).
Some Zen teachers, Asian or American, may see the self as ‘the enemy’ to be
abolished at all costs and, in pursuit of its annihilation, wittingly or unwittingly engage
in abusive or exploitative behaviors toward their students (Gopfert 1999). In the last
fifteen years or so, there have been incidents of sexual misconduct and financial
exploitation in many white, Elite or Euro-American Buddhist centers, which have
resulted in a form of spiritual incest in the larger American Buddhist community
(Boucher 1988; Finn and Rubin 1999).
The Zen teacher-student relationship itself may give way to abusive behavior
patterns (Gopfert 1999). Psychological abuse which may take the form of betrayal,
shaming, blaming, and constant invalidation on the part of the teacher toward the
student may lead to symptoms in Zen students similar to Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder: depression, loss of self-esteem, anxiety, and constricted affect (Gopfert
1999). Exploited, abused students present with symptoms similar to those of adults
who were sexually abused as children: shame, self-distrust, rage, fear, guilt, and
self-inhibition (Rubin 1996). Unfortunately, Zen Buddhist practitioners who are
clients in therapy may feel that it is disloyal to talk about the difficult aspects of their
relationship with their teacher or spiritual community, and may therefore be reluctant
to do so (Finn and Rubin 1999; Gopfert 1999).
Transference between Zen teachers and studentsThe teacher-student relationship in the Zen setting is one of the corner-stones of Zen
practice (Kapleau 1989). Western therapists should take special care to inquire into
their clients’ relationship with their Zen teacher. Clients who practice zazen only,
without the other components of Zen Buddhist practice, are not likely to be involved
in a transference relationship with their teacher. Such clients may not necessarily
identify with the Buddhist world view or participate actively in the activities of a Zen
community. Most importantly, such clients do not tend to perceive their Zen teachers
as parental figures, nor to re-enact or elicit problematic familial behavioral patterns
from their childhood with them. But for those clients who initially come to Zen
practice in deep pain, isolation and confusion, who identify with the Buddhist world
view, and who are active participants in their Zen community, intense, sensitive
transferences with the teacher may ensue prior to and in addition to the transference
they may or may not develop with their therapist.
The Zen teacher-student transference is especially intense and problematic
(Gopfert 1999; Young-Eisendrath forthcoming). This particular kind of transference
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