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Zen & Psychotherapy

by Yuanxia Zhang, Ph.D.

203 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #04-1730; ISBN 1-4120-3922-3; US$23.58, C$29.00, EUR18.85, £13.06

This might be the first book written by a NYS licensed psychologist and Zen practitioner from mainland China focusing on the relationship between original Chinese Zen and modern psychotherapy.

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About the Book About the Author Excerpt Catalogue Information

About the Book
There are tons of books about Zen, and several books about Zen and psychotherapy, but very few clearly reveal the nuance of original Chinese Zen. Dr. Yuanxia Zhang translates most of Zen classics excerpted in the book and shows the ambition to clarify the core of original Chinese Zen.
Zen combines the essence of Indian Buddhism and Chinese Taoism. While Buddhism is focused on tranquility and peace of emptiness, Taoism is focused more on change and transformation of universal energy. Zen situates in the middle of Buddhism and Taoism, and develops to be an art of paradox. Dr. Zhang concisely introduces the theories of Buddhism and Taoism in the book, states that the essence of Zen is about how to identify, understand, and resolve paradox.
While Zen is focused on the universal phenomena of paradox, psychotherapy is aimed to help a patient resolve the troublesome paradox in his or her life. Dr. Zhang compares several popular schools of modern psychotherapy, such as psychoanalytic and psychodynamic therapy, cognitive therapy, Gestalt therapy, existential therapy, and client-centered therapy with Zen, reveals the similarity among them, and demonstrates the possible integration between Zen and psychotherapy.
Dr. Zhang identifies the difference between the Gradual School and Sudden School of Zen, emphasizes the essence of the Sudden School, presents the Zen in four aspects: mindfulness, Koan, enlightenment, and transcendence. The four aspects actually imply the process of dealing with paradox: mindfulness is to perceive paradox; Koan is to resolve paradox; enlightenment is the achievement of resolving paradox; transcendence stimulates consecutive exploration into the further paradox. Psychotherapy is for a patient who is unable to resolve simple paradox; Zen is for everybody who faces paradox in his or her everyday life.
More information could be found at: www.abledo.com

About the Author
Yuanxia Zhang, NYS licensed psychologist and Zen practitioner, was born in Mainland China in 1965, experienced the turmoil and poverty of the Cultural Revolution, got his B.S. in Electronics in 1986, and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology in 1993 at the East China Normal University. From 1995 to 1996, he hosted a top-rating psychological TV show in Shanghai. In 1997, he was invited to present a series of workshops about Zen, Tao, Tai Chi, and Chi Kung at the Illinois School of Professional Psychology, Chicago Campus. Since then, he had taught the workshops of Zen and Tao for four years and finished the postdoctoral certification program of clinical respecialization at the school. Since 2002, he has been a NYS licensed psychologist working at the Queens Counseling Services of FRMH and R.G. Psychological Services. He is also a Chinese martial artist.

Excerpt

Freedom is Responsibility

May (1981) says: "Freedom is thus not the opposite to determinism. Freedom is the individual's capacity to know that he is the determine one, to pause between stimulus and response and thus to throw his weight, however slight it may be, on the side if one particular response among several possible ones . . . Freedom can never separated from responsibility." Moreover, May gives three principles of freedom:

First, freedom is a quality of action of the centered
self.
Second, freedom always involves social
responsibility.
Third, freedom requires the capacity to accept, bear
and live constructively with anxiety.

In Buddhist theory, we live in the world of Karma. Karma is understood as: 1. a mental or physical action; 2, the consequence of a mental or physical action; 3, the sum of all consequences of the actions of an individual in this or some previous life; 4, the chain of cause and effect in the world of morality. All of us are affected by Karma and make new Karma every day. There are three ways of escaping from:

Sila (disciplinary rules), Samadhi and Prajna. How to practice Sila? There are many disciplinary rules in the Buddhism. Though the Buddha himself rejected asceticism, many Buddhists misunderstand Sila, still practice asceticism. In fact, the real meaning of Sila is that every action should follow its principle. If you follow the principle, you get freedom.

May (1981) says: "To be free means to face and bear anxiety; to run away from anxiety means automatically to surrender one's freedom." Karma often shows the form of suffering. Sila tells us how to face and bear Karma, then control Karma for better usage.

HuiNeng: "Our Essence of Mind is intrinsically pure; all things are only its manifestations, and good deeds and evil deeds are only the result of good thoughts and evil thoughts respectively....... People under delusion don't awake and don't understand, always bend their minds on evil, and as a rule practice evil. But should they turn their minds from evil to righteousness, even for a moment, Prajna would instantly arise. This is what is called the Nirmanakaya of the Buddha of the Essence of Mind."

Anxiety as a Condition of Living May (1981) defined anxiety as: "The apprehension cued off by a threat to some value which the individual holds essential to his existence as a self." Nietzsche remarks: "Man should be named the 'valuator'." May points that there are two kinds of anxieties: one is normal anxiety, the other is neurotic anxiety. Normal anxiety is an inseparable part of growth and creativity, but neurotic anxiety should be freed from.

LinQuan: "Jade hides inside ugly stones, Lotus comes from dirty earth. You know, what enlightened from your anxieties is the Budhi."

ShiXiang: "Seeing, hearing, feeling, thinking are not only the causes of your anxieties but also the doors of your liberation."

Apparently, Zen masters give anxiety a very positive meaning that anxiety is fertile earth of enlightenment. In Zen traditional training, some Zen masters even provoke more anxiety on their disciples by beating and shouting which push their disciples to a corner where there is no way of escaping. Under such severe pressure, anxiety may be transformed to wisdom.

It is almost impossible to wipe out anxiety, which is a natural way of being. Instead of rejecting anxiety, Zen masters accept anxiety and demonstrate that the deepest meaning of universal truth is connected with anxiety. Accepting anxiety is only the first step of Zen's training, finding the meaning of anxiety is the second step, transforming and transcending anxiety is the ultimate state of Zen.

Catalogue Information