Thinking about Buddhism

![CDATA[The teaching unit Buddhist Practice and Analytical Psychology in the masters programme in Analytical Psychology at the University of Western Sydney (Australia) explores the relationship between Buddhism, an ancient religious practice and analytical psychology, a 20th century psychological theory. There is today a great interest in Buddhism among many people living in Australia. The interest is reflected in the numbers taking up westernised Buddhist worship and in the way some Buddhist inspired meditation techniques are being adopted by our health professions. Aspects of Buddhist philosophy have long been the concern of people working in the area of depth psychology. Carl Jung’s detailed study of what he called “Eastern Yoga” is a case in point. Buddhism has much to offer in the ways of psychological practice and research and this has encouraged a growing conversation world-wide. This paper has developed by way of an engaged teaching conversation with students in the masters programme and the personal experience of the author with Buddhism. Buddhism counsels us to realize that there is a means by which people can work with their suffering. But a fundamental complication in Buddhist philosophy, a complication especially confounding for many people who seek a personal salvation is that Dukkha, (suffering) rises endlessly. No sooner does one calm one’s suffering Self than one enters into suffering once again. Paradoxical indeed! So the realization necessary in comprehending suffering is to note that it is endless. There is no permanent state of grace. This seems to demand an imaginative step into another way of understanding existence.]]