P.451Summary Much has been said about the relationship between Buddhismand Western psychotherapy. I argue that both the ends andthe means of Buddhist practice far exceed the limitations ofWestern psychotherapy in its dominant forms. This claim issubstantiated by examining the underlying views of humannature in the broader context of cosmic Nature, as thesereflect the assumed nature of the therapeutic task. Specialattention is given to the universal human encounter withdeath as the ultimate manifestation of dukkha.My conclusionsmay be summarized as follows: 1)Western psychotherapy, rooted in ancient Greek assumptionsand represented by strains as diverse as Sigmund Freud andAbraham Maslow, essentially views human nature as internallyweak and thus largely controlled by "objective" externalforces. Consequently, it conceives of its task in terms ofteaching patients to cope with existing conditions, that is,how to tread water in the samsaric sea. Its response todeath, as expressed in Freud's later theory of the DeathInstinct, is one of resignation as demanded by thescientifically validated fact of natural necessity. 2) One of the few variations on this therapeutic scheme,tending toward Buddhism in general and Zen in particular, isto be found in Viktor E. Frankl's Logotherapy. As revealedin Frankl's dimensional ontology, he is more sanguine abouthuman prospects and our ability to achieve P.452self-transcendence. Many parallels are to be found betweenlogotherapeutic techniques and those of Zen, includingglimmerings of enlightenmental insight into the key role ofsuffering. Yet, Frankl is never fully able to liberateeither himself or Logotherapy from Samsaara, as reflected inhis view of death as a necessary guarantor of life'smeanings.3)Only Zen is able to transcend both self (ego) and Samsaara,by means of the resources inherent in Original Nature. Itsattitude of detachment toward death, without succumbing todenial, epitomizes its overarching efficacy. P.453 Much has been said about the relationship between Buddhismin general and Western psychotherapy. This is especiallytrue in terms of various explorations of the "therapeutic"potential inherent in Zen Buddhism.(1) In part, Buddhisttradition would seem to corroborate the comparison, as seenin the metaphor of Buddhism as a medicine or therapydispensed by the enlightened physician,theBuddha,to cure oursamsaric suffering. Despite these apparent similarities, this discussionfocuses on the need for caution in the pursuit of comparisons,for an uncritical association of Buddhism with existingforms of psychotherapy as practiced in the West carries thedanger of reductionism, whereby both disciplines arecompromised. When Buddhism is reduced to being nothing morethan another form of psychotherapy, with Sakyamuni Buddhahimself identified as a proto-therapist, a valuable resourceis lost for the West. In being so regarded, Western thinkersneed not delve deeply to reveal Buddhism's uniqueness, butremain content with superficial similarities.(2) This leadsto such absurdities as the assumption that psychedelic-----------------------------1) For example, see Erich Fromm and D.T. Suzuki, ZenBuddhism and Psychoanalysis (New York: Harper, 1960) andAlan W. Watts, Psychotherapy East and West (New York:Ballantine Books, 1961). The parallels are more subtlysuggested by Frederick (Fritz). S. Perls in his GestaltTherapy Verbatim (Lafayette, California: Real People Press,1969), where the text is sprinkled with references to Zenand terms such as satori are used interchangeably withpsychotherapeutic concepts.2) The same reductionism is appallingly present in the manyattempts to provide convenient, but simple-minded, contrastsbased on the geographical categorization of East and West.Buddhists would rightly be shocked to read the followingdescription of the "Eastern" world view by Irwin D. Yalom: The Eastern world never assumes that there is a 'point' to life, or that it is a problem to be solved; instead, life is a mystery be lived. The Indian sage Bhaqway Shree Rajneesh says, "Existence has no goal. It is pure journey. The journey in life is so beautiful, who bothers for the destination?"Reconciling this beautiful journey with the reality of Samsaarais indeed problematic. Even more disconcerting is the factthat Yalom seems to derive his conclusions from D. T.Suzuki, as indicated in the discussion prior to the abovepassage. Existential Psychotherapy (New York: Basic Books,Inc., 1980), p. 470. P.454delic drugs can be a substitute for the self-discipline ofmeditational practice, in that they induce the same ecstaticstate and represent a kind of expressway to enlightenment,or that meditation is primarily of interest as a means ofstress reduction. Even those who more modestly suggest thatdrugs be used merely as a motivation for undertaking thearduous path of practice, by granting a glimpse of things tocome, fail to heed Buddhism's fundamental precept againstintoxicants. In the following I argue that both the ends and the meansof Buddhist practice far exceed the limitations of Westernpsychotherapy in its dominant forms. This claim issubstantiated by examining the underlying views of humannature in the broader context of cosmic Nature, as thesereflect the assumed nature of the therapeutic task. Specialattention is given to the universal human encounter withdeath as the ultimate manifestation of dukkha.(3) Myconclusions may be summarized as follows: I)Western psychotherapy, rooted in ancient Greek assumptions and represented by strains as diverse as Sigmund Freud and Abraham Maslow, essentially views human nature as internally weak and thus largely controlled by "objective" external forces. Consequently, it conceives of its task in terms of teaching patients to cope with existing conditions, that is, how to tread water in the samsaric sea. Its response to death, as expressed in Freud's later theory of the Death Instinct, is one of resignation, as demanded by the scientifically validated fact of natural necessity. 2)One of the few variations on this therapeutic scheme, tending toward Buddhism in general and Zen in particular, is to be found in Viktor E. Frankl's Logotherapy. As revealed in Frankl's dimensional ontology, he is more sanguine about human prospects and our ability to achieve??????????3)It is significant that the Chinese translation of Samsaara (sheng(1) ssu(3a))literally means "Life and Death". P.455 self-transcendence. Many parallels are to be found between logother-apeutic techniques and those of Zen, including glimmerings of enlightenmental insight into the key role of suffering. Yet, despite Frankl's nirvaanic excursions, he is never fully able to liberate either himself or Logotherapy from Samsaara, as reflected in his view of death as a necessary guarantor of life's meaning. 3)Only Zen is able to transcend both self (ego) and Samsara, by means of the resources inherent in Original Nature. Its attitude of detachment toward death, without succumbing to denial, epitomizes its overarching efficacy.1.Human Nature and the Nature of the Psychotherapeutic Task: From Plato to the Present To understand the aim of psychotherapy, and thereby evaluateits efficacy, one must first understand its subject. Theterms "psychology", "psychotherapy", "psychoanalysis", and"psychiatry" all share a common etymological component,"psyche", indicative of this subject. Derived from theGreek, psyche (4) (Latin, anima) originally referred toone's breath and eventually came to be associated with thesoul or spirit. This was based on the belief that the souldeparted from the body at death in one's last breath, along-standing medical criterion of death. Hence psychologyis the logos or study of the soul, psychotherapy attendance (therapia) upon it, and psychiatry the art of healing it (iartria).???????(4)In Creek mythology the character of Psyche is the feminine personification of the soul. Her life story includes a forced marriage to a mysterious stranger (subsequently revealed to be Eros or Cupid) and conflict with her unsympathetic mother-in-law (Aphrodite, goddess of love), as detailed by Apuleius in his Metamorphoses. The plot, suffused with Freudian symbolism, later re-emerged in the fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast. See Bruno Bettelheim, The uses of Enchantment: The Meanings and Importance of Fair Tales (New York: Vintage Books, 1977), "Cupid and Psyche", pp. 291-303; "Beauty and the Beast", pp. 303-10.P.456 The psyche concept likewise reveals a fundamental assumptionin Western culture, namely the separability (dualism) of mindor soul and body. In the Phaedo Socrates speaks confidentlyof this separation at death (presumably drawing upon hisOrphic background and beliefs). A distinct preference also isshown for the psyche over the body, which last is assumed tobe pure while its material prison is a source of defilementthat must be overcome. Psyche alone constitutes the "real"me, the essence of my being. (5) This assumption became a keycomponent of Christian theology (although contrary to the OldTestament views of Judaism, which often posits a temporaryseparation that ends with the resurrection of the body at theLast Judgement(6)). It is noteworthy that the same concept of the soul as "breath"is found in another Indo-European language, Sanskrit, givingrise to the word "aatman."(7) Thus, it may be said thatpsychology is devoted to the study of the aatman. Yet it isprecisely this aatman, at the core of the Brahmanicalliterature, that the Buddha countered with his doctrine ofan-aatman (anaatta), the denial of???????5) In the course of the Socratic dialectic of the Phaedo, the participants come to a consensus on the fact that "death is nothing more or less than this, the separate condition of the body by itself when it is released from the soul, and the separate condition by itself of the soul when it is released from the body" (Plato: The Last Days of Socrates, Hugh Trendennick trans. (Baltimore, Maryland: Penguin Books, 1969), p. 108). Socrates goes on to recommend this separation, stating "So long as we keep to the body...our soul is contaminated with this imperfection" (p. 111). Hence, "true philosophers make dying their profession" (p. 113).6) Daniel 12:2 states: "many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt", while Isaiah 26: 19 proclaims: "Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise." Quoted by Jacques Choron in Death and Western Thought (New York: Collier Books, 1963), p. 81. Choron blames Paul for importing this "pagan" idea of the resurrection of the body into Christian theology; p. 84.7) The Indo-European root "anh" ("breath, soul, spirit") provides the point of derivation for myriad linguistic developments -- including the Latin "anima", Sanskrit "atman" and English "animate". See Robert Claiborne, The Roots of English: A Reader's Handbook of Word Origins (New York: Timnes Books, 1989), p. 48.P.457aatman's reality. Accordingly, the task of psychotherapy tocare for this very psyche/aatman is fundamentally wrongheadedBuddhistically-speaking. It amounts to attending to anillusion, and represents a state of being deluded by anillusion in making it the focal point of discussion.(8) Freudian psychoanalysis is aptly named in the sense thatit literally strives to breakdown (analyze) the psyche intoits assumed constituent parts.(9) In fact, in his analysisFreud was heavily influenced by classical Greek sources (ashe was with so many of his concepts), specifically Plato. Avivid and revealing image of a tripartite soul is offered inthe Phaedrus: Of the nature of the soul....let the figure be a composite--a pair of winged horses and a charioteer....the human charioteer drives his in a pair; one of them is noble and of noble breed, and the other is ignoble and of ignoble breed; and the driving of them of necessity gives a great deal of trouble to him....The chariots of the gods in even poise, obeying the rein, glide rapidly; but the others labour [sic], for the vicious steed goes heavily, weighing???????8) Grave consequences follow from this revelation with respect to the Western philosophical tradition, which also has made psyche (in its intellectual aspect) a focal point of investigation. From a Buddhist perspective this too has been the pursuit of an illusion, a series of footnotes to Samsaara, from Aristotle's On the Soul through Descartes' meditations to Kant's transcendental ego and Husserl's own Cartesian meditations. The case of Descartes does, however, merit further study from a Zen viewpoint, inasmuch as he begins by marshalling the forces of "Great Doubt" needed for enlightenment. Unfortunately for Descartes, his "Great Faith" rested in Catholicism, which in turn made the sine qua non of a "Great Death" impossible for him or, more precisely, unthinkable.9) Freud is himself well away of these etymological connections, as he notes while describing the psychoanalytic method: "We have analyzed the patient, i.e. separated his mental processes into their constituent parts and demonstrated these instinctual elements in him singly and in isolation; what could be more natural than a request that we should also help him to make a new and better re-combination of them?"; Turnings in the Ways of Psychoanalytical Therapy" (1919) in Collected Papers, Vol. II, John Riviere trans. (New York: Basic Books, Inc., 1959), p. 394. Freud even compares the process to that used by chemists in distinguishing between substances in their laboratories.P.458 down the charioteer to the earth when his steed has not been thoroughly trained:--this is the hour of agony and extremest conflict for the soul.....The right-hand horse is upright and cleanly made; he has a lofty neck and an aquiline nose; his colour is white, and his eyes dark; he is a lover of honour [sic] and modesty and temperance, and the follower of true glory; he needs no touch of the whip, but is guided by word and admonition alone. The other is a crooked lumbering animal, put together anyhow; he has a short thick neck; he is flat-faced and of a dark colour; with grey eyes and blood-red complexion; the mate of insolence and pride, shag-eared and deaf, hardly yielding to whip and spur.(10) The two horses represent the motive force/energy of ourinmost being, one of which can only be made to cooperate byrepressing its natural tendencies. The task of thecharioteer, representing reason, is to keep these two on theright path and compel them to work in unison. Significantly,without their efforts the chariot will go nowhere--nor canthey be traded for a more manageable pair. Hence each ofthese three elements--reason, will, and passion--has anindispensable role to play in effecting the forward motion ofthe vehicle (body) despite the instability of theirinterrelationships.The Freudian Vision of the Psyche Down through the centuries the tripartite view of the soul(and, hence, of human nature), with its keynote of conflictand tension, became ingrained in????????10)Plato, Phaedrus, trans. Benjamin Jowett and included in The Dialogues of Plato, vol. 7 of Great Books of the Western World (Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 1952), 246-47, 253; pp. 124-25, 128. The means by which the "evil" steed is to be restrained are graphically presented later in the text (254; p. 128) : "the charioteer...with a still more violent wrench drags the bit out of the teeth of the wild steed and covers his abusive tongue and jaws with blood, and forces his legs and haunches to the ground and punishes him sorely. And when this has happened several times and the villain has ceased from his wanton way, he is tamed and humbled, and follows the will of the charioteer."P.459Western consciousness through variations on the theme.(11)Inherited by Sigmund Freud, it was examined through thelenses of scientific materialism to produce his own uniquereinterpretation. The essential mechanism of control, theassumption of a need to exert control over conflictingforces, remains unchanged, as does the sense of theregrettable, but necessary, evil inherent in our sources ofenergy. However, Freud's refinements seem to give thedark-horse of passion almost unstoppable power, while thewilling white horse is envisioned to be a nay-saying nag. This view of human nature has been aptly described byDavid Stafford Clark: Freud,,.,struggled to help man find a way to elevate himself above the savage beast, which, through no fault of his own, is always a part of him, The doctrine of original sin found no opposition from Freud, although???????11)On a mundane level, we have the model of the guardian angel or conscience opposing devilish temptations, both of which vie for the attentions of the befuddled decisionmaker. Under the influence of Aristotelian philosophy (On the Soul, Book II, 413b), the seventeenth century British philosopher, Thomas Hobbes, speaks of the nutritive, motive, and rational faculties of the soul (Leviathan, part II, chapter 29). The three branches of the American political system may similarly be cited here: controlling executive branch/ President, inhibiting judiciary/Supreme Court, and grass-roots legislature/Congress. More recently, theories about the "triune brain" have emerged in scientific circles whereby "three basic brains show great differences in structure and chemistry, yet all three must intermesh and function together" (Paul D. MacLean, A Triune Concept of Brain and Behavior (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1973), p. 7. The assumption of potential conflict among three forces, which nonetheless must work together, is perpetrated here. The parallels to the Platonic vision are striking, although now the ephemeral soul is replaced by the "objective" fact of the brain. A layering effect is posited in the human brain: the core resides in the brain stem, designated the reptilian brain, source of our survival functions, and those recalcitrant passions represented by Plato's dark horse; a mammalian overlay keeps us within the animal realm of the white horse, who is more refined in its motives and behavior than the reptilian root; the crowning achievement of the sophisticated neocortex, however, is confined to primates, representing the rationality of the charioteer who must strive to remain in command of the whole.P.460 his explanation of it was biological rather than religious.(12) What is unique about Freud's three components is thatthey are interconnected elements, rather than the threedistinct faculties or entities implied in Plato's analogy.Each evolves out of its lower predecessor, struggling toraise itself above its own roots, in a psychic version ofDarwinian evolution. The fundamental substratum, identifiedas the Id (in German, "Das Es"),(13) is an impersonal,seething sea of psychic energies, a microcosmic of the cosmicsoup out of which the universe emerged. Freud links the Idwith instinctual drives, most prominently the sexual energyof the libido. These drives represent our primal inheritance(original sin?) of human nature shared with all individuals,past, present, and future. It can also be equated with the"beast within", that aspect of human nature that directlylinks, or binds, us to the primitive, material world ofanimals. Precisely because of this beast that lurks within,the savage hidden beneath a thin veneer of civilization,social structures must be rigidly enforced and legal codesadopted. The alternative is to plunge back into thedeplorable "State of Nature", characterized by primalinstincts of aggression and desire run amuck."(14)????????12) David Stafford-Clark, What Freud Really Said (New York: Schocken Books, 1976), p. 243.13) Debates have arisen as to the appropriateness of standard translations of Freud's terminology. The problem seems more crucial in the case of "Id" than that of "Ego." Bettelheim suggests that we refer to the former as "the It" and the latter as "the I," while the "Super-Ego" becomes "the Over-I". Having noted the controversy,I shall continue to use the traditional renderings here.14) Descriptions of this "State of Nature" can be found in Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan, one of the foremost spokespersons for this dominant self-vision in the Western world. A terrifying fictional account of the degeneration of civilization occurs in William Golding's Lord of the Flies (New York: Coward-McCann, 1954), chronicling the savagery that emerges when a group of English schoolboys is marooned on an island, turning them from well-mannered little gentlemen to murderous brutes. Nor is the problem of psychic conflict deemed to be confined to the human race. The intergalactic dimensions of this phenomenon are set forth in the classic science fiction filmP.461 Obviously such views of human nature and its roots contrastsharply with the "Original Nature" both valued and sought byZen. How odd, then, that some have suggested Freud's morassof instinctual drives lodged in the Unconscious coincideswith the goal of Zen mediation. For example, it is claimedthat "[t]hrough the practice of zazen (Zen meditation), thediscriminating mind (the conscious mind) is quieted and theintuitive mind (the unconscious) is liberated and identifieswith the universal mind."(15) Such an interpretation is atbest a partial truth, representing yet another manifestationof the reductionist fallacy responsible for seriousmisconceptions of Zen in the West. The Ego develops out of the Id, serving as mediator betweenthe latter and the "real" or social world. Since the Ego isderived from sense data and memories, what Buddhism refers toas the five skandhas, it constitutes individual consciousnessand the sense of personal identity. In turn, the Super-Egoemerges out of the Ego, two steps removed from the Id, bymeans of social conditioning, the product of externalimpositions, the demands made upon us, particularly byparental and other authority figures. The Super-Ego'sfunction is essentially to inhibit the selfish (natural)tendencies of both the instinct-driven Id and theself-interested Ego. More informally referred to as theconscience, the Super-Ego is responsible for instillingfeelings of guilt and anxiety that may in certaincircumstances escalate into psychic imbalance. In a "normal", integrated personality, the Ego assumes thereins, holding in check the recalcitrant Id withoutcapitulating to the excessive demands of the nagging,negating Super-Ego. Despite the liabilities of both the Idand the Super-Ego, the Ego cannot afford to eliminate either.That would amount to?????? "Forbidden Planet" (1956). In the story remnants of an advanced, non-human civilization are discovered by Professor Morbius of planet Earth. Their mysterious demise is ultimately traced to a "dark, terrible, incomprehensible force", which turns out to be none other than "monsters from the Id". As the hero of the piece states: "We're all part monsters in our subconscious. That's why we have laws and religion."15) Claire Myers Owens, "Zen Buddhism" in Charles T. Tart ed., Transpersonal Psychologies (New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1975), p. 156.P.462 self-mutilation, as well as undermining the delicate balanceof power, The only hope for the Ego is to keep both Id andSuper-Ego in check by constantly shifting alliances withtheir polar opposites. In fact, Freud declares "Man is livedby the unconscious,"(16) meaning that our life energy derivesfrom this source and that our instincts are "the ultimatecause of all activity."(17) When we fail to give the Id andthe Unconscious due respect, Freud observes, neurosisresults. The primary task of psychotherapy, then, is to help theindividual (in the person/persona of the Ego as would-becontroller) to cope with the natural contentiousness of thesethree forces and reinstate a balance among them.(18)Regression lies at the root of the neurotic imbalance. Apsychic mechanism of great functionality, repression can attimes be too effective, too efficient, in its attempts totame the Id, thereby thwarting the flow of psychic energies.Furthermore, by Freud's psychological version of thescientific law of the Conservation of Energy, this energy canbe neither created nor destroyed, only transformed. Out ofthis transformation, neurosis arises. Consider the example of anger, as viewed within the Freudianframework. Two options are recognized when this emotionbegins to bubble up from the primeval sludge of the Id intoconsciousness: one may ex-press the anger (literally, pressor squeeze it out) or re-press/sup-press it (press it back orunder). The Super-Ego, as guardian of social order andharmony, often inhabits direct expression of our anger,particularly if it is directed toward what is deemed to be aninappropriate object (e.g., an authority figure such as???????16) Freud as quoted by Yalom, p. 288, from Rollo May, Love and Will (New York: W.W. Norton, 1969), p. 183.17) Freud, An Outline of Psychoanalysis. 1939. Vol. XXIII Standard Ed., p. 150, quoted by Stafford-Clark, p. 13618) In a popularized adaptation of Freud's tripartite model, the more personalized labels of Parent (Super-Ego), Child (Id), and Adult (Ego) have been utilized. Nonetheless, the Platonic and Freudian goal of constructing an integrated, well-balanced personality under the control of reason remains unchanged.P. 463one's father or mother). The psychic strategy of the Ego insuch cases may be to banish the anger from consciousness.Nonetheless, the energy so generated cannot be destroyed,merely rechanneled, and so it is relegated to the wildernessof the Unconscious. Freud warns that this strategy leads to apotentially explosive situation, for the repressed anger willeventually seek expression in other, more indirect forms.These may be as harmless as Freudian slips or jokes or asserious as neurotic manifestations of paralysis orhallucinations. In this dualism of expression versus repression, Freud seesno solution but to dredge the Unconscious (through DreamAnalysis, Free Association, etc.) in order to drag therepressed emotion to the surface. Once exposed in the lightof consciousness, its hidden energies become dissipated. Itis assumed that only by venting the anger in a controlledsituation can we avoid suffering the affects of its distortedmutations. Fritz Perls echoes the Freudian line when hestates "Any anger that is not coming out, flowing freely,will turn into sadism, power drive, and other means oftorture."(19) Debates persist within the psychotherapeutic community onthe veracity of this analysis. Recent studies have suggestedthat the mere fact of discussing one's anger (much lessexpressing it) has the effect of aggravating rather thanameliorating it. This implies that the situation is much morecomplicated than Freud's mechanistic model realizes. Unlikehot air in a overfilled balloon, we cannot simply find a wayto release anger in order to prevent it from exploding. The dualistic nature of Western thought processes illustratedby the Freudian model equally can be applied to any emotionor instinctual drive--from hunger and sex to fear andaggression. This either/or positing of a forced choicebetween polar extremes presupposes the existence of anunresolvable dilemma intrinsic to human nature. The psychethus is conceived as a veritable battlefield upon whichnatural instincts (the Id) are pitted against civilizedstandards of conduct (the Super-Ego), in the midst ofsurvival imperatives (the safeguarding of which is theprimary responsibility of the Ego).????????19) Frederick S. Perls, Gestalt Therapy Verbatim, John O. Stevens ed. (Lafayette, California: Real People Press, 1969), p. 76.P.464 Comparing the Freudian analysis of emotion with Buddhistaccounts, we see that Buddhist theory allows for a thirdoption over and above the extremes of Western dualism:extinction. Anger (dosa) is a particularly apt example,inasmuch as it is identified as one of the three "poisons"(along with greed, lobha, and ignorance, moha)(20) TheDhammapada devotes an entire chapter (XVII) to the topic ofanger, recognizing it as a self-imposed "fetter" (fu) wemust liberate ourselves from.(21) Significantly, this samepassage (221) cautions against clinging to either the body orthe mind (psyche). The image of the chariot also appears,bringing to mind Plato's analogy: "Whoso, as a rollingchariot, checks his uprising anger, him I call a charioteer;other folk merely hold the reins" (222). The element ofcontrol highlighted here would seem to correspond to theprevailing Western models. Nonetheless, it is not repressionthat is being advised--this would merely preserve theunavoidable state of tension. Rather, we are instructed toeradicate the negative emotion. This is borne out by thesubsequent passage (223) , where the methodology isclarified--the anger (fen 4) is to be "conquered" (sheng)bymeans of non--anger (pu-fen). The Suutra of BegueathedTeaching recommends patience in such cases, for "the angrymind is worse than a fierce fire" while anger and rage "stealyour merit and virtue" (22) Thus, anger or any other negativeemotion is not to be repressed, but replaced. We therebyavoid the future dangers for both ourselves and others latentwithin it. Buddhism, then, allows us to transcend the Freudian dilemmaof expression versus repression by means of this third,transcendent option. The???????20) See, for example, the Kalama Suutra, in which the Buddha argues for the centrality of these three emotions based on empirical data derived from his listeners.21) The Dhammapada, trans. into Chinese from Paali by Shih Liao-Chau and trans. into English from Paali by Narada Thera, in Vo.II, Sutras and Scriptures, the Bilingual Buddhist Series (Taipei: Buddhist Culture Service, 1962), pp. 27-28.22) The Suutra of Bequeathed Teaching, 6, trans. into Chinese from Sanskrit by Kumarajiva and trans. from Chinese into English by Chou Hsiang-Kuang, included in Vol.I of Sutras and Scriptures, pp. 223-24.P.465extinction of negative emotion can be likened to the "blowingout" of Nirvaana itself, so that no smoldering ashes remainfrom the fire of anger that could later be rekindled.Accordingly it is said "Defilements of those who are evervigilant, who train themselves day and night, who are whollyintent on Nibbaana, fade away."(23) Others have compared itto the uprooting of a tree: In the primitive Buddhist view of human nature naamaruupa (name-form) was also called naamakaaya (name-body) and satkaaya-d.r.s.ti (the attachment to one's own body). It was seen as being in this world by sinking roots in the form of worldly passions, while the co-dependent element of vijnaana [consciousness] was the trunk that grew out of these earthly roots, opposed to the earthiness of the roots by the principle of clarity or knowledge. This would seem to head us in the direction of an opposition between light and darkness, but in fact both are fed by the same sap of kle`sa (worldly passions) that flow through the human mode of being. The rational discrimination of consciousness and the correlative judgments of good and evil may prune the branches of appetite but they do not uproot the tree. When the violent wind of impermanence strikes terror into one then the extinction of all suffering and skandhas, the elemental negation of the human mode of being, becomes a real possibility. That is the real issue in the extinction of lust. Those who ignore the co-dependency of clinging--lust and think it enough to deny the burning thirst of desire reduce the problem to a simple matter of trimming branches.(24)If we interpret the Ego as vijnaana and the Id as kle`sa,with the Super-Ego being represented by "judgments of goodand evil", we see that Freudian thera????????23) The Dhammapada, XVII, 226, pp. 27-28.24) Takeuchi Yoshinori, The Heart of Buddhism: In Search of the Timeless Spirit of Primitive Buddhism, James W. Eisig ed., trans. (New York: Crossroad, 1983), pp. 95-96.P.466 -py's denial of desire (repression) is just so much treetrimming. It cannot hope to uproot the fundamental cause oftension in human life. Buddhism's daring encounter with "theviolent wind of impermanence", most especially reflected itapproach to death, will be dealt with later. Here let usexamine more closely the Buddhist doctrine of human naturethat allows its radicalization or uprooting activity tosucceed, in contrast to the absence of this possibility inWestern views. The Buddhist option, which offers a way out of the endlesscycle of Samsaara rather than simply helping us to keep ourheads above the samsaaric waves, is difficult for the Westernmind to fathom, inasmuch as it poses a direct challenge tothe reigning world view. It implies a degree of self-controlthat defies the deterministic "laws" of science. Thus, Freudcondemns the concepts of freedom and choice as"unscientific,"(25) even though he himself also described thetask of the therapist as giving "the patient's ego freedom tochoose one way or another."(26) Simply stated, the Westernview envisions the human being as irrevocably subject toexternal controls, whether in the form of a divine being orthe forces of Nature. In contrast, Buddhism, and Zen in particular, espouses adoctrine of self-reliance bolstered by the efficaciousinternal resources of Original Nature (hsing) . Thesignificance of this difference is reflected in the role ofmoral precepts in the respective traditions. In keeping withthe Freudian model, ethical principles tend to be seen in theWest as externally-imposed universal????????25) Sigmund Freud, as cited by R. May, Love and Will, and quoted by Yalom, p. 288.26) Sigmund Freud, Tie Ego and the Id, vol. XIX, Standard Ed. (London: Hogarth Press, 1961, originally pub. 1923), p. 50: cited by Yalom, p. 288. The incompatibility of the free will assumed by Western morality and religion with the determinism demanded by science continues to be a key point of tension and contention. Numerous creative attempts have sought to resolve the unresolvable--for example William James' candid assertion of his personal preference for indeterminism in his seminal essay, "The Dilemma of Determinism". Here again Buddhism offers an option to transcend--and dis-solve-the problem.P.467standards handed down by God, or, as for Freud, anincorporation of external authority figures in the guise ofthe Super-Ego. Thus, the human response to the Moral Law ischaracterized by compulsion. Immanuel Kant, despite hisdescription of humans as legislating the Moral Law by virtueof innate reason, uses language clearly indicative of forceand conflict.(27) A contemporary scholar, under the obviousinfluence of Freudian thought, succinctly observes: "Moralityis the means by which we accomplish our repression".(28) For Buddhists, however, the moral precepts or `silaare regarded in a different light. Moral precepts are notimposed upon the individual from without, but are voluntarilyobserved as an expression of Buddhist compassion.(29)Although compared to "a yoke upon the organs of sensation,"they do not constitute a form of repression. Rather thanseeking to tame what has already "gone astray", the preceptsact as preventive measures: `sila exponentializes negation to the power of infinity until at last it steps outside the social realm of ethical order altogether and takes the radical form of a withdrawal from the world--asceticism and poverty-- that is almost inhuman in form.(30)???????27) See, for example, Kant's discussion, "On the Relation of Theory to Practice in Morality in General", in On the Old Saw: That May Be Right in Theory, But it Won't Work in Practice, E.B.Ashton trans Philadelphia: Unviersity of Pennsyvania Press): "duty is itself nothing but the will's restriction to the condition of a universal legislation; "(pp.46-47) "being virtuous, one bows to his duty in the act(pp.48); self-denial"(pp.52); "man will revere his duty above all else, will wrestle with the countless ills of life as well as its most seductive temptations (pp. 54).28) Paul Bohannan, "Go to the Ant, Thou Sluggard", Science 82, April, an essay included under the column heading "Being Human". Specifically Bohannan is referring here to the social need to repress individual drives of sexuality and aggression, citing as an authority Freud's Civilization and Its Discontents.29) For an enlightening discussion of this point see Lily de Silva, "The Scope and Contemporary Significance of the Five Precepts", in Buddhist Ethics ond the Modern World, Charles Wei-hsun Fu and Sandra A. Wawrytko eds., (Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1991).30) Yoshinori,p.29.P.468 Two points in this passage are especially deserving of note:1) the way in which the `sila transcend social convention,including the Super-Ego, and 2) the further transcendence ofhumanness itself. The latter point, a unique aspect ofBuddhism's radicalization of our being, ties in withMahayana's assumption that the Buddha-nature pervades allbeings, as reinforced by the universal compassion expressedin the ahimsaa (non-injury) precept. Delving more deeply, the Buddhistic concept of human natureemerges, sharply contrasting with the dominant Western viewdiscussed above: the human person is basically pure, but in allowing oneself to be exteriorized one takes evil karma upon oneself, just like iron that rusts because it has been left exposed to the elements. That evil karma then rusts the subject to the core, like rust corroding the iron. It is something that takes place without and yet penetrates within unhindered to corrupt the core of the subject. The fault here lies completely and totally with the subject.(31)Yet, precisely because the responsibility lies completelywithin ourselves, we likewise have the means to becomepurified. As an oft-quoted passage of the Dhammapada (l65)states: By oneself, indeed, is evil done; by oneself is one defiled; by oneself is evil left undone; by oneself, indeed, is one purified. Purity and impurity depend on oneself. No one purifies another.(32)In Buddhism, then, one must be a savior only to oneself andcannot fulfill this function for, or expect it to befulfilled by, another. This is both possible and necessarybecause one has the responsibility and resources to do so.??????31) Yoshinori, pp.29-30.32) Dhammapada, p.77.P. 469 Among all Buddhist sects, none is more adamant about self-reliance than Ch'an or Zen, as is repeatedly emphasized byHui-neng, the Sixth Patriarch, in his Platform Suutra. Here`sila is referred to as one of the five forms of incense(along with samaadhi, prajnaa, liberation, and liberationalknowledge), which "perfumes us from within; we should notseek it without." (33) Hui-neng refers to the twofold processof letting go of past misdeeds and guarding against futureones, tasks to be performed by ourselves alone. Our OriginalNature, in sharp contrast to Freud's nefarious Id, is not thesource of our problems but rather of their solution. The"repentance ritual (hui)" described by the Sixth Patriarchdoes not require another to whom our appeal is directed noranyone from which forgiveness is received. Although itinvolves a vow for the deliverance of an infinite number ofsentient beings, the vow is similarly explained as beingself-directed: It does not mean that I, Hui-neng am going to deliver them. And who are these sentient beings, potential within our minds? They are the delusive mind, the deceitful mind, the evil mind, and such like -- all these are sentient beings. Each of them has to be delivered by one-self by means of one's own Essence of Mind [Original Mind]; only by one's own deliver-ance, is it genuine.The ultimate refuge, then, lies not beyond us, but rather inour Original Nature; each should take refuge in the Buddhawithin. No reference is made to any other Buddhas: "hence ifwe do not take refuge in the Buddha of our own Mind-essence,there is nowhere else for us to go." In this respect Hui-nengis in perfect accord with the teachings of the FirstPatriarch, Bodhidharma, and his????????33) These and subsequent references to the Platform Suutra or Suutra Spoken by the Sixth Patriarch, Chapter II, are taken from the record of Fahai, Wong Mov-lam trans., rev. by Dwight Goddard, included in Vol. I of Sutras and Scriptures, pp.365-73. The English rendering has been amended in some places.P.470 key insight that "This mind is the Buddha",(34) which has beendescribed as "Mahayana Buddhism in a nutshell."(35) Zen Repentance is suggestive of existential therapy's taskto "to de-repress, to re-acquaint the individual withsomething he or she has known all along....Above all, thephilosopher and the therapist must encourage the individualto look within and to attend to his or her existentialsituation." (36) The similarity in perceptions does not,however, translate into practice. "Existential guilt," thesense of self-transgression or failure to realize one's fullpotential that emanates from regret remains steadfast.Confrontation with one's responsibility is necessary toexpiate such guilt, but too often it remains repressed untilthe self-victimizing victim succumbs to death. Irwin Y'alom discusses the pervasiveness of existentialguilt in Western society in terms of both clinical experienceand contemporary literature. In the latter context heprovides an insightful analysis of Franz Kafka's modernclassic, The Trial, as an explication of one man'sself-indictment, self-conviction, and self-avoidance, endedonly by his death: Kafka's man from the country was guilty--not only guilty of living an unlived life, of waiting for permission from another, but he was guilty, too, of not accepting his guilt, of not using it as a guide to his interior, of not "unconditionally" confessing--an act which would have resulted in the door "springing open."(37)???????34) Bodhidharma. "Bloodstream Sermon" included in The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma,Red Pine trans. (San Francisco: North Point Press, 1989), p.9. Bodhidharma further insists that one must look into one's Original Nature in order to discover a Buddha and assiduously avoid savior figures in the forms of external Buddhas or bodhisattvas, which are but illusions associated with the mortal realm.35) Red Pine, in his commentary to the "Bloodstream Sermon", p. 16, note 12.36) Yalom,p.16.37) Yalom, pp.280-85.P.471The presupposed limitations of human nature would seem to beinstrumental in these failures. Conspicuously lacking isBuddhism's structural basis for implementing the necessaryself-assertion, what Hui-neng outlines as "the Ritual of thethree-fold Guidance", in terms of the Buddha, the Dharma andthe Sangha.(38)Beyond the Freudian Vision: Original Nature versus Original Sin It may be objected that there is more to Westernpsychotherapy than Freud, and this is indeed true.(39) Manytherapists, from Freud's own time until today, have takenissue with this all-encompassing determinism regarding humannature and human motivations. In particular there have beenmany whose evaluation of the Unconscious has been much morepositive than Freud's fear and trembling over our latentinstinctual drives. C.G;. Jung, for example, redefined theUnconscious in terms of its collective resources ofcreativity. Moreover, a self-styled "Humanistic" trend hastaken hold in America, purporting to offer an alternative toboth Freudianism and Behaviorism, which heretofore havedominated the psychotherapeutic scene. These claims notwithstanding, an abiding consistency in theview of human nature as inherently weak and constitutionallyinept in its dealings with natural forces remains. Theassumption of a fatal flaw has gone largely unchallenged.Buddhism's emphasis on self-reliance goes against the grainof the Judeo-Christian tradition. The latter is constructedaround the core assumption of Original Sin passed on from theprimal parents (and beyond our control). The corollary ofthis theological assumption is Christianity's need for asacrifical victim, in the person of Jesus, to expiate ourcollective guilt as Savior of all humanity. That thisassumption continues to suffuse Western culture is evidencedby Jean Delumeau's exploration of the "cultural history ofsin in the West":???????38) Hui-neng,p. 370.39) Nonetheless, Yalom observes "Freud's ideas have so influenced the field that to a great extent the evolution of dynamic thought is the evolution of Freud's thought"; p. 59.P.472 I think that sin exists, I feel its presence in me. Furthermore, I cannot see how one can eliminate the idea of an Original Sin, whose scars we still bear. Freud felt this and tried to explain it, while both Bergson and Gouthier observed that "everything happens as if there were an original defect in man." My book must therefore not be taken either as a refusal of guilt or the need for a consciousness of sin. On the contrary, I think it will shed light on the excessive sense of guilt and "culpabilization"...that has characterized Western history.(40) One corroborating example from the realm of psychologycan be found in Abraham Maslow. Heralded for his upbeattheories, Maslow emphasizes an optimistic striving to reachthe pinnacle of one's individual potential under the bannerof "self-actualization." Despite this effusive terminology,however, Maslow has little hope concerning the self's abilityto thwart impinging forces, especially when compared to Zen'sconfidence in our Original Nature. While Maslow asserts thegoodness or neutrality of what he deems our "inner nature" inthe grounding assumptions of his psychology, he goes on toprovide the following characterization of that nature: It is weak and delicate and subtle and easily overcome by habit, cultural pressure, and wrong attitudes toward it....Even though denied, it persists underground forever pressing for actualization....every falling away from species-virtue, every crime against one's own nature, every evil act, every one without exception records itself in our unconscious and makes us??????40) Jean Delumeau, Sin.and Fear: The Emergence of a Western Guilt Culture, 13th-18th Centuries (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1990).P.473 despise ourselves.(41)This passage resonates with both Freudian views of the psycheas a plaything of external powers and the experience ofexistential guilt. Conditions beyond our control occasiondenial/repression of certain fundamental aspects of our innernature. The insistence on commitment to our "species-virtue"also demonstrates that Maslow is not prepared for the radicaltranscendence of humanness required in Buddhism's conceptionof Original Nature. Similarly, Maslow's oft-cited "Hierarchy of Needs" reflectsa recognition of human limitations. According to this theory,five successive levels of needs, expressive of universalhuman nature, must be met: l)physiological needs 2)security 3)social, interpersonal needs 4)self-esteem 5)self-actualizationSatisfaction of the "higher" needs presupposes priorsatisfaction of the "lower". A species of determinism is atwork here, though it is much more subtle than the determinismin Freud's system. Maslow assumes that l) our physical needs(food, sleep, etc.) are the sine qua non, the bottom line, inhuman life. Thus, only when they are first fulfilled can weseek 2) to solidify our position psychologically, from whichpoint we can move on to 3) human interrelationships. Afterthe need for others has been realized we must 4) acquire apositive self-image before we are able to 5) maximize ourpotentials in the fullest sense. Such, for Maslow, is theirrevocable demand of human life, a universal andinter-cultural phenomenon.???????41) Abraham Maslow in his Introduction to Toward a Psychology of Being, 2nd ed. (New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1968), pp. 3-5. Under these same assumptions Maslow discusses the nature of anger; his comments invite comparison with the Buddhist notion of the "three poisons" mentioned above: "Anger is in itself not evil, nor is fear, laziness, or even ignorance. Of course, these can and do lead to evil behavior, but they needn't."P.474 The model found in Buddhism again differs greatly. Even ifwe assume that the fifth and final stage, self-actualization,is inclusive of enlightenment (a most optimistic assumption),the other four steps pose the possibility of indefinitepostponement. When, indeed, can we be certain those otherneeds have been fulfilled, such that we are at last liberatedfrom natural necessity? How far do our physiological needsreally extend--how much food, sleep, etc. is necessary beforeprogressing to a sense of security? What is an appropriatemeans of assuring security--a stable job, a six-digit income?Without human bonding is a sense of security indeedimpossible? Even then how broad and intricate must this humannetwork be in order for one to feel fulfilled? Mostproblematic of all is the emphasis on self at what areassumed to be the highest levels of development. Zenpractitioners would seem to defy their own nature when theydefy the promptings of what Maslow takes to be naturalnecessity. What shall we say of those who forego fulfillmentof the lower level needs while meditating --abjuring food,sleep, human interaction, and all sense of self (much lessself-esteem!). Are they, then, not human? Buddhism's elementof self-transcendence, including a transcendence of thehuman, is again crucial here. Perhaps Maslow has misjudgedhuman nature, ascribing to it limitations that are neitheruniversal nor insurmountable. Another problematic aspect of Maslow's view is his emphasison the polarities of growth and deficiency. We must eithermove forward or remain defective. The "process of healthygrowth" is elaborated in terms of mutually exclusive choices:"a never ending series of free choice situations, confrontingeach individual at every point throughout his life, in whichhe must choose between the delights of safety and growth,dependence and independence, regression and progression,immaturity and maturity."(42) In Zen, however, realizationrather than growth is the focus--realization of ourpre-existing and pristine Original Nature. There is nowhereto grow to, nor is there an innate weakness or defect to behealed.??????42)Maslow, p. 47.P. 475Death: The Ultimate Challenge Of all the dualisms that riddle psychotherapy in the West,the most challenging of all revolves around life and death.Polish poet Czeslaw Milosz fantacizes escape from thisinescapable and terrifying reality: ....for a short time there is no death And time does not unravel like a skein of yarn Thrown into an abyss.(43)Like its religious predecessors, psychotherapy is challengedto offer a response to the fact of human mortality. Westernreligion's response has largely taken the form of denial,made possible by positing the existence of another realmbeyond the material. Thus, our mortality is limited to ourphysical being and does not affect the soul or psyche.Accordingly, the central event of Christiantheology--ritualized in the Mass--is the death andresurrection of Jesus Christ. Through his own conquest ofdeath, Jesus has imparted salvation and immortality to allbelievers, precisely as the primal guilt of Adam and Eve hasbeen imparted to all human beings. The sins of the parentsare visited on the children while, conversely, the glory ofthe "Son of Man"/"Son of God" is equally available to all. Freud, of course, was less sanguine and as a scientisthad grave reservations about religion, characterizing it as"an attempt to get control over the sensory world, in whichwe are placed, by means of the wish-world, which we havedeveloped inside us as a result of biological andpsychological necessities. But it cannot achieve itsend....lts consolations deserve no trust."(44) In his lateryears Freud was compelled to confront the perennial problemof death without the benefit of religious consolation. Mostimportantly, he was forced to modify??????43) Czeslaw Milosz, "The Garden of Earthly Delights", Unattainable Earth (1986).44) Sigmund Freud, new Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis, Lecture 35. "A Philosophy of Life" included in Vol. 54 of the Great Books, p. 878.P. 476his earlier view of human nature as motivated exclusively bythe Pleasure Principle to explain the persistence ofcontradictory behavior. Hence, to the primal instinct forpleasure, identified as Eros, was added the "DeathInstinct"?Thanatos.(45) A new manifestation of the eternal inner conflict ensuedfrom these dual manifestations of the Id, with the forces oflife (sexuality) confronting those of death. Thus, accordingto Freud's analysis, the human being seeks both pleasure orprolonging/propagating life and its extinction in death.Somewhat paradoxically, both of these instinctual drives aregrounded in the same end--homeostasis or the elimination oftension. The tension, experienced as pain created byunfulfilled instinctual drives, is eradicated by satisfyingthose drives, as pleasure results from the reinstatement ofbalance in the organism. Death, on the other hand, representsthe elimination of all tension, by eliminating the organismalong with its potential for both balance and imbalance. Ultimately, then, the instinct for self-destruction detectedby Freud seeks to return us to pre-life oblivion. It has been suggested that Freud sought in the Death Instinct"a natural correspondence between the inevitability ofphysical death and the drive of the human personality toaccept this, even to seek it unconsciously in a mixture ofbiological fulfillment and resignation."(46) In other words,this was Freud's means of making scientific sense out of anindisputable fact, fitting death into the deterministicscheme of things as a "natural" consequence. Freud himselfalludes to the comfort that can be derived from the DeathInstinct hypothesis: "If we are to die ourselves, and firstto lose those who are dear to us, it is easier to submit to aremorseless law of nature, to the sublime necessity, than toa chance which might perhaps have been escaped."(47) Indeed,Freud speculated????????45) See Freud's Beyond the Pleasure Principle (1920).46) Stafford-Clark, p.193.47) Sigmund Freud, Beyond the Pleasure Principle, Standard Ed., Vol. XVIII, James Strachey trans. (London: Hogarth Press, 1968), p. 45.P.477that the "pleasure principle seems actually to serve thedeath instincts,"(48) giving the latter ultimate priority inthe psychic realm--pleasure as the means to the end of death.As Freud himself puts it 'the aim of all life is death'. (49) The fact that no alternative exists may seem to providescant comfort, especially when compared to the "escape route"outlined by the Buddha in the Four Noble Truths, and theEight-fold Path in particular. Ironically, or perhaps simplymisguidedly, Freud uses the term "Nirvaana-principle" asidentical with the Death Instinct designating a stabilizingforce with "the aim of extinguishing, or at least maintainingat as low a level as possible, the quantities ofexcitation",(50) representing "a need to restore an earlierstate of things".(51) Yet, it also offers a point of entryfor exploring the differences between Westernpsychotherapeutic and Zen approaches to death. The major trends in Western psychotherapy, as exemplifiedin Freud, teach people how to cope or come to terms withexisting social reality. The focus is on balancing innerdrives and outer expectations. Freud offers an insightfuldescription of his own intentions: We have formulated our therapeutic task as one of bringing to the knowledge of the patient the unconscious, repressed impulses existing in his mind and, to this end, of uncovering the resistances that oppose themselves to this extension of his knowledge about himself....out hope is to achieve this by exploiting the patient's transference to the person of the physician....I have expounded elsewhere the dynamic conditions in the new conflict we lead the patient through, which we have substituted in him for the previous conflict of his illness. (52)??????48) Freud, Beyond the Pleasure Principle, p. 63.49) Freud, Beyond the Pleasure Principle, p. 38.50) Sigmund Freud, "The Economic Problem in Masochism", Sigmund Freud: Collected Papers, Vol. II, Joan Riviere trans. (New York: Basic Books, Inc., 1959), pp. 255-56.51) See Freud, Beyond the Pleasure Principle, pp. 56-57.52) Freud, "Turnings in the Ways of Psychoanalytic Therapy", pp. 392-93.P.478 However, while one may cure a neurosis by treating it asan aberrant attempt at conflict resolution and make one fitto re-enter human society, no cure is offered or sought forthe more fundamental problem of Life and Death. Thus,psychotherapy serves primarily as a means of self-adjustmentto Samsaara (aptly rendered as Life and Death in Chinese).Dukkha, reinterpreted as tension, is dealt with by referenceto the instinct for pleasure or the elimination of tension inhomeostasis. But, being ultimately a futile endeavor, theDeath Instinct alone provides the final resolution of alltensions. Awash with determinism, Freud's view seemscongruent with the Buddha's Noble Truths, at least in part: I. Life is dukkha/tension. II.Dukkha/derives from ta.nhaa/instinct. III.To end dukkha/tension we must eliminate ta.nhaa, as the proximate cause of dukkha or, more fundamentally, eliminate the ignorance (avidyaa) which is its root cause (that is, satisfy instincts through the Pleasure Principle or else obliterate them through the Death Instinct). Conspicuously absent is the fourth and final truthoutlining the Eight-fold Path. No practice leading totranscendence is offered. Without this component the analysisof Life and Death loses the optimistic edge of Liberation,being replaced by Freud's resgination to "sublime necessity."The transcendence of Samsaara for Nirvaa.na--or the Zenrealization of Samsaara as Nirvaa.na, Nirvaa.na inSamsaara--is likewise unimaginable. To summarize, for Freud and most psychotherapists in theWest, human nature is hopelessly burdened by the collectiveweight of the Id forces that forever dictate and delimit ouractions. "Original Nature" thus represents a kind ofenslavement rather than Zen's means of liberation. All thatremains is to make the best of a bad situation byrationalizing it scientifically. For Freud the problem ofLife and Death is biologically posed, and hence must also beresolved biologically (that is, through the Death Instinct).In Zen, however, the self-generated bonds of desire,clinging, etc. allow for our own action to dissolve theproblem of Samsaara by seeing its mergence in Nirvaa.na.P. 479 Although both psychotherapy and Zen recognize our problemsas self-generated--whether in the form of existential guilt or"sin"-only Zen provides the means for "conquering"conditioned genesis by opting out of the cycle completely. Atthe root of this difference lies psychotherapy's fixation onthe psyche -- aatman, the illusory ego-self--as opposed toZen's adherence to the real or Original Nature, characterizedas anaatta/anaatman. As a consequence, psychotherapy is notonly seeking solutions in the wrong place (namely Samsaara),but also is searching for the wrong object (aatman). Hence wecannot help but remain enmeshed in impermanence (anicca) anddelusion.(53)II. Variations on the Psychotherapeutic Theme: The Logotherapy of Viktor E. Frankl Not all forms of Western psychotherapy fall into the sametraps as those noted above. In the following I shall discussone school--Logotherapy--that manifests certain qualitiesindicative of a striving for transcendence in the directionof Zen. At the same time, it falls short of a completeliberation from samsaaric bonds. The reason for this failurefurther illuminates the differences between Zen and Westernpsychotherapeutic trends. Logotherapy--literally "therapy through meaning" (logos)--originates from Viktor Frankl's sense of the limitationsand misperceptions of his predecessors. More specifically,Frankl offers his own "dimensional ontology" to supplementthe oversights of Freud (whom he studied) and Alfred Adler(Freud's erstwhile student and one time heir apparent whoseschool Frankl once belonged to). Frankl asserts that Westernpsychotherapy has failed to grasp the???????53) Fritz Perls illuminates this point: "This is Freud's great discovery--that there is something between you and the world....Freud's idea that the intermediate zone, the DMZ, this no-man's land between you and the world should be eliminated, emptied out, brainwashed or whatever you want to call it, was perfectly right. The only trouble is that Freud stayed in that zone and analyzed this intermediate thing. He didn't consider the self-awareness or world-awareness; he didn't consider what we can do to be in touch again."; pp. 49-50.P.480complexity of human nature. He seeks to expand the definitionbeyond reductionist tendencies that make the human "nothingbut" another organism governed by drives for sexuality oraggression (the rat model) or malfunctioning component (themachine model).(54) It is here that Frankl begins to resonatewith Zen's insights. Frankl's scheme can be summarized as follows: Freud--Will to Pleasure, the physiological dimension (sexuality, sensuality, hedonism--the infant stage) Adler--Will to Power, the psychological dimension (money, politics, fame--the adolescent stage) Frankl--Will to Meaning, the noological dimension (spiritual--the adult stage) Love/experiential values, what one takes from the world (an external source of meaning in other human beings, Nature, etc.) Work/creative values, what one gives to the world (an internal source through service, creations, etc.) Suffering/attitudina1 values, one's interaction with and response to the world. Of special significance in Frankl's ontology is his attemptto account for transformational elements in human nature, ourinherent human resources for self-transcendence able to actalongside and beyond instinctual drives. In this"ontological" dimension lies his "height psychology",countering the "depth psychology" of Freud and others.Frankl's discussions do not focus on the conflicting forcesof Id, Ego, and Super-Ego; nor does his therapeuticinteraction with patients necessitate delving pastexperiences, particularly childhood traumas, as the causes ofpresent neuroses. Frankl supplements the scientific methodsof Freud with existential philosophy (and at one point evenreferred to his school as Existential Analysis). He descriesthe pan-determinism??????54) See Viktor E. Frankl, The Unheard Cry for Meaning: Psychotherapy and Humanism (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1978), pp. 55-57.P.481or all-encompassing sense of determinism inherent in Freudianthought. In its places he proposes a reinstatement of freedomand responsibility. Unlike the majority of therapies,Logotherapy is receptive to the healing potential ofspirituality, seeing such currents as part of the cure ratherthan a symptom of neurosis.(55) Nonetheless, as a scientifically trained professional,Frankl is not completely comfortable with the inclusion ofreligion. His coinage of the term "no1ogical" (from "noos"and "nous", "mind"), although essentially descriptive ofspiritual expressions, allows him to clothe his discussionsin a mantle of respectability imparted by a Greek derivation.Despite his advocacy of "cosmic meaning", Frankl's treatmentof religion tends to be similarly circumspect. In general Godremains for Frankl an indispensable, but eternallyunprovable, hypothesis, much as it is for Immanuel Kant inhis "als ob" moral philosophy. (56) By putting meaning uppermost in his analysis of humannature, Frankl orients his therapy toward helping patients torealize their personal life meaning. The lack of such meaningFrankl identifies as the mass neurosis of modern times--theExistential Vacuum--a gaping hole resulting from adisconnectedness. between fact and values that can only bebridged by meaning. The parallels to Buddhist Sunyata aremanifest here, although in the latter case no pejorativevalue judgment is attached to this ultimate expression ofreality. The Vacuum or Void then becomes our final targetrather than something to be avoided.??????55) In this regard, Frankl quotes a letter from Sigmund Freud to Ludwig Binswanger in which Freud states that he had "already found a place for religion, by putting it under the category of the neurosis of mankind." Frankl goes on to observe that "Even a genius cannot completely resist his Zeitgeist, the spirit of his age"; The Will to Meaning: Foundations and Applications of Logotherapy (New York: New American Library, 1969), p. 2756) Frankl's ambivalence toward religion is perhaps best seen in the closing lines of his unpublished play, "Synchronization in Buchenwald", where the protagonist calls out in turn to his dead mother, brother, and God. The first two respond from their afterlife environment, while the response from God is simply a thundering silence.P.482 The Logotherapist and the Zen Master Frankl's therapeutic method manifests certain similaritiesto Zen. For example, like a logotherapist, the Zen Master'sfinger points to the moon of Original Nature without beingable to impart that nature to the disciple. Moreover, the importance of self-reliance is stressed inboth Zen and Logotherapy--as Frankl notes "truth imposesitself and needs no intervention".(57) Frankl rejects anapproach that would presume to give meaning to the patientsor it create it for them, since each person possesses thefreedom and responsibility to realize their unique meaning,for "the meaning of our lives is not invented by ourselves,but rather detected".(58) Thus, he compares the role of thelogotherapist to that of an opthamologist, that is, one whocorrects the patient's vision so that they may see realityfor themselves, as opposed to a painter who presents apicture of reality to the patient: "The logotherapist's roleconsists in widening and broadening the visual field of thepatient so that the whole spectrum of meaning and valuesbecomes conscious and visible".(59) Yet another area of congruence is found in theirrespective methodologies. A characteristic logotherapeutictechnique is to help the patient realize their own uniquemeaning and responsibility in life. This is comparable to thedynamics that exist between the Zen Master and the discipleaspiring toward seeing their Original Nature. The patient,like the Zen practitioner, begins at the level ofhyperreflection--an excessive concern with one's own problemsto the exclusion of all other concerns. In the patient, thiscondition may manifest itself as a wallowing in self-pity,one is deeply sunk in one's own Existential Vacuum, andoblivious to the surrounding reality. The Zen student,although intellectually aware of the samsaaric nature of thissuffering (dukkha)--as well as its universality--seeks theBuddhist means of ending it, as outlined in????57) Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning, p. 175.58) Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning: An Introduction to Logotherapy(New York: Pocket Books, 1963), p. 157.59) See Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning, p. 174.P.483 the Four Noble Truths. However, existential or lived awarenessis lacking. The problem then becomes fixation onenlightenment, becoming what Pai-Chang aptly describes as"one who is fond of the raft and will not give it up,""intoxicated by the wine of pure things."(60) The initial task of the logotherapist/Zen Master is thusto broaden the vision of their charges through the process ofdereflection, gradually turning the focus of attention towardreality as a whole. In the context of Logotherapy, this maytake the form of paradoxical intention, an unexpectedresponse to the patient's seeking of solace. For example, inresponse to a distraught patient's litany of travail Franklpointedly asks "Why do you not commit suicide?"(61) Thesimilarity to the Zen koan is obvious here.(62) Both pose ajarring challenge to our trite expectations, therebychallenging us to draw upon more than mere conditionedresponse--the primal resources of Original Nature in Zen andthe noological dimension in Logotherapy. Both thusdemonstrate Frankl's insistence on the need for creativetension as "an indispensable prerequisite of mentalhealth"(63)-- in sharp contrast to Freud's assumption ofhomeostasis as the optimum state of an organism. For Frankl,one "is questioned by life; and ...can only answer to life byanswering for his own life",(64) a process facilitated by theperson of the Zen master or logotherapist. Moreover,paradoxical intention is seen to be "a useful tool intreating obsessive, compulsive and phobic conditions,especially in cases with underlying anticipatoryanxiety."(65) What better description could be given of thedukkha inherent to the human condition, infected by the threepoisons of greed, anger, and ignorance!?????60) Sayings and Doings of Pai-Chang, Thomas Cleary trans. (Center Publications), pp. 30-32.61) See Gordon W. Allport's Preface to Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning. p. vii.62) A discussion of this topic can be found in Cliff Edwards' "Logotherapy and Zen: Anecdotal Approaches to Meaning" in Sandra A. Wawrytko ed., Analecta Frankliana: The Proceedings of the First World Congress of Logotherapy (1980) (Berkeley, California: Institute of Logotherapy Press, 1982), pp. 301-0963) Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning, p. 164.64) Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning, p. 172.65) Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning, p.201P.484 If successful this technique elicits detachment or adistancing from one's obscuring self-involvement. Thus, thedistraught patient is stimulated by the shockingcounter-question of the logotherapist to provide a multitudeof reasons as to why he or she should not commit suicide,whereas previously they were passively waiting to be providedwith that meaning. Correspondingly, in Zen the apparentrequest for a logical response to the counter-logical koanquestion belies the true intent of drawing upon the student'strans-rational resources, rooted in Original Nature. In bothLogotherapy and Zen, humor is reognized as an effectiveexpression of paradoxical intention. Frankl's own experiencesin the death camps of World War II Frankl confirmed that"humor, more than anything else in the human makeup, canafford an aloofiness and an ability to rise above anysituation, even if only for a few seconds."(66) Givensufficient prior cultivation, satori may indeed be attainedsatori may indeed be attained within these few seconds. An interesting integration of Frankl's technique of paradoxicalintention is found in the story of Ch'an master Hsien-yai'ssuccessful intervention (by non-intervention) in a maritalconflict. While traveling the Master encountered a coupleengaged in a violent quarrel, hurling threats andcounter-threats at each other. Rather than trying to reasonthem out of their anger or address them directly, the Mastercalled on passers-by to come and see the excitement, luringthem with the prospect of an imminent homicide. When someonein the crowd objected to such behavior on the part of a monkthe Master replied that this was quite consistent with hiscalling, since it represented a good opportunity to earn somemoney by performing funeral services. As the argument betweenthe Master and the irate spectator escalated, the couple wasdistracted/dereflected from their own hyperreflective state.This humor-induced detachment paved the way to a finalresolution of both the quarrel and their dysfunctional modeof interaction. The final stage in the therapeutic process is in Logotherapyself-transcendence???????66) Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning, p.68.P.485dence and in Zen enlightenment. Here Frankl has made avaluable contribution to psychotherapy by pointing beyondboth Freud's self-involved Ego/Id/Super-Ego construction andMaslow's culminating point in self-actualization, Ego-centrismis at last decentralized, edging close upon Buddhism'sanaatta insight. Frankl even flirts with non-duality byinsisting that our own happiness is only possible when we arewilling to forego it for the sake of something or someoneoutside ourselves. He employs the analogy of the boomerang,which, like happiness, returns to us only when it has firstbeen thrown away. Taken a step further, this leads to arecognition of the artificiality of ego-boundaries, such thatself and others are not separated. However, Frankl'sWestern-trained sensibilities seem to prevent him from takingthis final step into the nirvaanic Void. As illustrated through these paralleling processes, therole of the logotherapist is far closer to that of a ZenMaster than to a Freudian psychoanalyst. The latter functionsas a mediator, an object of transference, who all too ofteninduces a state of utter dependency in the patient. There isin Freud's therapy a presupposed ideal of how the psychicelements of Ego, Id, and Super-Ego are to be integrated, setlimitations for handling repressed instincts, definiteexpectations as to the value of sublimation. Thisauthoritarian stance is largely absent in logotherapeutictheory, and even moreso in Zen, both of which emphasizeself-reliance. Both also share a common optimism about thepatient's ability to reveal pre-existing values, either inthe form of meaning or the Original Nature. Finally, Frankl's approach is future-oriented, is focussedon a goal to be accomplished or meaning to be realized. Thepast is not allowed to be used as an excuse for shirkingpresent responsibilities. As Frankl tells a patient: Whatcounts is not what lurks in the depths but what waits in thefuture, waits to be actualized by you." (67) Like the Buddha,Frankl counsels against speculating on???????67) Viktor E. Frankl, "Fragments from the Logotherapeutic Treatment of Four Cases" in Modern Psychotherapeutic Practice, A. Burton ed. (Pale Alto, California: Science and Behavior Books, 1965), pp. 365-67.P.486the causes for one's condition, and instead encourages thepatient to simply get on with their life task. Just so,Hui-neng exhorts us to non-attachment by declaring "let thepast be dead".(68)Love, Work, and Suffering; Wisdom, Compassion, and Practice Comparisons also exist with regard to the three sourcesof meaning recognized by Frankl. The experiential valuesreflected in it may be correlated with wisdom (prajna), thecreative values of work with compassion (karuna), and theattitudinal values of suffering with practice. These pairingsalso serve to disclose the limitations inherent in thelogotherapeutic methodology, revealing its groping toward theinsights that reach their full realization only in Zen.Frankl sees these as three equally accessible avenues tomeaning, three interchangeable routes to satisfying the willto meaning. Nonetheless, suffering is said to hold thepromise of meaning only when it concerns an "inescapable,unavoidable situation", as "a last chance to actualize thehighest value, to fulfill the deepest meaning".(69) InBuddhism, however, the first Noble Truth recognizes thatsuffering (dukkha) in its myriad forms pervades the lifeexperience. Accordingly, a a vehicle to meaning, it does notrepresent a "last chance", but rather is an integral part ofall meaning. Suffering as dukkha is indeed the one and onlymeans to meaning. Furthermore, the division of experiential,creative, and attitudinal values is merely provisional, forin essence they are inseparable. Frankl characterizes love as something to be experiencedor "taken" from the world, from which one might assume it hasmore in common with the emotion of compassion than wisdom.However, the Buddhist practitioner does not merely experiencethe world through love, but actively seeks to transform thatworld. Wisdom, then, seems a more appropriate parallel here,in the sense of its being an existential acquisition by meansof lived experience. The limitation in Frankl's conception,from the Buddhist standpoint, is seen in his description ofexperiential values as being "realized by the passivereceiving of the???????68) Hui-neng, p 391.69) Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning, p. 178.P.487world (nature, art) into the ego".(70) This quotation revealsthat the self/other distinction, the illusion of ego/aatman,is itself the limiting factor here. The redeeming aspectis that love also is said to open the lover to as broader anddeeper vision of the cosmos, which in turn may serve as theoccasion for removing that selfsame dualistic delusion. Work, like compassion, constitutes a creative expression,what we "give" to the world, thus a natural progressionbeyond the acquiring of insight. Buddhist love, unlike itsmore mundane human expression, fits this description by beingrooted in meditational practice. It is amicrocosmic-macrocosmic merging or dissolution of theego-self, (71) a mystical love made possible by detachmentfrom the samsaric realm, while simultaneously renderingservice to those who remain deluded by Samsaara. On thispoint the Buddhist approach comes into conflict with Frankl'semphasis on the indispensibility, irreplaceability,uniquenmess, and singulaiity of the individual as an activeagent.(72) Such assumptions are indicative of being enmeshedin the "demon net" of the would-be Bodhisattva or "warriorfor enlightenment".(73) A liability of both experiential and creative values inFrankl's approach is that he often discusses them in terms of"the optimism of the past"--a perspective that envisions thepast as a permanent storehouse of values. This contradictsHui-neng's directive to "let the past be dead". Only theattitudinal values of suffering, practice (dhyana leading tosamadhi), is present and future-oriented. Suffering alsooffers the most promise here as a catalyst for what I referto as "serendipitous enlightenment", that is, a crisissituation that has the effect of allowing an individual toachieve insight into reality through a criticalreconsideration of their past value system. Such anexperience thrusts the person????????70) Viktor E. Frankl, The Doctor and the Soul: From Psychotherapy to Logotherapy, Richard and Clara Winston trans. (New York: Vantage Books, 1973), p. 105.71) For an elaboration of the intricacies of Buddhist love-in the forms of mettaa, karunaa, muditaa, and upekkhaa -- see Yoshinori, pp. 42-47.72) Frankl, The Doctor and the Soul, p. 35.73) Pai-CVhang, p. 35.P.488 headlong into the Existential Vacuum. and may even induce thesymptomatology of existential neurosis. Numerous cases are tobe found both within and beyond the logotherapeuticliterature. All share a common core experience -- anaccidentally provoked crisis that serves to expose thesuperficiality of previously held goals, therebyprecipitating a confrontation with one's life task from thevantage point of a new, broader perspective. While Logotherapy does not advocate that the individualactively seek such crises (which, according to Frankl, wouldamount to masochism), it does propose a structure withinwhich they can be made meaningful when unavoidable.Buddhistically speaking one may say that suffering in general-- the samsaric cycle of dukkha -- is unavoidable, and henceevery experience is potentially enlightenmental. ButBuddhism, and Zen in particular, goes even further to proposea plan of action or practice under these circumstances, ascontained in Buddhist Dharma. What in Frankl's schemerepresents a negative happenstance that is therapeuticallytransformed, in Zen becomes the ground of the human condition(as well as the non-human), and the focal point of Buddhist"therapy". The Zen Buddhist thus does not masochisticallypursue suffering, but does undertake to deal with the fact ofits existence. If successful, self-transcendence follows from workingthrough the process from hyperreflection to dereflection anddetachment. One example concerns a young man from Texas whoaspired to every boy's dream -- the life of a cowboy. Hisgoal was within his reach when in his late teens a tragicaccident left him a quadriplegic. Obviously, he could not bea wheelchair cowboy. After considerable soul-searching andinspiration derived from Logotherapy his serendipitousenlightenment led to a personal transformation. He concludedthat rather than being worst off after the accident he was infact blessed, for it forced him to reconsider his options inlife. He decided to continue his education, which otherwisewould have ended after high school, in pursuit of a degree inpsychology, toward the end of counseling those who hasundergone similar life-shattering and potentiallylife-transforming experiences. Here he found the meaning ofhis tragedy, making it an opportunity for self-transformationandP.489enlightenment. As testimony to Frankl's insights about the pervasivenessof the Existential Vacuum in contemportary society, we maycite the trend toward crisis-inducing organizations. These maytake the form of intensive group therapy sessions, isolationtanks, or wilderness survival courses. Such programs as"Outward Bound" are particularly designed to providerehabilitation and therapy to juvenile delinquents. Theintent is to instill a realization of inner resources as ameans to building self-confidence and bolstering self-esteem,such that the individual becomes a productive member ofsociety. Herein lies the problem, for even if they aresuccessful, such experiences serve only to bolster the(illusory) ego-self and reinforce samsaaric fixation.Moreover, the artificiality of these self-induced andother-directed crisis situations differs greatly from Zen'srecognition of the existing life crisis of Samsaara. What islacking in the Western models is a firmly groundedphilosophical basis and discipline, a set of guidelines forventuring into the very depths of the samsaaric Void. Extending Buddhism's broadened view of suffering as pervasiveof life experience, we can take a fresh look at Frankl's mostinfluential and widely-known work, Man's Search for Meaning.Originally entitled A Psychologist Experiences the DeathCamp, the text is divided into two parts: the first detailsFrankl's experiences as a prisoner in the Nazi concentrationcamps, while the second outlines his logotherapeuticprinciples. It is perhaps not inappropriate to see theconcentration camp as a metaphor for samsaaric existence ingeneral. The condition holds either directly (in the case of theinmates) or indirectly (as in case of their overseers, whoenvision themselves as inflicting, rather than beingsubjected to, suffering). The three stages experienced by theprisoner in Frankl's account then are applicable to the broadspectrum of humanity. The first of these stages--the delusionof reprieve--aptly characterizes the state of those who lookto some divine force to provide salvation from the humancondition, usually in the form of a paradisiacal afterlife.Western science has discredited this hope, as reflected inFreudian psychotherapy. Hence, there is aP.490move toward the second stage of Adjustment, the mostcomplicated as well as the most long lasting phase. For thecamp inmate this stage requires a gradual acceptance of theabnormal as normal, including emotional hibernation,desensitization, and overall apathy. The concerns of lifetake on a primal immediacy, eliciting the very instinctsFreud deems to be the source of human energies. The onlyremaining course, as Freud counsels, is resignation toirrevocable, natural necessity. Only Zen ventures beyond, tooffer the prospect of liberation, in the sense of escape fromSamsaara and realization of the co-existing nirvaanic state.In what Frankl refers to as a "rehumanization" process, wecan conceive of the liberated inmate's re-establishment ofcontact with Original Nature, which has been thwarted andobscured by samsaaric submergence. Thus, we see in Logotherapy a much more successful attemptto deal with the human condition than Freudian theory -- muchmore optimistic about the inherent powers of human nature.Nonetheless, in lacking the structural basis for theenlightenment process, for cultivation prior toenlightenment, and its dependence on the unreliability of"serendipitous enlightenment", it continues to lag behindZen. Unaware of the universality of suffering, it thereforerelegates the approach needed for nirvanic liberation toextraordinary circumstances.Death as the Sine Qua Non of Meaning The final topic to be considered in the light of Logotherapyis that of death and its relationship to life. As seen above,Freud ultimately was moved to posit a Death Instinct in orderto bring some semblance of rationality to this universalhuman phenomenon. Death proved no less troublesome forFrankl, and in fact constitutes the beginning point of histherapeutic search. He recounts his own precocious encounterwith the mortality at age four.(74) This catalyst launchedhis lifelong search for meaning. Given the fact of death, hequeried, how could life hold any meaning? His answer wasphrased in terms of the meaning of death itself, or, moreprecisely, the fact that death imparts meaning to life. Thus,in the context of Logotherapy, death becomes not a necessary??????74) See Stephen Kalmar, "A Brief History of Logotherapy" in Analecta Frankliana p. XVI.P.491evil of Nature to which we must resign ourselves, but aguarantor of the meaning life, and hence a focal point ofdiscussion. How does Frankl accomplish this transformation of death?He begins by delving the etymology of the word "finite", aword of usually negative connotations. Western culture hasevidenced an overwhelming preference for the infinitem, theeternal, qualities associated with divinity. Frankl arguesfor an attitudinal change in terms of our sense of the word,which thereby entails a change in our attitude towarddeath.(75) The word finite, says Frankl, has a dual meaning,derived from the Latin "finis", which signifies both a limit,a boundary, or ending point and a goal. If we conceive ofdeath in the former sense, as a limitation, as is usuallydone, then it becomes a barrier for us, something thatrepresents the termination of life. If, however, we explorethe possibilities inherent in the second meaning of a goal,death becomes integrated as an intrinsic part of the entirelife process; it is the finish line toward which we arecontinually striving, the time limit that puts all thatprecedes it into proper perspective. Frankl then asks us to consider the consequences of havingno such final goal. Without the incentive (creative tension)evoked by impending death, our lives would be characterizedby interminable postponement, under the assumption ofimmortality. There would be no need to compete or even pursueany project now, or to strive after professional or personalgoals immediately, since we would literally have all the timein the world to fulfill any and all of them. As aconsequence, we would most likely accomplish very little andso suffer the overwhelming effects of Existential Vacuum foreternity.(76) Aldous Huxley offers a fictional account of just such aterrifying immortality in his novel After Many a Summer Diesthe Swan. In the story an incredibly wealthy man devotes hisentire fortune to finding the secret to life extension, onlyto learn that there are inevitable negative accompaniments to??????75) Frankl devotes an entire section of his text, The Doctor and the Soul: From Psychotherapy to Logotherapy, to "On the Meaning of Death" (New York: Vintage, 1973), pp. 63-92.76) See Frankl,"On the Meaning of Death", The Doctor and the Soul, pp. 63-92.P.492this goal. In living far beyond the human norm, he becomessunk in a Freudian-esque oblivion of primal drives. Deathunder such circumstances emerges not only as meaningful, butmoreover as a welcome relief.III. The Zen Transcendence Turning now to Zen proper, we see that the dualism of lifeand death has been left behind, as mere relics of the nowtranscended Samsaara. Hence the therapeutic goal differsenormously from the Freudian resignation to death. The meansto this goal, while related to logotherapeutic methods, farexceed the scope of the latter. Rather than teaching one tocope with samsaaric existence--however that may be conceived-- Zen radicalizes our very being. The Zen practitioner isnot content with an occasional glimmer of serendipitousenlightenment, but actively engages in Zen practice to evokethat experience. Most fundamentally, the difference can betraced to Zen's profound grasp of the mechanism underlyingSamsaara (conditioned genesis), along with practical methodsof escaping its grasp (meditation, etc.). Zen transforms ourway of seeing the world by pulling aside the veil ofillusion. In so doing it reveals our Original Nature andexposes the delusive fallacy of self-development and progressbeyond an assumedly defective point of origin. The crucial difference between Zen and Western psychotherapyin terms of attitudes towards death may be expressed as adifference in eschatology. The term itself, derived from theGreek "eschatos", denotes what is "further" or "ultimate".Invariably it has been used with reference to death as theassumed ultimate for human beings. Despite theirdisagreements on the details, this interpretation seems validfor both Freud and Frankl. Freud resignedly perceives deathas a matter of natural necessity, while Frankl rationalizesits necessity in terms of imparting meaning to the finitudeof life. In Buddhism there is no eschatology, strictly speaking.(77) To imagine an ul-????????77) Thus, Yoshinori observes "viewed in its authentic sense, the dharma of the Buddha is eternal and there should be no such thing as an eschatology in Buddhism"; p. 60.P. 493timatetimate beyond the eternal present, an end point ina progression to perfection, is contrary to Buddhist thought.Both progress and death alike belong to the samsaaric realm.Enlightenment itself involves the "Great Death" of thepsyche, an experience far surpassing mere physical death insignificance and profundity. Zen offers detachment from lifeas well as death, without denial or redefinition. Everymoment is simultaneously samsaaric and nirvaanic,simultaeously life and death -- and neither life nor death,in terms of the Original Nature. Zen's attraction for theJapanese samurai stems from this same insight, as expressedin the following verse: Some think that striking is to strike: But striking is not to strike, nor is killing to kill, He who strikes and he who is struck-- They are both no more than a dream that has no reality. (78) The death scenes of great Buddhist figures bear out thisdeath-preparedness. Sakyamuni Buddha, for example, passedfrom physical realm with an exhortation to his disciples toapply themselves to their enlightenment. Prior his deathHui-neng observed: "It is only natural, death is theinevitable outcome of birth. Even the Buddhas as they appearin the world must manifest an earthly death before they enterParinirvana. There will be no exception with me; my physicalbody must be laid down somewhere. Fallen leaves go?????78) Quoted by Daisetz T. Suzuki in Zen and Japanese Culture (New York: Princeton University Press, 1973), p. 123, Yamamoto Tsunetomo (Jocho) echoes this same sentiment: "I have discovered that the Way of the samurai is death....In order to be a perfect samurai, it is necessary to prepare oneself for death morning and evening, day in and day out...One begins each day in quiet meditation, imagining one's final hour and the various ways of dying....When a warrior is constantly prepared for death, he has mastered the Way of the samurai". Quoted by Stephen Addiss and G. Cameron Hurst III in Samurai Painters (Tokyo: Kodansha International Ltd., 1983), p. 45.P. 494back to the place where the root is."(79) Numerous deathscenes of Ch'an Masters demonstrate their ability to maintainequanimity in their final moments.(80) Master Nan-ch'uanP'u-yiian even manages to insert a humorous note when hetells an inquisitive disciple that after he dies he intendsto go "down the hill to be a water buffalo".(81) There is in Zen no sense of tragic loss, no need to vanquishthe "enemy" of death. Conflict and duality are let behind,and a new attitude ensues: In life one is not stayed by life; in death, one is not obstructed by death. Though within the clusters [skandhas] Of matter, sensation, perception, coordination, and consciousness, it is as if a door had opened, and one is not obstructed by these five clusters. One is free to go or to stay, going out or entering in without difficulty. (82)??????79) Hui-neng, p. 443.80) See Philip Kapleau ed., "Dying: Of the Masters" in The Wheel of Death: A Collection of Writings from Zen Buddhist and Other Sources on Death-Rebirth-Dying (New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1974), pp. 63-75.81) Original Ch'an Teaching of Buddhism: Selected from The Transmission of the Lamp, Chang Chung-yuan trans. (New York: Pantheon Books), p. 163.82) Pai-Chang, p. 32.