A significant feature of Dr. Silva’s counselling approaches relates to the Lord Buddha’s methodologies encapsulated in the original Pali canons, such as the Satipatthana Sutta and Anapana Sutta, as a way out of the problems in life.
by Sunil Jayaratna
Unlike in the West, Eastern societies did not have much interest in Western psychological counselling because many in these societies believed that counselling is interwoven with the teachings and practices of Eastern religions and is, therefore, a part and parcel of their culture and life. In such a context, no separate branch of knowledge developed in the East to consider that psychological therapy or counselling is necessary to treat people with abnormal behavioural patterns and cognitive problems, as they believed there were enough methods and rituals taught in these religions to cure their ailments through introspection, retrospection, and self-realization. These methods helped them understand and harmonize with all the positives and negatives, as well as the good and the bad in life, on the assumption that these elements are inherent in all creatures, including human beings. Eastern religions, particularly Buddhism, which is at the forefront among Eastern religions, advocated that human beings are just another creature belonging to nature. Merely because they are intelligent and civilized, they cannot transcend the eternal laws of nature—impermanence and suffering—unless they realize that the ‘self’ is a manifestation of the human psyche (a creation of the mind) that relates to time and space.
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However, with the development of Western psychological teachings based on different schools, such as the Psychoanalytic School of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, the Behavioural School of William James and Ivan Pavlov, and many other psychologists, it was revealed that the psychology of man is not only based on psychosocial or ideological factors but also on biological and environmental factors. Therefore, drugs and behavioural therapies play a significant role in changing life patterns to prevent antisocial or abnormal behaviours in humans and in developing personalities that fit into a civilized society.
Oriental scholars who learned Western sciences and humanities were able to offer a new outlook on the teachings of their traditional societies in the light of Western approaches. These hybrid educational approaches broadened the dimensions of education to understand human phenomena and assist in solving problems, thereby minimizing suffering in life.
Dr. Padmasiri De Silva, a veteran in the subject of Buddhist psychology and philosophy, has made a great contribution through his deep research into Western psychological thoughts, referencing the original Buddhist teachings of the Theravada tradition. Dr. Silva, who was once my guru in the Department of Philosophy and Psychology at the University of Peradeniya, currently works as a research fellow in the Faculty of Philosophical, Historical, and International Studies at Monash University, Australia. Among the several books Dr. Silva has written, Buddhism, Ethics and Society (2003) and Buddhist Psychology and Counselling (2018) are recent works that address the moral, psychological, and spiritual aspects of life.
Dr. Silva’s upgraded 5th edition of An Introduction to Buddhist Psychology and Counselling (Pathways to Mindfulness Therapies) offers a comprehensive introduction to Buddhist psychology and counselling, exploring key concepts in psychology and practices in mindfulness-based counselling techniques. This integrated study uses Buddhist philosophy of mind, ethics, and comparative psychology, alongside practical methods, to focus on the emotional rhythms of life, opening up new avenues for mental health.
Dr. Silva’s book is divided into two parts. In Part I, he discusses the development of cognitive sciences in Western schools of thought, referencing Buddhist psychological perspectives. He describes key concepts such as perception, cognition, and motivation, and examines human emotions from both Western theoretical and Buddhist orientations. He then analyses the concept of personality, addressing the psychological and philosophical issues facing human beings.
Next, he analyses mental health and sickness, mental well-being, and the mind-body relationship. He then draws the reader’s attention to complex psychological phenomena blended with thinking and feelings. Through a holistic approach, Dr. Silva guides the reader on a critical path to understanding the relationship between normative conditions in Buddhist philosophy and its connection to Buddhist ethics and psychology.
Dr. Silva enlightens the reader on the relationship between thoughts and behaviour, particularly in relation to morality and action, through the holistic approach of Buddhism. He writes:
“In Buddhism, there is an integral and holistic approach in which the Buddhist analysis of the nature of things, the critique of philosophical theories, ethics and psychology, and the theory of knowledge are interconnected. Psychology and ethics interact very clearly in the theory of motivation. The analysis of human behaviour as good or bad uses different criteria depending on the context: the violation of precepts and code of conduct among householders and monks; the impact/consequences of the act on society and oneself. The roots of motivation and intention (chethana) are the most important criteria for evaluating behaviour as good or bad, skillful or unskillful. The roots of morally harmful behaviour are greed, hatred, and delusion, whereas morally appreciative behaviour is rooted in non-greed/generosity, non-hatred/compassion, and non-delusion/wisdom. It is also said that the worst result of bad action is the tendency to repeat it, and the best result of good action is the tendency to repeat it. This point indicates that character building is crucial, and that both the psychological and ethical aspects are interwoven.”
Dr. Silva enriches the reader’s knowledge by referencing modern empirical scientists such as Erich Fromm, Seigel, and Damasio, who explore the relationship between emotions and the neurological conditions of humans. Additionally, he examines possible avenues to change the behavioural patterns of individuals with ailments and those who desire the elevation of their mental states by utilizing Buddhist meditational methods and mind-training techniques. “When breath becomes finer and the mind settles, we arrive at a consciousness unrelated to the senses. The mind no longer runs after sense impingements. This state of mind cannot discern good and bad or react to pleasure and disappointment. It is a state of mind that stays in the middle. You begin to understand ignorance, which gives way to the arising of wisdom.” Referring to the experiences of yogis, Dr. Silva discusses Buddhist meditation practices that readers can use as counselling techniques and therapeutic methods to cure emotional and behavioural problems arising in busy or lonely day-to-day life.
In Part II, beginning with Chapter 12, Dr. Silva describes the nexus between the nature of counselling and theoretical orientation in psychotherapy. Referencing John Macleod, he describes the role of a counsellor as follows:
“The actual contract between a counsellor and a person seeking help lies at the heart of what counselling is about. Although a counsellor may be able to use theory to make sense of the client’s difficulties, and may have a range of techniques at his or her disposal for revealing and overcoming these difficulties, the fact remains that the theory and techniques are delivered through the presence and being of the counsellor as a person. An interest in the therapeutic relationship remains a common concern for all therapy practitioners and theorists. Even if the different approaches to counselling make sense of the client-therapist relationship in different ways, they all agree that effective counselling depends on how this kind of relationship operates, what happens when it goes wrong, and how to fix it.” Referring to Carl Rogers’ principles of client-centred therapy, which focus on unconditional positive regard for the client, empathy, and congruence (genuineness) as central features in the relationship, Dr. Silva emphasizes the value of utilizing Buddhist philosophical and meditational approaches to develop the self-awareness of clients in various states of turmoil, anxiety, distress, and addiction, who seek help from a counsellor.
A significant feature of Dr. Silva’s counselling approaches relates to the Lord Buddha’s methodologies encapsulated in the original Pali canons, such as the Satipatthana Sutta and Anapana Sutta, as a way out of the problems in life. These methods help clients understand, tolerate, regulate, and accept emotions as a part and parcel of human life and manage them for blissful living. Dr. Silva, referencing anthropologist Gananath Obeyesekere’s claim that Sri Lankans view symptoms of hopelessness, meaninglessness, and sorrow as a culturally conditioned philosophy of life and not an illness, suggests that the Western diagnostic term “depression” is expressed in a society whose predominant ideology of Buddhism states that life is suffering and sorrow, and that the cause of suffering is attachment or craving. There is a way (generally through meditation) of understanding and overcoming sorrow. Except in cases of clinical disorders such as chronic mental depression, the Buddhist therapeutic approaches advocated in the book suggest that these therapies have been successful in the West as a substitute for drugs and clinical treatments (such as electroconvulsive therapy). Dr. Silva’s comparative analysis of Western psychotherapies alongside Buddhist approaches opens up new dimensions in the field of psychotherapy and counselling.
Dr. Silva expresses his own experiences and feelings of the ‘inner self’ in depressive mental conditions, following the path of the Lord Buddha (‘pachchang vedithabba’—learning through self-experience) in the realization of the truth behind human suffering, ‘dukkha,’ the first element of the Four Noble Truths in the Buddhist doctrine. He writes:
“Yes, I remember how aridity and emptiness in life struck me 18 years ago in Singapore, which reminded me of a description of empty cigarette boxes floating in the river, the sound of coffee spoons—symptoms of superficial lives without meaning and purpose—some lines of poetry by T. S. Eliot that I learned at school. But as I went deep into this mood, I felt that both Kalla (my wife) and I had lived lives that had meaning and purpose.
Opening myself to this hovering feeling of emptiness, I discovered that there is profound silence around, as the glimmering lights appeared—the contours of noise in the body and mind subsided—it appeared that the desert has its own therapeutic blooms, and I was reminded of what the Gestalt therapist Fritz Perls said: ‘sometimes the desert blooms.’
Very often, we try to master the day-to-day shallowness in our lives, the impact of routine monotony, but the more shattering feelings of emptiness and aridity in our lives come as unexpected guests. But if we open ourselves to them, they will disappear as they came.”
G.A. Sunil Jayaratna is an Attorney at Law with a distinguished academic background. He holds a Bachelor of Arts with Honours (B.A. Hons), a Master of Laws (LL.M), and a Master of Arts in International Relations (MA IR). Additionally, he has earned a Certification in Human Rights from Strasbourg (C.HR Strasbourg).
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