This paper delineates and discusses the strengths and weaknesses of six publications on (or directly related to) buddhist psychology. The format is that of an annotated bibliography.
Lyten, M.F. (1985). Egolessness and the "borderline" experience.
Naropa Institute Journal of Psychology, 3, 43-60.
The primary strength of this article is that it discusses how "egolessness" considered to be a desirable state in buddhist psychology, can also be associated with psychopathology. Specifically, the publication discusses the client-psychotherapist predicament of ego/egolessness in terms of borderline psychopathology.
Egolessness, in terms of buddhist goals, refers to a flickering, insubstantial quality of an experience of the self and of the boundaries between self and another. However, borderline patients appear to have this same experience and to somehow be debilitated by it. Although the assumptions about identity that underlie the diagnosis of borderline personality disorder are questioned, borderline experiences are examined as they occur for therapist and client.
In addition to the foregoing, egolessness and exchange are discussed in the framework of principles of contemplative psychotherapy. The borderline experience is illustrated in a case study of a 26 year old woman in a discussion of uncovering confusion, polarization, variations on loss of self, and sustaining uncertainty.
Another strength of the study is that it offers a precise method for recovery. Specifically it is suggested that attainment of relaxation with uncertainty led to genuine solutions in this case. It is concluded that appreciation for uncertain transition states in the therapist and client enables a capacity for intimacy and intuition to unfold.
Weisz, J.R., Suwanlert, S., Chaiyasit, W., Walter, B.R. (1987). Over and undercontrolled referral problems among children and adolescents from Thailand and the United States: The wat and wai...