Healing the psyche should incorporate both Buddhism and Western psychological methodologies. Each can complement the other in achieving psychic wholeness. The three principal Buddhist methods (Vipassana, Zen, and Vajrayana) have much in common with Western psychotherapy. Buddhist psychology is especially useful in adjunct with Western Self psychology.
Vipassana is the form of meditation that is purely Buddhist. The goal of this psychological technique is mental development or insight which leads to total freedom and realization of Nirvana. Vipassana is based on mindfulness, awareness, and attentiveness. Although the Western mind equates meditation with the lotus position, in most forms of Vipassana meditation the meditator may assume a variety of positions including sitting, standing or even walking. The exception is the form of Vipassana meditation that focuses on awareness of the breathing which requires the meditator to sit cross-legged with the spine erect. Vipassana meditation is so practical that it can be incorporated into a person's daily routine. I have recently attempted to practice Vipassana meditation while driving and find that it improves my performance on the road. Vipassan calls upon the meditator to be fully aware of whatever activity he or she is engaged in at the moment (Rahula, 1974, pp. 68-71).
Being mindful of present action appears deceptively simple until the meditator attempts to put it into practice. People tend to re-live the past or brood over the future in terms of their mental states, rarely giving their undivided attention to their present tasks. This inattention to the present originates the pithy saying that a persons' mind is "a million miles away." The inability to focus on the present leads to strained and disturbed mental states.
Vipassana meditation is an insightful and uncovering technique. When engaged in this form of meditation a person should adopt a non-judgmen...