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NYU Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy & Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis & Buddhism
Instructors: Jeremy Safran & Sara Weber
Mondays 6:00 – 7:40
In this seminar we will explore contemporary thinking about the relationship
between psychoanalysis and Buddhism, and examine various ways in which a dialogue
between these two traditions can have an impact on psychoanalytic thinking and practice.
We will also examine Buddhist thinking and practice through the lens of psychoanalytic
theory, and explore various ways in which Buddhism is evolving as it becomes
assimilated by psychoanalytic culture. The readings are of three different types: 1)
readings explicating core principles of Buddhist thinking and practice, 2) readings
explicating selected principles of psychoanalytic thinking and practice (for purposes of
providing a basis for comparing and contrasting psychoanalysis and Buddhism), and 3)
readings focusing explicitly on the interface of psychoanalysis and Buddhism. Below I
will outline some of the themes that will emerge over the course of the seminar.
Key issues to be explored in the seminar will include the following:
1. What are some of the similarities and differences between psychoanalytic and
Buddhist perspectives on the sources of human suffering and the nature of
change?
2. How can mindfulness practice contribute to various aspects of psychoanalytic
practice including: free association, the use of reverie, countertransference
analysis and containment?
3. What is the relationship between the Buddhist concept of no-self, and the
psychoanalytic concepts of ego, self, and multiple selves? What implications does
the Buddhist concept of no-self have for our understanding of the psychoanalytic
process?
4. How can the Buddhist notion of nonduality contribute to our understanding of
both the process and goals of psychoanalysis?
5. What are the similarities and differences in the ways that the analytic relationship
and the teacher/student relationship in Buddhism are conceptualized, and how can
this type of comparison enrich our understanding of both the analytic relationship
and the teacher/student relationship in Buddhism?
6. What are some of the blind spots in psychoanalysis when viewed through the lens
of Buddhism? What are some of the blind spots in Buddhism when viewed
through the lens of psychoanalysis? How can these two traditions enrich one
another?
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Experiential Component:
There will be an experiential component to the seminar. This will involve experimenting
with various meditation practices.
Required Books: (you can order them through amazon.com if you can’t find them in the
bookstores)
Freud, S. (1927). The future of an illusion. SE 21, 3-56. (also available through PEP
archive)
Ross, N. R. (1981). Buddhism as a way of life & thought. 2nd edition. Vintage Books.
Aronson, H. B. (2004). Buddhist practice on Western ground. Boston: Shambala.
Safran, J.D. (Ed.), (2003). Psychoanalysis and Buddhism: An Unfolding Dialogue.
Boston: Wisdom. (P & B)
S. Bercholtz & S. C. Kohn (Eds.), (2002). The Buddha and His Teachings. Boston:
Shambhala. (This is an anthology of original source material representing classic
writings from Thervada, Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Selections will be assigned
over the course of the seminar, in addition to the readings listed below).
Other Required Readings: (these are marked with an *)
Available as a course pack from the East Side Copy,15 East 13th St. (between 5th Ave. &
University Ave.)
Of interest, but not required:
1. Shainberg, L. (1995). Ambivalent Zen: A Memoir. New York: Pantheon Books.
2. Butterfield, S. T. (1994). The Double Mirror: A Skeptical Journey into Buddhist
Tantra. North Atlantic Books.
Seminars 1, 2, 3: Background
Ross, N. R. (1981). Buddhism as a way of life & thought. 2nd edition. Vintage Books.
Aronson, H. B. (2004). Buddhist practice on Western ground. Boston: Shambala.
Safran, J.D. Psychoanalysis and Buddhism as cultural institutions. (P & B: 1-34).
Freud, S. (1927). The future of an illusion. SE 21, 3-56.
Freud, S. (1915). On transience. SE 14, 303-307.*
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Seminar 4: Attention, meditation & free association
Goldstein, J. & Kornfield, J. (1987). Seeking the Heart of Wisdom. 15-45.*
Epstein, M. (1995). Meditation. In Thoughts Without a Thinker. New York: Basic Books.
106-155*
Freud, S. (1912). Recommendations for physicians on the psychoanalytic method of
treatment. SE 12, 111-120.*
Seminar 5: Mindfulness and the analyst’s inner work
Bion, W. R. (1967). Notes on memory and desire. Psychoanalytic Forum, 2, 271-280, ed.
J. Lindon.*
Coltart, N. (1992). Slouching Towards Bethlehem. New York: Guilford.1-14.*
Ogden, T. (1997). Reverie and interpretation. In Reverie and Interpretation. Northvale,
NJ: Jason Aronson. 155-198.*
Weber, S. (2003.).An analyst’s surrender. (P & B: 169-189).
Seminar 6: The goals of psychoanalysis and Buddhism
Dimen, M. (2007). Reflections on cure.*
Rubin, J. (2003). A well lived life. (P & B: 387-410).
Seminar 7: Self/no self # 1
Engler, J. (2003). Being somebody and being nobody: A reexamination of the
understanding of self in psychoanalysis and Buddhism. (P & B: 35-79).
Metcalf, F. A. (2006). Illusions of the self in Buddhism and Winnicott.*
Seminar 8: Emptiness
Epstein, M. (1998). Emptiness. In Going To Pieces Without Falling Apart.3-27*
Langan, R. (2003). The dissolving of dissolving itself. (P & B: 131-146).
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Seminar 9: Self/no self # 2
Moncayo, R. (2003). The finger pointing at the moon. (P & B: 131-363)
Bromberg, P. (1998). Standing in the spaces. In Standing in the Spaces: Essays on
Clinical process, Trauma and Dissociation. Hillsdale, NJ: The Analytic Press. 267-290.*
Seminar 10: Nonduality
Magid, B. (2003). Your ordinary mind. (P & B: 251-286).
Safran, J. D. (2006). Before the ass has gone the horse has already arrived. Contemporary
Psychoanalysis, 42, 197-212.*
Seminar 11: Mysticism
Finn, M. (2003). Tibetan Buddhism & a mystical psychoanalysis (P & B: 101-114).
Eigen, M. The psychoanalytic mystic. In Eigen, M. (1998). The Psychoanalytic Mystic.
EFS Publishers.*
Seminar 12: Surrender
Epstein, M. (1998). Surrender. In Going to Pieces Without Falling Apart . 29-48.*
Ghent, E. (1990). Masochism, submission and surrender: Masochism as a perversion of
surrender. Contemporary Psychoanalysis, 26, 108-136.*
Safran, J.D. (2007). Who’s responsible here?: Agency, surrender and grace in the analytic
process*
Seminar 13: Faith
Cook, F. D. (2002). The importance of faith. In How to Raise an Ox: Zen Practice as
Taught in Master Dogen’s Shobogenzo. Boston: Wisdom. 9-32.*
Eigen, M., Where the wind blows. From Eigen, M. (1998). The Psychoanalytic Mystic.
EFS Publishers.*
Seminar 14: Analytic and student/teacher relationships I
Young-Eisendrath, P. (2003).Transference and transformation in Buddhism and
psychoanalysis. (P & B:301-323).
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Suler, J. (1993). Students, teachers and their relationships. In Contemporary
Psychoanalysis and Eastern Thought. New York: State University of New York Press.
140-161.*
Welwood, J. (1987). On spiritual authority: Genuine and counterfeit. In D. Anthony, B.
Ecker and K. Wilber (Eds.), Spiritual Choices. New York: Paragon House. 283-305.*
Seminar 15: Analytic and student/teacher relationships II
Ray, R.A. (1993). The vajra master. In The Secrets of the Vajra World. Boston:
Shambhala.153-176.*
Hoffman, I. (1998). Ritual and spontaneity in the psychoanalytic process. In Ritual and
Spontaneity in the Psychoanalytic Process. Hillsdale, NJ: The Analytic Press.219-244.*
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