ฐานข้อมูลวิจัยด้านสุขภาพจิตและจิตเวช

ผู้วิจัย/Authors: Chamlong Disayavanish, M.S., M.D.

ชื่อเรื่อง/Title: Buddhism and Psychiatry

แหล่งที่มา/Source: Journal of The Psychiatric Association of Thailand, Vol. 43 No.3 July-September 1998; P 266-291.

รายละเอียด / Details:

There are clearly both parallelisms and divergences between Abhidhamma which is Buddhist psychology and psychiatry, especially psychoanalysis. Both doctrinal systems have the concept that all mental phenomena including suffering and behaviors have specific antecedent causes, often operating on an unconscious level. However, the Bhavanga citta or the unconscious in Buddhism has a broader and more profound scope than the unconscious in psychoanalysis as the former is a reservoir of wholesome and unwholesome actions, mental intoxications and perfections, including cravings which are the origin of suffering. The three kinds of cravings, namely craving for sensual pleasures, craving for existence and craving for non-existence, can be compared with the concepts of sexual instinct, ego instinct and death instinct in psychoanalysis respectively. Moreover, with regard to the unconscious unwholesome roots, namely greed (lobha), hatred (dosa), and delusion (moha), the concepts of greed and hatred are very similar in many aspects to sexual drive and aggressive drive but Freud did not seem to acknowledge the notion of delusion (moha) at all. As to the unconscious wholesome roots, namely non-greed or generosity, non-hatred or loving-kindness, and non-delusion or wisdom, they can be relatively compared with the concept of superego in psychoanalysis. The aim in psychiatry is to help the patients with mental disorders return to normality with a better social adjustment and personality development. The goal in Buddhism is far superior to that in psychiatry in that it provides the normal individual with the doctrine that can be practiced to promote higher spiritual development from the mundane level to the supramundane one and finally to Nirvana. In psychoanalysis, there is no effective method to eradicate human instinctual drives and cravings completely but, according to the Buddhist doctrine, the deep-rooted unconscious impurities or latent defilements can be absolutely eradicated through the practice of insight meditation. The psychological aspects of insight meditation includes 1) bare attention, 2) de-repression, 3) de-conditioning, 4) new learning, and 5) working through. Freud believed that the state of absolute mental health is an impossible ideal because anxiety which is a neurotic symptom still exists in every human being. On the contrary, Buddhism advocates the conception that absolute mental health can be attained in this very life if one can totally remove all mental defilements and intoxications. Such person is called an Arahant, the noble one who is fully enlightened and has given up all spiritual fetters that bind man to the endless round of rebirths and redeaths.

Keywords: cravings (tanha), wholesome roots, unwholesome roots, insight meditation, instinctual drives, superego, psychiatry, psychology

ปีที่เผยแพร่/Year: 1998

Address: Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand.

Code: 0000089

ISSN/ISBN: 0125-6985

Country of publication: Thailand.

Language: English.

Category: Abstract Journal.

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