Abstract
A number of studies have integrated Buddhist principles into therapeutic interventions, demonstrating effective outcomes; however, very little Buddhist textual data support the theoretical foundation of those models. This exploratory research conceptualises a counselling framework based on a canonical analysis of the Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa Sūtra, together with a qualitative inquiry. Thirty-eight informants, including helping service practitioners, Buddhist masters, Buddhist volunteers, and beneficiaries, were recruited through cold calls, social networks, referrals, and electronic mail. Forty-six semi-structured interview sessions, involving individuals and focus groups, were conducted in the form of face-to-face discussions, telecommunication, and correspondence. Data collection was performed using multiple sources, consisting of interviews, expressive art, and autobiographies. Both scriptural and fieldwork data were analysed with the aid of ATLAS.ti 7, a software package; while interview data were processed under phenomenological interpretative analysis. Different levels of triangulation were employed to enhance the research rigour, including member-checking of transcriptions and data interpretation, and peer analysis, with an inter-rated reliability of 92%. This bodhisattva-spirit-oriented counselling framework was then finalised with two super-ordinate themes (philosophical concepts and propositions for counselling), 14 emergent themes, and 40 themes. This counselling framework, from the prajñā perspective, not only exhibits Mahāyāna wisdom, but also revitalises the practicality and applicability of catvāri apramānāni (the four immeasurables) in today’s contemporary context, approving the aspiration of the Buddha to serve sentient beings.
Highlights
Western scholars have increasingly been interested in Buddhism since the 17th century (Conze 1953), and after the Second World War (Gethin 1998)
In the Sūtra, Vimalakīrti has practised the bodhisattva path and upāya, modelling how to implement the bodhisattva spirit and practise upāyacxxxv. He visits gambling dens, brothels, and wine houses to save them from transgressioncxxxvi, and gains respect from various social classes, including from common peoplecxxxvii. Reviewing this bodhisattva-spirit-oriented counselling framework, four areas lead to further discussion: interactions between philosophical concepts and propositions for counselling, compatibility between Buddhism and psychotherapy, limitations and future research directions, and the features of this framework
Interactions between philosophical concepts and propositions for counselling This bodhisattva-spirit-oriented counselling framework, by combining a canonical analysis with a fieldwork study; and achieving cross-validation from the data collected by these two methods, features the application of prajñā philosophy that developed 2,000 years ago, together with the contemporary experiences of various stakeholders, including helping service practitioners, Buddhist masters and volunteers, and beneficiaries
Summary
Western scholars have increasingly been interested in Buddhism since the 17th century (Conze 1953), and after the Second World War (Gethin 1998). Interfacing one of the world’s oldest religions (namely, Buddhism) with a relatively new discipline (psychology) (Bankart, Dockett, and Dudley-Grant 2003), intellectuals have continuously explored the similarities between these two domains (Kaklauskas et al 2008) Having experienced these valuable Buddhist resources as “an ethical consciousness suitable for the global culture of the 21st century” (Wright 2009, 15), professionals have integrated Buddhist ideas into helping or caring professions (Walley 1986, Fielding and Llewelyn 1986, Welwood 1983, Heelas and Kohn 1986, Claxton 1986), including social work (Brandon 1976/1990, Canda and Furman 2010), and psychotherapy (Fromm 1963); for example, de Silva (1996), Epstein (1989), Goleman (1975), Kabat-Zinn (2011), Rubin (2009), Suzuki, Fromm, and DeMartino (1963), Wallace and Shapiro (2006), and Young-Eisendrath (2008). Focusing on the idea of “spirit-in-pouch, pouch-in-spirit, or body and mind as one” (Akizuki 1990, 115), this approach differs from Western traditions
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