Chapter 16 Buddhism and Psychoanalysis

Jean-François - Let's talk about another Western school that Buddhism will have to face - psychoanalysis.Psychoanalysis is not an exact science.This is a research guide.But for a hundred years, in the West, it has played a huge role in the observation of human nature.At one point, one might even say that there was a general aggression of psychoanalytic concepts.The psychoanalytic representations that Buddhism should take into account, relative to our concerns, are precisely Freud's central thesis: a human being, whatever efforts of inner sobriety he may display, whatever his modesty , his desire to be faithful, his desire to know himself and to change himself, there is always something, which lies outside the capacity of traditional introspection, what Freud called the unconscious ( linconscient).In short, there are repressed psychic forms, impulses, and memories which preserve an activity and an influence on our psyche, and therefore on our behaviour, of which we are unconscious, Nor can they be controlled.The only technique that helps to reveal these mental forms, impulses and memories and makes it possible to erase them and make us master them is psychoanalysis.But Freud believed that, with ordinary wisdom, it was illusory to try to cross the barrier constituted by the repressions that bury these psychic forces in our unconscious.We cannot get to this point merely through inner observation and through the practice of spiritual exercises.In short, the question here is not a set of pure theories, since clinical therapeutic experience has demonstrated the reality of this unconscious which cannot be understood by conventional introspection.

Mathieu - I think it is a somewhat hasty declaration to assert that man is not capable of crossing the "barrier of repression"... as hasty as William James's declaration, when he affirms: "Man cannot prevent the flow of mental associations." ; I've tried, it's impossible." Such conclusions reveal a lack of experience realized and extended by introspection, by direct examination of spiritual nature.By what means did Freud attempt to overcome this "obstacle of repression"?By thinking with the aid of his brilliant intelligence, by accessing it with the aid of new technology.But did he devote himself to contemplative observation of the spirit for months or years like the monks in Tibet did?How can psychoanalysts help others to realize the ultimate nature of thought, when they themselves have not realized it?He unfortunately pales in comparison to a qualified spiritual master.Buddhism attaches great importance to disengaging that which roughly corresponds to what psychoanalysis calls the unconscious.We call these things "cumulative tendencies" or "psychological layers," which somehow represent the "lower layers" of consciousness.The "bottoms" of consciousness do not arise at the level of mental associations, but they predispose the individual to behave in one way or another.From a certain point of view, Buddhism attaches more importance to these tendencies, because, in the Buddhist view, they go back not only to childhood, but to countless previous states of existence.We liken these tendencies to sediments that gradually settle on the bed of the river of consciousness, what we call "conscience de base."People actually divide consciousness into eight components, but I'm not going to go into details.

Jean-François - why not?This may be of interest. Mathieu—conscience de base indeterminee is the most fundamental building block of the mind, the simple fact that man behaves "consciously". The five aspects of smell and touch are connected. Then there is the aspect of consciousness that corresponds to the mental associations. Finally, there is the aspect of consciousness that is connected to the positive or negative emotions generated by the mental associations. This is "basic consciousness" and it acts as The support and conductor of those ingrained tendencies. When one attempts to purify the stream of consciousness by examining the nature of the mind, by utilizing "inner looking" or spiritual practices - none of which, according to Freud, can reach the unconscious, one Of course the unwinding of these tendencies is also included. These tendencies are more difficult to get rid of than superficial emotions because they accumulate over a long period of time. Paper. When people try to lay it flat on a table, if people support it, it is flat;

Jean-François - So Buddhism admits that there are tendencies et representations inconscientes - if we can use the term 'representations' of the unconscious.Yes, we can say the same when we refer to some at least latent memory, to some repressed representation.So, this unconscious package is not only traced back to the young childhood, but also traced back to many previous lives as you just said?Thus, the work of recollection (anamnese) that Socrates suggested to his disciples, that is, the work of recollection, should be extended to the first few years of life, which provided a new field of study for fellow psychoanalysts. Huge job... I hope this will push things forward again!

Mathieu—The shock of birth is accompanied by an obliteration of previous memories, except for those philosophers who can control the flow of their consciousness during the transition between death and rebirth, during the bardo.For ordinary beings, there arises a forgetfulness which can be compared on a different scale with that of an adult for the events of young childhood.By the way, long before Freud, Bardo Thedrol, the Book of the Dead, declared that the being to be born felt a strong desire for his mother or father, depending on whether he would become a man or a woman. Attachment, and aversion to another loved one.But very different is the way Buddhism conceives of this unconscious nature, and the methods it uses to purify it.On the question of means, Buddhism disagrees with Freud, who asserted that it is impossible for man to touch past tendencies or influence them in spiritual ways.The fundamental purpose of spiritual life is to undo these tendencies, since all attachment and aversion thoughts arise from prior conditioning.All work with the spirit is to go to the root of these tendencies, to examine the nature of these tendencies, and to resolve them.We may call this purification, not in a moral sense, but in a practical sense, similar to the removal of pollutants and sediments that destroy the cleanliness and transparency of the river.

From the little experience I have in this field, I have always had the feeling, faced with those who have been engaged in an "analysis," that they have undoubtedly rid themselves of some element of their problem by going back to their little childhood, But they are not able to undo the deep roots of what hinders their inner freedom.I've never been very impressed with the results.After so many years of effort, these people do not appear particularly more balanced, more harmonious, nor do they gleam a kind of serene fullness.Often they are still vulnerable, tense and restless. Jean-François - Unfortunately, I don't think your evidence is the only one that is necessary in this sense.Moreover, certain later schools of psychoanalysis have abandoned the Freudian view, according to which recollection is tantamount to therapy, and even the unconscious can be thoroughly illuminated.

Mathieu—Tendencies, the equivalent of the unconscious, are not visible.The reason is that they are dormant, like the images on a roll of film that are shown but not yet unfolded.All psychoanalytic endeavor consists in attempting to unfold this film.Buddhism finds it simpler to burn the film with the fire of knowledge that helps one realize the ultimate nature of the mind, its emptiness, while at the same time eradicating all traces of tendencies.Acknowledging some of our past problems is not enough.Reviving some distant event is only a limited remedy, it may help to thin some blocages, but it cannot remove the cause of these blocages.Constantly stirring up the sludge at the bottom of the pond with sticks does nothing to purify the water.

Jean-François - no!After all, this is much more mysterious than this! ... What is it like to be called a neurotic?For, in principle, analysis is directed at those who suffer from difficulties.Let us take, for example, the man who is always, almost consciously, placing himself in situations of failure.He does something, he is about to succeed in doing it, and just when everything is going well, he makes a fatal mistake, which is too huge to be explained by reasonable words. If this person is a wise man , especially so.I have known friends, all very famous, who at some point in their lives fell into a series of catastrophic acts that destroyed in an incomprehensible way everything they had built with a great deal of talent, intelligence, devotion, etc. .So... without a rational explanation, reasoning about individuals is strictly useless.The problem arose in similar situations, and he didn't realize he was doing the same thing over and over again.Without the leverage of technical interventions such as analysis and transfer, it would be impossible for him to unravel this psychological fatality with his own introspective method.

Freud's hypothesis is seen to be confirmed quite often anyway.There are complete summaries of some of the analyzes performed by him and by other psychoanalysts.In these reports one finds, of course, a particularly tragic incident in the very youngest childhood, the cause of which was, say, a conflict with the mother.To punish his mother in some way, he destroys things or purposely gets bad grades in retaliation for what he perceives as a lack of maternal love.The broad outlines of this lack, buried deep in his unconscious, continue to determine his adult behavior.He continues to punish his own mother by destroying what he has just built.And this, he didn't know!Awareness of the original trauma, then, theoretically liberates him from his slavery in the face of an unconscious past event.This does not mean that he will be a perfectly harmonious being in all respects, but in some cases this can uncondition him more than a particular neurosis.

Mathieu – The approach of Buddhism and the approach of psychoanalysis contradict each other when it comes to the means of liberation.Psychoanalysis is valid within the confines of its own system, but this system is limited by the aims it sets for itself.Let us take, for example, the problem of the libido, the libido.If people try to oppress it, it manifests itself in a perverse way by some devious ways.The aim of psychoanalysis is then to reintroduce it to its own object, to give it a normal form of expression again.According to the Buddhist science of mindfulness, one neither tries to suppress desire nor to allow it to be in its usual state, but to evaporate it.So, instead of repressing desire, recognize its empty nature so that it no longer enslaves the spirit.Desire gives way to an unshakable inner happiness freed from all attachment.

Just as Buddhism seeks, like a crow flying from the smoky city to the pure air of the mountains, to rid itself of the depression of thought, psychoanalysis seems to induce a degeneration of thought and dream.These are some completely self-centered thoughts.The patient wants to reorganize his little world, to gain a grip on it.But diving into the psychoanalytic unconscious is a bit like finding some sleeping snakes and waking them up without quite knowing what to do next. Jean-François - if he is a Buddhist, he has no right to kill these snakes!So, how does Buddhism think about dreams? Mathieu——There is a whole set of mindfulness practices associated with dreams.People exercise themselves first by realizing that one dreams while indulging in a dream, then by transforming this dream, and finally by intentionally creating many forms of dreaming.The culmination of this practice is the cessation of all dreams.The perfect meditator no longer dreams, and only occasionally has premonitional dreams.This process can take many years.In short, the difficulty with psychoanalysis according to Buddhism is that it does not identify the origin of problems.Conflict with a parent and other traumas of all kinds are not the cause, but the environment.The primordial cause is attachment to the ego, which produces attachment and loathing, love of the ego, desire to protect the ego.All mental events, emotions, impulses, are like branches of a tree.If you cut them, they will regrow.If, on the other hand, one cuts down the tree at the root by disengaging from attachment to the ego, all branches, leaves, and fruit fall simultaneously.The identification, therefore, of disturbing thoughts, of their destructive or inhibiting effects, is not sufficient to resolve them and thus not lead to a deep and complete personal liberation.Only the emancipation of the mind by going back to their source, that is, by looking directly at the essence of the spirit, can lead to the solution of all psychological problems. All techniques of contemplation of spiritual nature help to discover that hatred, lust, jealousy, dissatisfaction, pride, etc. have only such power as one imagines them to have.If one looks at them directly, first by analyzing them, then with a contemplative gaze - if one observes thoughts in their "naked" state - until one sees their primordial nature, one finds that they do not possess the The solidity and force it seems to have when first seen.This examination of the nature of thought must be repeated many times.But if one exercises oneself persistently, there comes a time when the mind remains in its natural state.All of this requires a lot of practice.As time went on, people became more and more in control of the process of mind emancipation.In the beginning, identifying thoughts as they arise is like identifying someone you know in a crowd.As soon as a greedy or hostile thought pops up, it should be identified before it spawns a train of thoughts.It is known that, whatever its appearance, it has no solidity, no existence of its own.However, people don't know how to liberate it.The second stage resembles a snake that untangles the knots it has tied with its own body.It doesn't need outside help to do this.One also cites the example of a knot tied in a horse's tail, which the horse also untangles quite independently...   Jean-Francois - what a metaphor! Mathieu – Through this second stage one gains a certain experience of the process of emancipation of the mind and does not need to resort to a special anti-poison for every negative thought.Thoughts arise and dissolve by themselves.Finally, in the third stage, people take full control of the emancipation of the mind, and the mind can no longer do us any harm.They are like a thief entering an empty house.The thief gains nothing and the owner loses nothing.Thoughts come and go without enslaving us in the slightest.At this moment, one is freed from the grip of present thoughts and the past tendencies that gave rise to them.As a result, people are freed from suffering.The mind is in a state of clarity and lucidity in which thought has no more disturbing influence.In fact, the only quality of negativity is that it can be purified, dissolved.These unconscious deposits are not rocks, but rather ice, capable of melting in the sunlight of knowledge.