Friday, August 13, 2010

Buddhist Psychology by Amal K. Barua


Mind is a problematic concept; sundry attempts have already been made from different view points to clear up the problem. However, in this book an endeavour has been made to deal with the problem from Buddhist point of view. An attempt has been made not only to show how Mind functions, rather the task is undertaken to reveal what Mind is. Of course, Mind is not a material object, it is a stream of consciousness, a flow of thought and the body which rooms it is, according to Buddha, an aggregate of four great elements.

Mind and Mental Factors have been dealt with the materials available in the early Buddhist texts. Herein different planes of consciousness have been exposed and also explained. In this connection a variety of views about mind of different schools of Buddhist Philosophy have also been discussed.

Factors are the properties or qualities of Mind, they are also in a sense psychic-atoms; they are fifty two in all, an exposition of all the factors have neither been done in conformity with theravada tradition.

Also an endeavour has been made to provide the reader with a critical study of views held by both Buddhist and Western psychologists about mind and its factors. The way of consciousness in Buddhist Psychology is a journey from ethical maxims to psychological principles. Other way Buddhist Psychology is said to be a meeting point between ethics on the one hand and psychology on the other.

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