Buddhism and Existential Therapy

Death and Dying

108033 Kwok Hiu Tung, Emily 108048 Cheung Kai Lung, Mark 108050 Tang Ka Ming, Frederik

Agenda
Introduction to general concepts of Buddhism
Views to death and dying
Buddhist perspectives

Rituals of death and dying on Mahayana ()

Meanings behind rituals Therapeutic effects

Grief counseling

Existential perspectives
Comparison to Buddhist perspectives

Discussion

A general view on the Buddhist rituals about death and dying for Chinese
Chinese Buddhist rituals are influenced by the Confucian and Taoist rituals, such as filial piety and ancestor worship
(Hsu, OConnor & Lee, 2009)

Some Buddhist funeral rituals are mixed with Taoist

For example, Chinese allow Buddhist monks to pray and Taoist to perform rituals at the same time
(Sun, 2013)

Some examples of Buddhist rituals: Meditation of the Dying Individual Buddhist Chanting Assistance () Cleansed and Clothed () Sacrificial Rite ()

Meditation of the Dying Individual

Aim: Help dying person to experience the process of death Procedure:
1.

2.

Invite a Buddhist monk to instruct the dying person to meditate on the process of death Recite the name of Amitabha Buddha with the intention of being reborn in a Pure land

Meaning: The last thought is curial for determining the next life
Think of good things the deceased has done during lifetime in the last thought Give assurance that the family is well that the person is free to go in peace
(Yin, 2006)

Therapeutic Effect of Meditation

Buddhist practitioner being to see the moment to moment arising and passing of all phenomena. Everything is a constantly in flux.
The human mistakenly think of as a fixed, permanent self. Patient can begin to loosen their grip on notions of a fixed self by realizing there is nothing to hold onto. (Gokhale, 2013)

Relieve the anxiety and fear to death. Accept the death and feel peaceful.
One of the good death items suggested by dying person was psychologically prepared for the death (Chan, Tse, Chan, 2006).

Buddhist Chanting Assistance ()

Aims: 1. Help the dying person to become peaceful 2. Has a intention of being reborn in a Pure Land Procedure: 1. Within 49 days of death, prayer helps the deceased to understand the Buddhas teaching so he or she will repent 2. The friends and family come together to peacefully recite the name of Amitabha Buddha () around the dying person (Jing-Yin, 2006) Meaning: Facilitate the process of transition period of consciousness between the death of the body rebirth into another body. Worries of deceased , such as families negative emotions, would hinder his or her transition process.
The relatives should not cry

(Goss & Klass, 1997)

Therapeutic Effects of Buddhist Chanting Assistance

To believe in the existence of after death
The prayer is a kind of self-talking and it becomes a belief Death is not the eternal end The deceased will go to a good place in the next life

To give hope and support to the bereaved To concentrate on the prayer and have a peaceful mind (2008)

Cleansed and Clothed ()

Aim: To proceed to a smooth reincarnation Procedure:
1. The body should remain untouched for first eight hours 2. After that, the dead body needed to be cleansed and clothed

Meaning: Body is just the carrier of the consciousness. Gorgeous clothing is not needed, but the respect to the deceased is important. (Yin, 2006)

Therapeutic Effects
Keeping the body clean is a component of good death perceived by the Chinese people
(Chan, Tse & Chan, 2006)

Performing the last act to the deceased directly

Expressing love and care by externalizing emotion to action
(Cheung, Chan, Fu, Li & Cheung, 2006)

Sacrificial Rite ()
Aim: Say goodbye with the deceased Procedure: From closeness to distance relationship, family members mourn first () and friend or colleagues mourn () later Meaning:
Encourage separation between the living and the death
(Cheung, Chan, Fu, Li & Cheung, 2006)

Therapeutic Effects
To provide social support from other relatives
(2008)

To create an environment of peaceful death

One of the requirements for peaceful death in Buddhist family is to be with family members and not alone (Kongsuwan, Chaipetch & Matchim, 2012)

General effects of the rituals

For the deceased Terminate the relationship with this world and start to enter the next life Have peaceful mind at the moment of death Reborn in a better place (Jing-Yin, 2006) For the bereaved Forgetting or severing ties with the deceased Recognizing and honoring a changing bond with the deceased Preparing the separation of relationship with the deceased (Wada & Park, 2009)

However,
Not all people understand the meaning of rituals Have little desire to know more about death E.g. People usually cannot follow the prayer. They employ the Buddhist monks to pray and solely follow the rituals guarded by Buddhist experts

Application to Counselling
Case Study- Rebecca Rebecca, 46-years-old, is the mother of a 15 year-old son. Her husband died of a car accident three days ago, shortly after. She is in a very gloomy mood and locks herself in her room and cry for a day without properly taking care of her physical needs. She feels guilty that she let her husband die in such way. She collapses when she imagines her husbands soul is suffering in hell.

Responsibility of Counselor
Apart from handling the emotions from clients, telling them the meaning behind rituals also was important. To encourage the bereaved actively participate in the process of rituals in order to gain the therapeutic effects.

Death in Buddhism
Life is suffering
human life is viewed as a cycle of birth, death, and rebirth
(Aronson, 2004)

death end of life. Death is a process, not an end point, and began of another life.
death is a part of life, which involves the dissolution, the decay, the continual change of physical, mental, and psychical elements or aggregates of existence
(Wada & Park, 2009, p. 661)

Karma ()
Karma embodies the consequences of individual deeds and actions
Which is integral to goal of attaining nirvana.

Law of Karma determines the quality of rebirth

Good deeds Good karma higher rebirth in the realm of existence
closer to nirvana

Bad deeds Bad karma rebirth in lower level of existence

(Schobert & Taylor, 2003)

Samsara Wheel of Life

Cyclical stages of transmigration ()
birthdeathrebirth
Devas (gods)

Driven by the law of karma

Asuras (jealous gods)

Humans

Only the human realm offers the possibility of achieving nirvana () and escaping the continuous cycle of rebirths

Animals Hell

Hungry ghosts

(Schobert, & Taylor, 2003)

Nirvana ()
Nirvana: Ultimate Buddhist goal Brings freedom from the endless cycle of personal reincarnations Extinction of passion (), hatred ()and delusion ()

(Hsu, O'Connor & Lee, 2009)

Existentialism and Buddhism

Existentialism and Buddhism Self

Buddhism, the three central marks of existence are Anatman , Anicca ,dukkha These three are closely interconnected. The reason of the suffering is due to the failure to realize that there is no permanent or essential self.

Existentialism and Buddhism Self

All conditioned things are impermanent. Buddhas insight about impermanence, a constant state of flux, is the true nature of existence. The Doctrine of Anatman (No-Self) denied anything like a soul, an essence, or any enduring substance forming a permanent self

Existentialism and Buddhism Self

From the Existential Theory, Sartre ()noted that human beings have no essential selves or souls that make us who we are. We exist first, then we get to create a sort of meaning or essence for ourselves. Human uniquely possess a radical degree of freedom

Existentialism and Buddhism Self

There is no self. Self only exists through my actions and continual re-marking and reaffirming myself. A sort of human self is created through ones ever-changing choices. No fixed self in existential theory is similar to Buddhist concept of non-self. Similarity: Both of theories stated denial to intrinsic, permanent essential human self.

Existentialism and Buddhism Suffering and Anxiety

Buddhism: The reason of the suffering is due to the failure to realize that there is no permanent or essential self.

Existentialism: An understanding of this nothingness, the non-essential nature of oneself, result in despair, anguish, or anxiety. However, Sartre argues, we must accept, rather than flee from.

Existentialism and Buddhism Meaning of Life

Buddhism: To have an Enlightenment Existentialism: Acceptance on Freedom and Responsibility The man first exists, and then he defines himself afterwards. Human can create their own meaning for being. Sertre wants human beings to continuously ask questions and investigate their reasons for being and to apply a high degree of phenomenological awareness to every choice they make. T

Existentialism and Buddhism Choice and Change

For the Buddhists, we are a sum of our karmic conditioning linking to our previous, current and future life. We have choice to change. Existentialism: Ones choice and the freedom to make a choice are central constitutive factors to determining who one currently is. Similarity: Both of them state the here-andnow power to make choice and change based on the relationship between the current and future situation.

Discussion
Based on the different characteristics of Buddhist psychology and existential psychotherapy, how can we apply them into counseling under different settings?

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