The Buddhist Psychology of Awakening An In-Depth Guide to Abhidharma

by Goodman, Steven D.

• ISBN13: 9781559394222
• ISBN10: 1559394226
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2020-07-21
• Publisher: Shambhala

Summary

A modern introduction to traditional Buddhist psychology 
 
This practical overview of Buddhist psychology outlines step-by-step methods for examining the source of our habitual tendencies and hangups. In order to truly free ourselves from perpetuating patterns of suffering, the Buddha offered a clear system for understanding our psychological dispositions, processes, fixations, and challenges--a system known as the Abhidharma. This tradition has been studied by Buddhists for over two millennia. 
 
Professor Steven Goodman has taught on the Abhidharma in both universities and Buddhist retreats for over twenty years, making these traditional teachings accessible for a modern readership for the first time. Goodman explains how becoming aware of our mental patterns can liberate us from cycles of emotional pain and shows how the Abhidharma can be applied to meditation practice through exercises of observation and reflection. This is the go-to manual for anyone interested in the world of Buddhist psychology.

Author Biography

STEVEN D. GOODMAN is Program Director of Asian Philosophies and Cultures at California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) in San Francisco. He received his PhD in Far Eastern studies from the University of Saskatchewan, and he has lectured and taught Buddhist philosophy and comparative religion at the University of California at Berkeley and Santa Barbara, Rice University, the Graduate Theological Union, the Nyingma Institute, and Naropa University. In 1994, Steven was awarded a Rockefeller Fellowship at Rice University Center for Cultural Studies for the study of Tibetan mystical poetry. He is the coeditor of Tibetan Buddhism: Reason and Revelation (SUNY Press, 1992) and the author of “Transforming the Causes of Suffering” in Mindfulness and Meaningful Work (Parallax Press, 1994).

Table of Contents

Introduction
Why Study?
Four Valuable Insights

I. The Abhidharma and How It Relates to Our World
What Is the Abhidharma?
Everything Is Dharmas
Exploring the Nature of Self and Reality
Six Channels of Perception

II. Dhatu Analysis
Dhatus and Channel Processing
Tuning into Experience
Moments of a Meditation
Exploring Channel Processing

III. Mind and Mental Factors
Mind
The Elements
Mental Factors
Benefits of Abhidharma Study

Appendix 1: The 75 Dharmas
Appendix 2: The 51 Mental Factors
Appendix 3: The First Karika
Appendix 4: Buddha's Hesitation
Appendix 5: Nine Stages of Mindfulness
Acknowledgements
Notes