Abstract
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, an acceptance- and mindfulness-based cognitive behavior therapy, is said to reflect many common tenets underlying Zen Buddhism. However, little has been written about the relationship between Zen Buddhism and ACT. A few researchers have highlighted the parallels between Zen Buddhism and ACT, but writing about the plausible influences of Buddhism on the development of ACT is almost nonexistent. In the present chapter, entitled Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Zen Buddhism, Kenneth Fung and Josephine Wong first provide a short account of the historical development of Western Buddhism in America and explore its influence on the development of ACT. Second, they describe how ACT is similar to and different from Zen Buddhism. Finally, using clinical examples, they propose a more explicit integration of Zen Buddhism into ACT to strengthen its practice.
Keywords
- Acceptance and commitment therapy
- Zen buddhism
- Third-wave behavior therapy
- Acceptance
- Mindfulness
Most people are afraid of suffering. But suffering is a kind of mud to help the lotus flower of happiness grow. There can be no lotus flower without the mud.
Thích Nhất Hạnh
Do not just look for what you want to see, that would be futile. Do not look for anything, but allow the insight to have a chance to come by itself. That insight will help liberate you.
Thích Nhất Hạnh
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsNotes
- 1.
For more details on the 51 mental formations, refer to chart available at Plum Village website—http://plumvillage.org/transcriptions/51-mental-formation/.
- 2.
Koan is a riddle or story that is not to be solved by reasoning, but to be contemplated on through concentration and mindfulness to advance the study and practice of Zen.
References
A-Tjak, J. G. L., Davis, M. L., Morina, N., Powers, M. B., Smits, J. A. J., & Emmelkamp, P. M. G. (2015). A meta-analysis of the efficacy of acceptance and commitment therapy for clinically relevant mental and physical health problems. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 84(1), 30–36. http://doi.org/10.1159/000365764
Allen, J., Balfour, R., Bell, R., & Marmot, M. (2014). Social determinants of mental health. International Review of Psychiatry, 26(4), 392–407. doi:10.3109/09540261.2014.928270.
Bodhi, B. (1994). The Noble eightfold path: The way to the end of suffering (2nd ed.). Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society. Retrieved from http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bodhi/waytoend.html
Brazier, D. (1996). Zen therapy: Transcending the sorrows of the human mind. New York: Wiley.
Cheng, C.-Y. (1973). On Zen (Ch’an) language and Zen paradoxes. Journal of Chinese Philosophy, 1, 77–102.
Coleman, J. W. (2002). The New Buddhism: The Western Transformation of an Ancient Tradition. New York: Oxford University Press.
Cox, L. (2013). Rethinking early Western Buddhists: Beachcombers, “Going native” and dissident orientalism. Contemporary Buddhism, 14(1), 116–133. doi:10.1080/14639947.2013.785242.
Davids, C. R. (1914). Buddhist psychology: An inquiry into the analysis and theory of mind in Pali literature. London: G. Bell and Sons Ltd.
Emerson, R. W., & Myerson, J. E. (2015). The transcendentalist. In R. A. Bosco & J. Myerson (Eds.), Ralph Waldo Emerson: The major prose. Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
Feleppa, R. (2009). Zen, emotion, and social engagement. Philosophy east and west, 59(3), 263–293.
Fields, R. (1992). How the Swans came to the lake: A narrative history of Buddhism in America. Boston: Shambhala Publications.
Fox, E. J. (2006). Constructing a pragmatic science of learning and instruction with functional contextualism. Educational Technology Research and Development, 54(1), 5–36.
Franklin, J. J. (2008). The lotus and the lion. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Fromm, E. (1959). Escape from freedom. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Fung, K. (2015). Acceptance and commitment therapy: Western adoption of Buddhist tenets? Transcultural Psychiatry, 52(4), 561–576. doi:10.1177/1363461514537544.
Fung, K. P., & Wong, J. (2014). Using ACT to address HIV/AIDS stigma in ethnoracial communities. Presented at the 12th Association for Contextual Behavioral Science (ACBS) World Conference, Minneapolis.
Fung, K. P., & Zurowski, M. (2016). Chair sculpture of suffering exercise. In A. Peterkin & P. Brett-McLean (Eds.), Keeping reflection fresh: Top educators share their innovations in health professional education. Kent: Kent State Press.
Hayes, S. C. (2002). Buddhism and acceptance and commitment therapy. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 9(1), 58–66.
Hayes, S. C., & Strosahl, K. D. (2004). A practical guide to acceptance and commitment therapy. Springer Science & Business Media.
Hayes, S. C., Barnes-Holmes, D., & Roche, B. (2001). Relational frame theory: A post-Skinnerian account of human language and cognition. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.
Hayes, S. C., Follette, V. M., & Linehan, M. (2004). Mindfulness and acceptance: Expanding the cognitive-behavioral tradition. New York: Guilford Press.
Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K., & Wilson, K. G. (1999). Acceptance and commitment therapy: An experiential approach to behavior change. New York: Guilford Press.
Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K., & Wilson, K. G. (2012). Acceptance and commitment therapy: The process and practice of mindful change. New York: Guilford Press.
Hayes, S. C., Wilson, K. G., & Gifford, E. V. (1996). Experiential avoidance and behavioral disorders: A functional dimensional approach to diagnosis and treatment. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 64(6), 1152–1168.
Kabat-Zinn, J. (2011). Some reflections on the origins of MBSR, skillful means, and the trouble with maps. Contemporary Buddhism, 12(1), 281–306. doi:10.1080/14639947.2011.564844.
Kalupahana, D. J. (1988). The buddhist conceptions of “subject” and “object” and their moral implications. Philosophy East and West, 38(3), 290–306.
Koenig, H. G. (2000). Religion and medicine I: Historical background and reasons for separation. International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine, 30(4), 385–398.
Layman, E. M. (1976). Buddhism in America. Chicago: Nelson Hall.
Lo, H. T., & Fung, K. P. (2003). Culturally competent psychotherapy. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 48(3), 161–170.
Maex, E. (2011). The Buddhist roots of mindfulness training: a practitioners view. Contemporary Buddhism, 12(1), 165–175. doi:10.1080/14639947.2011.564835.
Moore, R. J. (1995). Dereification in Zen Buddhism. The Sociological Quarterly, 36(4), 699–723.
Nhất Hạnh, T. (1991). Old path, white clouds: Walking in the footsteps of the Buddha. Berkeley, CA: Parallax Press.
Nhất Hạnh, T. (1995). Zen Keys. New York: Doubleday.
Nhất Hạnh, T. (1999). The heart of the Buddha’s teaching: Transforming suffering into peace, joy & liberation. New York: Broadway Books.
Nhất Hạnh, T. (2006). Understanding our mind. Berkeley, CA: Parallax Press.
Nhất Hạnh, T. (2012). Awakening of the heart. Berkeley: Parallax Press.
Ozawa-de Silva, C. (2015). Mindfulness of the kindness of others: The contemplative practice of Naikan in cultural context. Transcultural Psychiatry, 52(4), 524–542. doi:10.1177/1363461514562922.
Rescher, N. (2012). Pragmatism: The restoration of its scientific roots. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers.
Riesman, D., Gitlin, T., Glazer, N., & Denney, R. (1967). The lonely crowd: A study of the changing American character, abridged and revised edition. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Ruiz, F. (2010). A review of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) empirical evidence: Correlational, experimental psychopathology, component and outcome studies. International Journal of Psychology and Psychological Therapy, 10(1), 125–162.
Santina, P. D. (1984). Fundamentals of Buddhism (pp. 1–134). Singapore: Srilankaramaya Buddhist Temple. Retrieved from http://www.buddhanet.net
Scott, D. (1995). Buddhist functionalism—Instrumentality reaffirmed. Asian Philosophy, 5(2), 127–149. doi:10.1080/09552369508575416.
Scott, D. (2011). William James and Buddhism: American pragmatism and the orient. Religion, 30(4), 333–352. doi:10.1006/reli.2000.0292.
Seiden, D. Y., & Lam, K. N. (2010). From Moses and Monotheism to Buddha and behaviorism: Cognitive behavior therapy’s transpersonal crisis. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology.
Stewart, I., & McHugh, L. (2013). Perspective taking. In T. B. Kashdan & J. Ciarrochi (Eds.), Mindfulness, acceptance, and positive psychology. New Harbinger Publications.
Sutin, L. (2006). All is change: The two-thousand-year journey of Buddhism to the west. New York: Little, Brown and Co.
Suzuki, D. T. (1994). Zen Koan as a means of attaining enlightenment. Rutland: Charles E. Tuttle Co., Inc.
Tamney, J. B. (1992). American society in the Buddhist mirror. New York: Garland Publishing.
Turner, A. (2013). The bible, the bottle and the knife: Religion as a mode of resisting colonialism for U Dhammaloka. Contemporary Buddhism, 14(1), 66–77. doi:10.1080/14639947.2013.785248.
Varnum, M. E. W., Grossmann, I., Kitayama, S., & Nisbett, R. E. (2010). The origin of cultural differences in cognition: The social orientation hypothesis. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 19(1), 9–13. doi:10.1177/0963721409359301.
Young-Eisendrath, P., & Muramoto, S. (2002). Awakening and insight: Zen Buddhism and psychotherapy. Hove: Brunner-Routledge.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Fung, K.PL., Wong, J.PH. (2017). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Zen Buddhism. In: Masuda, A., O'Donohue, W. (eds) Handbook of Zen, Mindfulness, and Behavioral Health. Mindfulness in Behavioral Health. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-54595-0_21
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-54595-0_21
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-54593-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-54595-0
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)