A Buddhist Approach to Mental Illness
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A Buddhist Approach to Mental Illness
An interview with Lama Yeshe
I was born near Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, and educated at Sera Monastic University, one of the three great monasteries in Lhasa. There they taught us how to bring an end to human problems, not so much the problems people face in their relationship to the external environment, but the internal, mental problems we all face. That was what I studied, Buddhist psychology; how to treat mental illness.
For the past ten years I have been working with Westerners, experimenting to see if Buddhist psychology also works for the Western mind. In my experience, it has been extremely effective. Recently, some of these students invited me to the West to give lectures and meditation courses, so here I am.
We lamas think that the main point is that human problems arise primarily from the mind, not from the external environment. But rather than my talking about things that you might find irrelevant, perhaps it would be better for you to ask specific questions so that I can address directly the issues that are of most interest to you.
Dr. Stan Gold: Lama, thank you very much for coming. Could I start by asking what you mean by “mental illness”?
Lama: By mental illness I mean the kind of mind that does not see reality; a mind that tends to either exaggerate or underestimate the qualities of the person or object it perceives, which always causes problems to arise. In the West, you wouldn’t consider this to be mental illness, but Western psychology’s interpretation is too narrow. If someone is obviously emotionally disturbed, you consider that to be a problem, but if someone has a fundamental inability to see reality, to understand his or her own true nature, you don’t. Not knowing your own basic mental attitude is a huge problem.
Human problems are more than just emotional distress or disturbed relationships. In fact, those are tiny problems. It’s as if there’s this huge ocean of problems below, but all we see are the small waves on the surface. We focus on those “Oh, yes, that’s a big problem” while ignoring the actual cause, the dissatisfied nature of the human mind. It’s difficult to see, but we consider people who are unaware of the nature of their dissatisfied mind to be mentally ill; their minds are not healthy.
Q: Lama Yeshe, how do you go about treating mental illness? How do you help people with mental illness?
Lama: Yes, good, wonderful. My way of treating mental illness is to try to have the person analyze the basic nature of his own problem. I try to show him the true nature of his mind so that with his own mind he can understand his own problems. If he can do that, he can solve his own problems himself. I don’t believe that I can solve his problems by simply talking to him a little. That might make him feel a bit better, but it’s very transient relief. The root of his problems reaches deep into his mind; as long as it’s there, changing circumstances will cause more problems to emerge.
My method is to have him check his own mind in order to gradually see its true nature. I’ve had the experience of giving someone a little advice and having him think, “Oh, great, my problem’s gone; Lama solved it with just a few words,” but that’s a fabrication. He’s just making it up. There’s no way you can understand your own mental problems without your becoming your own psychologist. It’s impossible.
Q: How do you help people understand their problems? How do you go about it?
Lama: I try to show them the psychological aspect of their nature, how to check their own minds. Once they know this, they can check and solve their own problems. I try to teach them an approach.
Q: What, precisely, is the method that you teach for looking at our mind’s true nature?
Lama: Basically it’s a form of checking, or analytical, knowledge-wisdom.
Q: Is it a kind of meditation?
Lama: Yes, analytical, or checking, meditation
Q: How do you do that? How do you teach somebody to check?
Lama: Let me give you an example. Say I have a good feeling about somebody. I have to ask myself, “Why do I feel good about this person? What makes me feel this way?” By investigating this I might find that it’s just because he was nice to me once, or that there’s some other similar small, illogical reason. “I love him because he did this or that.” It’s the same thing if I feel bad about someone; I don’t like him because he did such and such. But if you look more deeply to see if those good or bad qualities really exist within the person you may see that your discrimination of friend or enemy is based on very superficial, illogical reasoning. You’re basing your judgment on insignificant qualities, not on the totality of the other person’s being. You see some quality you label as good or bad, perhaps something the person said or did, and then exaggerate it out of all proportion. Then you become agitated by what you perceive. Through checking you can see that there’s no reason to discriminate in the way that you do; it only keeps you fettered, uptight and in suffering. This kind of checking analyzes not the other person but your own mind, in order to see how you feel and to determine what kind of discriminating mind makes you feel that way. This is a fundamentally different approach to analysis from the Western one, which focuses excessively on external factors and not enough on the part played by the mind in people’s experience.
Q: So you say that the problem lies more within the person and don’t agree with the point of view that it is society that makes people sick?
Lama: Yes. For example, I have met many Western people who’ve had problems with society. They’re angry with society, with their parents, with everything. When they understand the psychology I teach, they think, “Ridiculous! I’ve always blamed society, but actually the real problem has been inside of me all along.” Then they become courteous human beings, respectful of society, their parents, their teachers and all other people. You can’t blame society for our problems.
Q: How does it happen that people mix things up in this way?
Lama: It’s because they don’t know their own true nature. The environment, ideas and philosophies can be contributory causes, but primarily, problems come from one’s own mind. Of course, the way society is organized can agitate some people, but the issues are usually small. Unfortunately, people tend to exaggerate them and get upset. This is how it is with society, but anyone who thinks the world can exist without it is dreaming.
Q: Lama, what do you find in the ocean of a person’s nature?
Lama: When I use that expression I’m saying that people’s problems are like an ocean, but we see only the superficial waves. We don’t see what lies beneath them. “Oh, I have a problem with him. If I get rid of him I’ll solve my problems.” It’s like looking at electrical appliances without understanding that it’s the underlying electricity that makes them function.
Prince Henry’s Hospital
Melbourne, Australia
25 March 1975
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Awesome!
