Sacred Stream

Buddhism offers a sophisticated methodology for understanding the mind and enhances contemporary psychological thought. Renowned Buddhist scholar, Robert Thurman, PhD, has described Buddhism as "engaged realism" and "the first psychology."  Buddhist psychology is a reflection of this understanding. It moves beyond the practice of Buddhism in a religious sense, extending into it as a means for knowing the self and bringing greater balance and joy into being. 

The Buddhist Psychology Studies workshops provide a pan-Buddhist approach to the body of wisdom that most Buddhist traditions seek to articulate. They are adapted from traditional Buddhist approaches in order to serve the psychological needs of modern westerners. These articulations are sometimes difficult for westerners to understand. This is, in part, because Buddhist scholars working in the last two millennia did not fully foresee the depth of self-crippling behaviors specific to future industrialized nations. The Buddhist Psychology Studies Program seeks to bridge the gap between the western view and Buddhist teachings which is created by this state of affairs, bringing the balm of Buddhist understandings regarding the nature of suffering into modern western approaches to self transformation.

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Buddhist Psychology Studies Program Overview