Ordinary Mind: Exploring the Common Ground of Zen & Psychotherapy

226 Pages·2005·1.791 MB·English

by  Barry Magid, Charlotte Joko Beck

O r d i n a r y M i n d
Exploring
the Common
Ground
of Zen and
Psychoanalysis
B A R R Y
M A G I D
Foreword by Charlotte Joko Beck
author of Everyday Zen
PRAISE FOR ORDINARY MIND
“Magidhascreatedanelegantandsimplebook.
Well-balanced,unassuming,andinformative...
highlyrecommended.”
—CHOICE
“ThisisAGROUNDBREAKINGBOOK.Magid’streatmentof
thesubjectis—atlonglast!—neithersuperficialnorbased
onlong-obsoletetheoreticalformulations,butmakescareful
useoftrulycontemporarypsychoanalyticthought.Theways
inwhichherelatesZenpracticetoclinicalissuesismasterful.
Zenstudentsandmental-healthprofessionalsalikewillbe
inhisdebtforalongtimetocome.”
—JohnDaishinBuksbazen,
Faculty,SouthernCaliforniaPsychoanalyticInstitute,
authorofZenMeditationinPlainEnglish
“WrittenwithANEXTRAORDINARYSPIRITOFCOMPASSION,Magid’s
bookthrowsnewlightontwoesotericdisciplinesand
theirrespectivepowertoliberateustoliveinthepresent
withourordinarymind.
ThisisANEXCEPTIONALLYLEARNEDBOOK.”
—FatherJohnMcNeill,authorof TakingaChanceonGod
“DEEPLYHUMANEANDBROADLYINFORMED,OrdinaryMindisa
gracefullywritten,persistentlymodestaccountoftheway
Magidhascombinedhisanalyticandmeditationpractices.
Theresultischallenging,ACCESSIBLE,ANDSOMETIMESWRYLY
WITTY—alovelyandmovingbook.”
—Prof.SusanOyama,Emerita,JohnJayCollege,
authorof Evolution’sEye
“Excitingandhope-inspiring,THEVERYREADINGOFTHISBOOKIS
THERAPEUTIC!IfeltasifIwerebeingcarriedalong,abandoning
forthemomentwhoIthoughtIwasandbecomingabletobe
allthemoreavailableforawholenewwayofthinking.”
—Prof.JamesGrotstein,M.D.,UCLASchoolofMedicine,
authorofWhoIsTheDreamerWhoDreamstheDream?
“Readilyaccessibletoalayperson,yetREPLETEWITH
PENETRATINGANALYSISANDINSIGHTthatmakeitworthyofserious
attentionbythescholar,thisisaprofoundbook.With
itssubtlecriticismsanderuditeprescriptions,OrdinaryMind
showsusthelimitsandpossibilitiesofZenand
psychoanalysis—bothasfullyhumanendeavors.
Dr.Magidhasofferedusaremarkablework.”
—Prof.DavidFryer,IllinoisWesleyanUniversity,authorof
TheInterventionoftheOther
“ORDINARYMINDISNOORDINARYBOOK!”
—KenRose,co-authorofABriefHistoryofQi
“OrdinaryMindisthechronicleofapsychoanalyst,trainedin
selfpsychology,whohasalsobeenforseveraldecadesaZen
practitioner.Hehasbeenlivingin,practicing,andthinking
abouttheintersectionofBuddhismandpsychoanalysisfor
overtwodecades.MANYPEOPLEWILLFINDSOMETHINGUSEFUL
HERE.OrdinaryMinddemonstratestheuniquecontributionof
psychoanalytictherapyandZenmeditationastheywork
togethertofosterwholehearted,compassionatefunctioningin
theworld.MagidfindsthatbothZenandpsychoanalysis,in
practice,are‘structureddisciplinesofattention’thatleadto
profoundchangesinpersonalitystructure.Avaluablestepfor-
wardinmakingtworadicallydifferenthealingtechniques
availabletoeachotherinboththoughtandpractice.”
—SusanB.Parlow,Ph.D.,inPsychologist–Psychoanalyst
“Thosewhomeditateorwhoareintherapy
willenjoy[thisbook].”
—InquiringMind
“OrdinaryMindisEASYTOUNDERSTANDYETCOMPLEXINITS
INSIGHTSANDCONNECTIONS.Magiddevelopsafascinating
thesisinanengagingstorytellingstyle.Thisthought-
provokingbookcanappealtopractitionersofBuddhism
orself-psychology.Magid’sthoughtfulbookcaninspireus
tolookatourownlivesandourownpathstoseethe
parallelsintheroadswehavechosen.”
—PsychiatricServices
ORDINARY MIND

O M
R D I N A R Y I N D
EXPLORING THE COMMON GROUND
OF ZEN AND PSYCHOANALYSIS
Barry Magid
WISDOM PUBLICATIONS • BOSTON
WisdomPublications
199ElmStreet
Somerville,MA02144USA
www.wisdompubs.org
©2002and2005BarryMagid
Allrightsreserved.
Nopartofthisbookmaybereproducedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronicor
mechanical,includingphotocopying,recording,orbyanyotherinformationstorage
and retrieval system or technologies now known or later developed, without per-
missioninwritingfromthepublisher.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Magid,Barry.
Ordinarymind:exploringthecommongroundofZenandpsy-
choanalysis/BarryMagid.—2nded.
p.cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN0-86171-495-4(pbk.:alk.paper)
ISBN978-0-86171-740-8(ebook)
1. BuddhismandPsychoanalysis.2. ZenBuddhism—Doctrines. I.
Title.
BQ4570.P76M352004
294.3'36150195—dc22
2004022898
09 08 07 06 05
5 4 3 2 1
Earlierversionsofportionsofthisbookappearedas“TheCouchandtheCushion:Integrating
ZenandPsychoanalysis,”JournaloftheAmericanAcademyofPsychoanalysis(Fall2000);“Base-
ballandtheMind/BodyProblem,”AcademyForum(Fall1992).
ExcerptsfromTheGatelessBarrier:TheWu-MenKuan(Mumonkan)TranslatedandwithaCom-
mentarybyRobertAitken.Copyright1991bytheDiamondSangha.Reprintedbypermissionof
NorthPointPress,adivisionofFarrar,StrausandGiroux,LLC.
CoverdesignbyLauraShawFeit
InteriordesignbyGopa&Ted2,Inc.SetinBerkeleyBook11/15.5,
FrontcoverphotographbyAaronSiskind,fromtheRobertMannGallery
WisdomPublications’booksareprintedonacid-freepaperandmeettheguidelinesforper-
manenceanddurabilitysetbytheCommitteeonProductionGuidelinesforBookLongevityof
theCouncilonLibraryResources.
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
Tomyteachers,
Charlotte,Sharon,andSam

CO N T E N TS
ForewordbyCharlotteJokoBeck ix
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction 1
Chapter1.ThePsychologyoftheSelf 15
Chapter2.Top-DownPractice:Mu 27
Chao-chou’sDog 32
Chapter3.Bottom-UpPractice:JustSitting 37
TheGooseintheBottle 42
Chapter4.SelfandOneness 47
Sung-yüan’sPersonofGreatStrength 56
Chapter5.SelfandEmptiness 59
Hsi-chungBuildsCarts 64
Chapter6.NoSelf 67
Dogen’sEncouragingWords 77