Zen’s Thoughts on Psychopathology and Wellness

Abstract

Behavioral health is an interdisciplinary enterprise that emphasizes the mutual relationship between the holistic view of human behavior and the well-being of the body as a whole entity. In recent years, the held has begun to pay greater attention to the wisdom and teachings of Zen Buddhism more so than ever before. In this chapter, we present Zen's thoughts on what we call psychopathology and wellness. To do so, we first present a Western analytic perspective that serves as the underlying epistemological framework for Western behavioral health. We then present how this framework is embedded within its own theory and classification system for psychopathology and health. Subsequently, we will delineate a Zen's epistemological perspective and its thoughts on psychopathology and behavioral health. Finally, we will present the aim of Zen, which is to "live fully here and now while transcending psychopathology and psychological well-being." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved)